Tokyu Stay Shimbashi — Hotel in Tokyo

My experience with Tokyu Stay Shimbashi is a bit of a mixed bag. While on the whole, I was satisfied with my stay, there are some definite limitations with this hotel which you should be aware of before booking. I assume these same limitations apply to any Tokyu Stay property, but I only have direct experience with the Shimbashi location.

First of all, the hotel has a strict no-check-in-before-3-PM policy. I understand that check-in times exist for a reason. But in all my travels around the world, having stayed in countless different hotels, I have never seen a hotel treat the arriving guest the way I was treated. I was told that for 1,000 JPY an hour, I could check in up to three hours early. I was checking in for a three week long stay after arriving early one morning from an overnight international flight. It seems like for a guest arriving under such conditions, particularly when staying for such a long time, they would be a little more flexible. But they did not budge on this point. Since the hotel was unhelpful, I ended up spending my time sleeping in the lobby (since I hadn't slept on the flight) and later camping out at a nearby Starbucks until my check-in time came.

Tokyu Stay is an extended stay chain, so it is important to note that it's not a full-service hotel. This means your room is not cleaned every day. It is, however, cleaned once per week. They only clean at the end of your week, so this means even though I stayed in the room for three weeks, they cleaned it twice. Ok, I can accept that. However, some of the details around this are really frustrating. For instance, they don't provide any way for you to dispose of trash during this time. The only option is to pay an additional fee to have trash removed.

The shower is one of the best things about the room because it has such excellent water pressure. Speaking of cleaning, the hotel also provides only one packet of laundry detergent for the duration of your stay. If you want to wash your clothes in the provided machine more than one pack worth, you have to, again, pay a fee. It seems like it would be reasonable to provide a free pack per weekly stay. But no.

I did have an issue where my plate/cup/utensils were not cleaned during my second room cleaning. I asked the front desk about it and they at first tried to tell me these are not normally cleaned. I explained that they were last week, and they said they don't know why, but would do it for me this time. Later when they brought the things to my room, they apologized that they made a mistake, that the things SHOULD have been cleaned. Additionally, as part of the apology, they provided me with a box of laundry detergent that I could use with the machine and a complimentary bottle of water.

These, on their own, are all small issues, but when added together over the duration of a longer stay, they make a big difference. However, it was nice to see that when there was an issue, they took steps to not only correct it but make up for it. That gives them bonus points in my book.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to steer you away from the hotel. The location is very good and has easy access to transit. You can even easily walk to the Ginza area. The room, while absolutely tiny (even by Tokyo standards, as I have stayed in other hotels in the city), is comfortable and very clean. The bed was very comfortable and has an electrical outlet as part of the nightstand. Electrical outlets are also built into the small desk. For the tiny amount of space, it works quite well.

All in all, Tokyu Stay a cheaper alternative than a full-service hotel if you're planning to spend some extended time in Tokyo like I did. Just be aware of the reduced level of service if you're used to a more fully featured hotel and set your expectations accordingly. If you are comfortable with that kind of service and can deal with a tiny living space, Tokyu Stay might just be the...

An Australian couple who stayed a week; out of the 10ish hotels we've used across several trips this one ranks the lowest for multiple reasons that left us excited to check out. Firstly there are a couple of good things - the proximity to the station is fantastic, you'll be there in minutes and have quick access to the key shopping districts. The washer dryer (spray detegerent for washer is in the room, too, so you dont have to buy any) is an advantage by far, in addition to having a microwave and plates, cutlery etc for a quick 7/11 heatable meal. Fridge is of decent small size that can fit a fair few goodies with a bit of tetris.

The small room size is to be expected and not a problem for a single or couple; we've stayed in smaller places in Tokyo. The water pressure is very good, the bath is decent sized for an adult to enjoy a soak.

Bed is fairly firm, pillows are very soft. Bins and towels changed daily per your sign request, as the norm. Small travel accessories and tea sachets in the foyer alongside a smoking room, bathrooms, vending and ice machine and access to a side restaurant (no comment, we never used it).

Unfortunately, there are quite a few negatives that you may consider for more than a 1 or 2-night stay. For us, we will not revisit.

WiFi has about 6 networks and all are inconsistent. At peak it's unusable due to how slow it is.

Counter staff although very kind, did not speak good English and we struggled at times. However again they were helpful and kind; just have a google translate up on your phone. Baggage transfer out to Narita for 3x20kg suitcases is about 70 AUD.

