The Ritz-Carlton, Tokyo — Hotel in Tokyo

The Tokyo Ritz-Carlton has been Bonvoyed.

This is still an exceptional hotel. It might be better than anywhere else you are considering in Tokyo. However, it is not as good as it used to be, and that is what the remainder of this review will cover.

I’ve stayed here a lot. This hotel never had the best rooms. Those were always a bit corporate and cold. This hotel won on service.

I have visited this property at least once a year over the last ten years. This review details my most recent stay which was 3 days/2 nights.

The pool and gym are still great. The bar on 45 the floor near the lobby is fun with live entertainment and broad views of the city. The midtown shopping center and grocery store ( Precce ) are fantastic.

The location of the hotel is still perfect. The city views of Tokyo tower or Mount Fuji (if you have a clear day) are still expansive. The Tokyo city view and nightscape are grand. The Ritz is still the Ritz …and yet…..

The property is 17 years old and it is starting to show. There are elements of wear and tear. The carpets look shabby in places, tired in spots and dirty in others. The showers in the rooms look like they could use a refresh.

The decoration consultant might be from a bygone era and it is in need of an uplift. The suites have an odd, less than the sum of its parts layout.

The lobby used to have an absurd level of Japanese luxury service in the form of people greeting you, knowing who you were based on your arrival time and remembering that it was your nth stay with them.

Now, likely in service of economic efficiencies and cost cutting, those people are gone. Maybe it’s lower staffing levels. Maybe it’s lower service levels. Maybe a bit of both.

On to the club lounge

The club lounge has long been a source of controversy from entitled Bonvoy members believing they should enter without paying. This is not a lounge so much as a small intimate full service luxury experience within a hotel.

The club lounge has five presentations (breakfast, lunch, Afternoon tea, dinner, cocktail). Children are welcome at the first four, not the last one. The musical performance during afternoon tea and dinner service add to the ambiance, and is very welcome. It felt like a five star restaurant.

The club lounge bar has always had a set menu, but they would make anything with a, “Certainly” and a smile. Alas, we appear to be limited to ordering cocktails off the limited happy hour menu. Great. I can make do. And then so I was served a depressing old fashioned in a wine glass because I dunno, bonvoy?

The service in the club lounge used to feel luxurious to the point of obsequiousness. Greetings and seatings and overflowing champagne table service. Old Japanese glamour. When Japanese guests come in, they dress up, unlike American schlubs, like me.

Now, it feels like Marriott bonvoy level service. Pleasant, fine, go get your own paper napkins and seat yourself.

It seems as though the service level has deteriorated from otherworldly to merely pretty good.

One remaining highlight is Kanae, the omelet chef. She’s been a staple of the hotel since before I was coming. I’m not sure how but she’s just far better at making omelets than anyone has any right to be. When she’s on vacation, it lessens the overall experience of this hotel. She is magnificent.

Additional kudos to Ambra and Nwe who, from a service level, feel like a throwback to when I used to stay here years ago. Excellent job.

Improvements: The concierge has improved since I last stayed here. Very helpful for reservations or tickets. Kudos.

TLDR; Tokyo Ritz Carlton was previously my most sought after destination. I routed through Tokyo to stay here and enjoy midtown and the views. The facility was always good but the service was other worldly. Now, their service is just good. Today, it’s still a very good hotel, but one of many very good hotels in the world, rather than a one of one, and that feels like a loss.

I will stay here again but may consider other hotels...

