Shinjuku Washington Hotel — Hotel in Tokyo

For context, I came here with two friends for three days and while booking, the same room which had three beds was unavailable for three consecutive days. So I decided to book the three bed room on the first day, book three single rooms for the second day and return for the third. This meant that we each had to check in and out everyday, not a huge problem since we were just unlucky with the booking options.

In the first day we were greeted nicely and the service went out of their way to meet our needs, they also helped us all create a Fujita member account. The so say three people room was actually a two people room that was just slightly large enough to fit a third bed but everything else was acceptable.

The second day while we checked in, one of my friend was still out so we individually checked into our single rooms, however when my friend came in to check in for himself at night, the staff member that was supposedly “helping” my friend wouldn’t accept the temporary Fujita members account for some reason yet it was late night and my friend was not in the mood for this problem and just said ok to not being able to get a extended checkout time and free drink for the night

In the third night we all came to check in at around 10:30pm, since it was our third time checking in and the counters were self-check-in counters so we thought we would do it ourselves, we were stopped right in our way as a staff tries to make us line up instead of allowing us to do it ourselves still reasonable since “they wanted to help us” I thought. However when I went in line another staff member came in to ask to help, I took out my passport to hand it to him only to hear him say “please do it yourself” in Japanese and just stood there not doing anything for the check in process. So why not just let me do it myself in the first place? And if you asked to help, why are you making a customer go through a check in process themselves? Not to mention he did not tell us any of the notices about the fact that grooming items are located in the lobby and need to be self served. If we were not people that had been in this hotel before we would have been completely lost.

The only other time he did anything noteworthy was asking if we were members. and so I scanned my member code, it was late and my friends couldn’t bother to get the code out so they just said no. This time the staff not only did not even try to help us become members but also wouldn’t allow me to consult opinions of my friends in if we should have beer or tea as our free drink of choice.

This is completely unacceptable behavior for a hotel this price, there are so many other better business hotels with cheaper price and better rooms. The pillow was rock solid and air conditioning was quite useless, the rooms feels like a detention center as there is minimal window space and view. There were many other details that doesn’t make up for its price 100% Would never...

Typing this as i lay awake roasting in their hotel room. Stuffy and hot. Tried calling front desk to borrow standing fan / ac. But I was told they are out of portable ac. So , you be the judge about the room temperature. Which is centralized, btw. Tried to plug in the dehumidifier and portable ac present in the room, but once the main lights in the room switches off. There goes the electricity. I wasp appalled. Had to plug it next to the bed, which then leaves me no other ports to charge my mobile.

Staying in a triple room on a non-smoking floor in the main building, but the moment the lift door opens. You can smell smoke from cigarettes which is quite strong, and i am usually not even sensitive to smells.

Next is the location of the hotel. It is about 15 minutes walk from the Shinjuku station. There is an underground walk connected to the station, but the door locks at 10pm or so.. It's rather challenging if you are traveling w heavy luggage as it is quite a long walk from the train. Seems like there is an airport limousine outside the hotel at 3600 yen for adults from NRT / HND Airport. So, in this sense, i guess it is something worth considering as a plus for this hotel?

The rooms. Was tiny, but ok, given the norm here, i guess it is pretty acceptable. So if you have more than one medium luggage each. You might want to reconsider. The bathroom was the usual tiny space but not much of ventilation inside, so after a hot shower. It pretty much feels like a sauna or steambath. Provided towels and some basic Tolietries which you can pick up from lobby if you need.

Was told that hotel will only do housekeeping if you stay for 3 days or more. They will only empty trash bins daily + change of towels daily. No cleaning of room nor changing of bedsheets/ bed making. Not sure if the change will happen yet . Trying to be "eco" or just out to shortchange?

There is a family mart just right below inside the hotel. Which closes from 12 midnight and reopens at 6am. But i think there is another Lawson just nearby outside.

But , i have to add that the hotel staff is able to communicate in slightly better than average English. However, not the most helpful nor able to resolve my issues. Check-in was considered smooth.

So, in a nutshell, with all things above considered, this is definitely not a hotel i will return to nor recommend.

Ps** hotel isn't motel price either. You can get better hotels with this price, surely. This building is old and so are the rooms . You can tell from the walls, carpet etc.

Good luck to the hotel and whoever is coming. Maybe it could be my issue that i was allocated to a bad room. Who knows. Maybe i am just a difficult guest.

But book at your own risk.

I hope the hotel improves. which , looking at reviews from over the years. Seems like they are just getting from...

very very comfortable beds is what I love most about this hotel - waking up from a good night’s rest from a comfortable bed is an important factor and this hotel delivered.

from checking in, the friendly and patient staff recommended that I signed up at no cost for their membership for a 12pm check in (instead of 2pm), a 12pm check out (instead of 11am) and a free drink (ofcourse I had to choose the beer)🤣. although there were some small hiccups during the sign up process, the staff was very friendly, patient and courteous. the reception is located at the 3rd floor of the building to which lifts and escalators can take you there. very clean, sleek and modern hotel. upon signing up the membership on your phone, you can check in via the screen at the desk and the room key cards are issued to you on the spot by the machine.

we had a triple room under our booking and the room was spacious to say the least. sufficient space for 3 luggages and still had ample space to move around. they had beside tables for each bed and enough charging amenities so you don’t need to fight with your bed neighbour over power outlets.

aircon setting is a simpler affair - small, medium, high. I suppose it’s the fan setting. there is no temperature adjustment but frankly there isn’t really a need as setting the fan to the smallest is sufficient - the comforter and blankets are thick enough to keep you very warm and comfortable.

the shower room is relatively small and there is a considerable height to enter the toilet - thus some may find it challenging to enter and exit the toilet especially if you have knee problems. however, the shower head is big enough and water pressure is good. The toilet bowl comes standard with bidet as well. there are also more amenities provided at the hotel reception if you require more.

housekeeping - although we were informed that there will not be daily housekeeping due to efforts to be eco-friendly, we noticed that our towels, complimentary water bottles and toilet amenities were still being replenished everyday - it was a nice gesture.

on the last day of our stay we went to the 25th floor for a 2200yen breakfast buffet and was more than satisfied. Great views overlooking the Tokyo metropolitan government building and the buffet spread was more than sufficient. very friendly service crew & patient as well to tourists.

I would surely come back for a second stay when visiting in Shinjuku - comfortable, professional and a very nice bed to sleep after a...