Australians take note, coffee culture here is hugely different and everything opens far later (8 or 10am). Visit Streamers Coffee though, its about an 8 minute walk from here. If you're a coffee earlybird, grab some slowdrip from the 7/11 for your room. The coffee machine isn't on until 7am and they don't have sachets for free here (only tea). I found this extremely odd as no one is in the foyer from 5 to 7ish, except people coming down and smoking and checking if they can use the coffee machine (they can't). I watched one person check every 15 minutes until 7am. This is a negative because a free service is disabled for no discernible reason.

No English instructions in the room for the AC, washer dryer etc. Use photo translate on your phone or just press random buttons. Washer is great, dryer is slow. You'll probably need to extend the dry by a few hours for bigger loads or thicker clothes.

AC works but doesn't do a continuous temp maintain. It turns on and off, so the room warms and it goes on to cool cycle. The intermittent sound and air flow is directly onto the bed, which disturbed our sleep and we had trouble stabilising a temperature constantly. This was more disruptive to our sleep on top of the trains.

Sleep-wise, if you are a light sleeper you will struggle with the trains. They run continuously up until about 11-12ish pm and start about 4.40am. We both experienced * constant * broken sleep every night. The soundproofing here is really poor. You can physically feel the train rumbles alongside the AC constantly going on and off. I'm lying here right now at 5am on our last morning and it's just so annoying. I really can't stress this enough if you're prone to sleep issues. Avoid this hotel.

The doona doesn't fit the bed and slips off the end constantly through the night. A minor annoyance that unfortunately just added to the overall poor visit.

If you're a smoker, the room downstairs will do but they don't change the bins regularly and it's pretty foul. I avoided as much as possible.

I hope this review is of help to other travellers. For us unfortunately the negatives outweighed the positive primarily because the poor sleep over 4 or 5 nights set us up for tired,...

Stayed four nights at the end of our 2 week vacation in Japan, and disappointingly the Tokyu Shimbashi was our least favourite. We chose this hotel for wanting to be on the east side for a change, and the location was very good. Minutes away from the JR Shimbashi station, nearby izakaya and late night eat options, and 7 blocks from the 24/7 Don Quixote. Being within walking distance from Ginza allowed for multiple shopping trips.

Room: we booked the 20m room with mini kitchenette and washer/dryer combo. We didn't use the kitchenette except to make tea and use the mini fridge. Kettles and mini fridges are standard features in Japan so nothing to write home about. Microwave which we didn't use so can't comment. There was a lot of wasted room in the hallway leading to the bed and the finishings and fixtures were perfunctory, almost office like. Not enough storage for a long term stay hotel, just one drawer, no shoe storage, and no closet. Eight hangers off a metal rod. No wall hooks or any other proper means of staying beyond one or two nights.

Bed & bathroom: two sets of towels, bath and hand only, no face towel. Bed sheets were of very cheap quality and the duvet was dirty looking ivory polyester blend that kept slipping off throughout the night. I found hair on the cover that did not belong to me. Firm bed with barely coverable mattress pad where I had to remake several times a day to pull over the well worn mattress. Four small synthetic down pillows. We had a queen sized bed (160cm) that had clearance on both sides. Not enough room underneath the bed to place your suitcases, so ours were placed beside the table which made using the table table and chairs cumbersome. Bathroom was spacious, with enough space to fit two people standing. Not enough counter space but this is normal for Japanese style washrooms. Toilet had a mechanical flush, worked but again very basic. Negative points for blood stained pillow case and corner of the duvet, leaving us to wonder what else is not properly sanitized and maintained. Really fancy ReFa hairdryer and shampoo for those hair enthusiast.

Service: check in and check out was efficient and friendly. English is basic and we were greeted as we arrived and left. Complimentary luggage storage in the front foyer.

Washer/Dryer. Like other guests, we also struggled with this appliance. We could not figure out how to adjust the length of drying time and ended up with overdried, wrinkled and shrunk clothes. Good for washing socks and casual clothes, not for clothes you intend to keep in good shape. We used this twice and felt it was a very convenient feature.

Amenities: self serve toiletries by the elevator. Coffee machine by the lobby, ice machine, two drink vending machines. Wooden stools and some benches in the lobby. No onsen, rooftop or gyms. Did not visit the Italian restaurant on site.

Overall mediocre value for money and very forgettable. The Tokyu brand felt like a Best Western or Motel 8. It's okay for a 1 or 2 night stay before your flight via Narita Express (took us only 20 minutes to get to Tokyo Station). Tokyo is expensive for hotels so adjust your expectations. This will be our first and last stay at a residential room format and I definitely think less of the Tokyu brand after this lack lustre experience. Lack of daily cleaning made me feel like I was home constantly tidying to clear clutter. Poorly designed room, not enough attention spent on things that matter to travelers like a comfortable bed or storage...