We stayed at the Ritz-Carlton in a King bedroom on the 48th floor for a short stay in Tokyo. Overall, I would describe our stay as pleasant, despite some initial issues. It is a nice hotel, and I presume if money does not play a great role, you will not do much wrong with the Ritz-Carlton. I realize Tokyo is very expensive, but for prices of way over $1000 per night, I must say personally, I expected a little more. So the price-value ratio is what ultimately prevents me from giving 5/5, and why I hesitate to come again.||Key strengths:|- The view from the hotel and all of the rooms is fantastic. Clearly, this is the main strength of this hotel over other hotels. With good weather, one is able to see Mount Fuji, but either way the view is great. The entire hotel is located above the 45th floor. |- Breakfast is decent for the price. You can choose from an either a Western style breakfast (including a dish and the buffet) or Japanese breakfast. From everything we tried, we could clearly see the hotel’s focus on high-quality ingredients and presentation. |- As usual for many of Marriott’s luxury hotels, the bed was absolutely fantastic (it's a basic thing, but a strength we always notice staying at Ritz-Carlton, JW Marriott, and co.). |- The hotel has a spa with daylight and an equally great view as the rest of the hotel. The spa includes a large pool and a whirlpool, as well as gender-separated saunas, steam rooms and hot tubs. ||Key weaknesses:|- Our start upon check-in was anything but great. Our room was not yet ready for another two hours, and we wanted to wait for it to be ready by having a drink or two. We had to learn that there was literally no place for hotel guests to stay that afternoon, because both the main bar and the lobby bar were fully booked for (external) reservations. Honestly, for a hotel this pricey, I find this unacceptable. I understand that hotels can generate quite a bit of revenue from external guests (e.g., for high tea), but for more than $1000 a night, I expect the hotel to be a place to hang about for me as an overnight guest. We chose this hotel also because the bar and the lobby bar have beautiful views, but if I cannot visit either one as a hotel guest, this asset becomes worthless. Unfortunately, the staff could also not recommend any alternative bar we could head to while waiting, because the area around the hotel basically consists of a shopping mall. |- The hotel’s location from my perspective is okay but not great, even taking into account that Tokyo is gigantic and that there is no “optimal” location for all of the sights and things to do. Sure, it is a chic neighborhood, but in the immediate vicinity of the hotel (e.g., by walking), there is not really anything but fancy shopping malls. We enjoy hotels that are in the middle of a vibrant part of the city, and many Ritz-Carlton hotels are exactly there. This hotel is not in a bad location overall, just not great either. |The hotel is not exactly new, and the rooms and spa appear a little worn out. However, you can still feel the luxury that this hotel stands for, for example, in terms of space and quality materials. Again, for a hotel this pricey, I would expect an interior that is state-of-the-art and maintained...

My son and I had a wonderful two-night stay at the Ritz-Carlton Tokyo. The location is fantastic—right in Roppongi, within walking distance of many attractions and close to two different subway lines. There is a lovely park/garden area at the bottom of the building, which made for a peaceful walk on those early, jet-lagged mornings.||The lobby on the 45th floor is grand, stylish, and beautiful, complete with a water feature, a classy piano bar, a little kids’ area, and several restaurants. And the best views of Tokyo, of course. The check-in and concierge desks always had several staff eager to help. I really appreciated how sharp they all looked, how well they spoke English (not a given in Japan), and how helpful and efficient they were.||We had a double room on the 51st floor, with a fantastic view that included Tokyo Tower. The style is definitely more “classic luxury,” if not just a tad dated, but everything was perfectly maintained, in good working order, and spotlessly clean. I will say the room looked and felt a lot better in person than in pictures. The beds were plush and comfortable; the furniture functional and cozy. I appreciated the electric shades and curtains that completely blacked out the room. The HVAC worked well and was quiet. The bathroom was really large and luxurious, with both a shower (with excellent water pressure!) and a bathtub. The coffee and tea amenities were very nice, and bottled water was plentiful. It was a really comfortable room, and we slept very well.||We used the swimming pool on the 46th floor both mornings, and it was wonderful—once again with a terrific view. It’s large, and the water felt great.||We tried three of the dining venues. First, Héritage by Kei Kobayashi for breakfast, and it was terrific. We tried the eggs Benedict, the croissant waffle, the omelet, as well as buffet items and pastries, and everything was perfectly executed and delectable. What a perfect start to a day in Tokyo! We also had a multi-course tempura dinner at Hinokizaka, which was a really special experience. The service was incredible, and so was the food. Finally, I had lunch at the Ritz-Carlton Café & Deli, which offered very well-executed Western dishes, as well as mouthwatering cakes.||Service was truly five-star. Turn-down service was provided, and we found delicious treats in our room. Reception and concierge staff were always available and happy to answer questions, but even when not needed, they would always greet and bow, which is a really nice touch. One day I needed my room cleaned within a 90-minute window, and they promptly obliged. Perhaps the best test was when my room safe locked up on me with all our passports and documents inside, shortly before checking out and catching a shinkansen. Some of the keypad buttons had suddenly become inoperable. I called the front desk, and they had two technicians in my room and the safe opened within 15 minutes!||A truly wonderful stay. I would love to try other properties, such as the two Editions, next time I am in Tokyo, but I think the service, attention to detail, views, and dining options are hard to beat at the...