The Westin Tokyo — Hotel in Tokyo

We stayed at the Westin Ebisu already twenty years ago, and the hotel has barely changed at all in that time. The lobby, which is beautiful, has remained unchanged. Unfortunately, so have the rooms, which now feel dated and quite old-fashioned, in a not so positive way. The bathrooms are in dire need of renovation, with old tiles, old toilets, and small, outdated showers. The amenities are average for a Japanese hotel experience, with no shavers or tooth brushes available for example. We didn‘t need anything, but this is unusual in Japan. Compared to the Westin Miyako in Kyoto, the experience in Westin Ebisu is quite different, and not meeting our expectations. The windows in the rooms are very old, and although they have double panes it is a bit noisy at times. In the winter time, the windows allow cold air to come in, which is nice if you like that. The bed is outdated, and the mattress needs changing. Even though there are several pillows to choose from we found it a challenge to get a good night‘s sleep at this Westin, and this normally isn‘t an issue at Westin.

The restaurant, where we only had breakfast, is very good from a food perspective. Unfortunately the furniture is quite worn, and especially the couches are in dire need of replacement. In fact, certain parts of the couches are so bad that we had to ask to sit somewhere else. The cover of the couches is torn in many places and it is extremely dirty, making the dining experience unpleasant. The staff is good, but at a hotel at this level, particularly one claiming to be five-star, we would have expected more. The breakfast staff is partially poorly trained and in some cases we found staff members understood no English at all (newspaper could not be understood, so we had to explain in Japanese).

We also booked a small meeting room for some late night conference calls, and the price was absolutely unacceptably high. JPY 90000 for a conference room in the middle of the night, with only ice water provided, is an insult. We have booked conference rooms before, but never been confronted with such excessive pricing and poor service and amenities.

The location of the hotel is good, and especially if you enjoy the Ebisu area, which we do. The hotel is a stone‘s throw from Yebisu Garden Place which features shopping, dining, and offices. There is also a beer museum featuring the history of Yebisu beer. However, if you have a lot of luggage and plan on walking from the Yamanote line Ebisu station, it is quite a walk and you need to calculate 15 minutes walking at a normal pace. If you walk through Yebisu Garden Place to get to the hotel, which is the shortest way, you also will encounter flights of stairs if the elevators are closed as in early mornings or late evenings.

Our hope for a nostalgic stay at a hotel we used to rate at the very top unfortunately didn‘t come to fruition. This was our last stay at the Westin Ebisu.

Location: 3/5 Ambience: 2/5 (Only the lobby prevents this from being rated 1. Note that we are comparing with other five star hotels in Japan, for instance the Intercontinental in Shinagawa, or the Westin Miyako in Kyoto) Food: 3/5 (nothing special for a five-star hotel) Staff: 3/5 (sometimes not friendly, sometimes poorly...

This was my first stay at a Westin property in Asia and I have to say that my experience in Tokyo was most satisfying. I've had the opportunity to stay at many of the Westin properties across Europe and would say that it is the equal of the top units there. It may not have the grandeur of some of the older and more historical properties there but when evaluating all areas to be reviewed, it really can be included among the best.

What really stood out was the effort among almost all the staff that I encountered throughout my stay. Efficient, helpful, friendly and concerned are words that come to mind when describing the service. I've been in the hospitality business for over 30 years as an owner of a restaurant group and a consultant and can state that the level of service received as exemplary. Only in one instance would I state that the service was not up to the level of the others and that was at the formal bar. The bartender was extremely efficient but a bit too a aloof for my liking. However, that may be the approach the management wants at that venue so I can't really fault the "style" there.

The corner room was an upgrade on the higher executive floor with a great view of the city. I had booked another room for my business associate and although he is not a Platinum member they still upgraded him to a similar room and accorded him all the same benefits. Quite a magnanimous gesture especially considering the benefits one receives as a Platinum member especially in properties outside the States. Clean, tidy and many creature comforts such as a casual kimono to wear made it a place to relax after a long day. A small issue to mention was the very faint smell of cigarette smoke. Although the room was non smoking, I think that the ventilation system may have been the culprit as my associate who was on the same floor noticed the same slight odor. Again a minor issue that didn't detract from my opinion of my stay.

Food and beverage quality was of high quality and choice at the breakfast buffet. The food in the Executive lounge wasn't up to the same quality of the main restaurant but more than acceptable. Great choices of spirits at the formal bar was much appreciated especially among the single malt Scotches. Although many of previous reviews mention the high prices for food and beverages here, I really didn't find them to be that overly priced and remember as a reference again, I'm in the business.

Location is superb as Ebisu is a good location for many reasons. Yebisu Gardens and the surrounding facility is quite nice and spacious in a modern setting. The Ebisu train station is about a 10 minute walk but is an easy stroll through the Ebisu Garden facility and made easy by a motorized skywalk if you're a bit tired. Taxi rides to the major areas are not overly long. The longest one was to the Tsukiji fish market which was about 25 minutes.

All in all a very satisfying stay and when I return to Tokyo again, I won't see a need to look anywhere else to reside. The Westin Tokyo had made that a very...

𝗬𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗧𝗼𝗸𝘆𝗼. You'll be the envy of all your Tokyo-based friends for the duration of your stay, and you can be sure they're not exaggerating when they say you're lucky to have chosen this hotel because I can honestly say that no other Westin has ever made me feel like royalty (and most of the Westin properties I stay at tend to be in North America, where it is mostly simple and clean in design and service.)

I want to underline how attentive the staff is to the needs of the guests, from the first moment of check-in through the last moment of check-out. I'm not sure if it was because I was a Titanium Member at the time or if it was because I was staying on the club floor, but the man who I assume was the concierge gave me a thorough tour of the room's features when I checked in and informed me of all the benefits that came with the room, including access to the club lounge. 90% of the time, the staff could understand English; the remaining 10% of the time, machine translation—such as Google Translate—was necessary. Even at two in the morning after a long night out, staff are there to greet you and attend to your every need, so the outstanding service doesn't stop.

Given that the Westin is part of a western hotel brand, it seems to reason that the room would be bigger than a typical Japanese hotel room. If you have ever been in a standard hotel room outside of a large American city, you are familiar with the size of a room at this hotel. The majority of Japanese people find that amazing. The decor is what will draw a seasoned western tourist to this accommodation. You get a sense of greater status when you stay here. The accommodation is clean and offers a few more luxuries over a standard hotel room, including washlet bidet toilets, the exclusive Westin wellness items, and both a western-style and Japanese-style PJ robe.

The hotel breakfast, which was included with access to the Club Lounge, was generally very good. Weekend menu items differed from weekday menu items depending on where you choose to eat, although weekday menu items were generally the same. Breakfast generally consisted of: ・ Continental breakfast (Chicken Sausage, Bacon, Breads, Cereal, etc.) ・ East Asian (Spring Roll, Pork Shumai, Onigiri) ・ Salad Bar ・ Cold Cuts ・ A soup (Minestrone, most of the time) ・ Juice/Tea/Coffee

In addition to breakfast, there is also an afternoon tea service and an evening cocktail service, the latter of which I did not try.

My overall impressions of my stay at this hotel were favorable. You could hear the majority of footfall coming from the room above my own, which is the only thing about this property that bothers me . It's not something that this property can control, however, and thus does not affect my rating.

I hope you appreciate everything this hotel has to offer, just like my friends and I did, if you get the chance to stay there, whether it be by spending your hard-earned money, using points, getting reimbursed by your company, or by any...