The Okura Tokyo — Restaurant in Tokyo

Considered as one of the top hotels in Tokyo, the location is indeed excellent, the design is elegant, the breakfast buffet is generous, our 38th floor corner room was super, the executive lounge is a gem, the pool and onsen infrastructure is unique, … and yet.|We have stayed a week in a luxurious suite and have spent quite some money. That’s all good, it’s a conscious choice. But the experience at our arrival was of such a contrast with the expected service and luxury of this Leading Hotel of the World (I am a Leaders Club member since many years and am ‘used and privileged’ to stay around the globe in leading hotels), that I wouldn’t give more than an average for this hotel.|My recommendation is that hotel GM Kenji Takayanagi drastically reviews the welcoming ‘procedure’.|A welcome that was VERY transactional (“Your room is not ready yet and won’t be until 3pm”; “Can I have your credit card?” ; …) and without any warm charming approach to customers who were going to spend a week in the hotel and by that spend a substantial amount of several thousands of dollars. |When we arrived from our two week cruise, around 10:30am, we were told that our room wasn’t ready. We didn’t consider this as an issue; it’s often the case. But being told, when we asked, that it wasn’t possible to have breakfast, as our reservation only started from the afternoon, was unacceptable. We were not even offered the possibility to have a tea or coffee. Oh well, there was an opportunity, as said the guy who was doing the check in for us: “I’ll recommend you go to this hotel not far from here where you can buy a coffee.” “Alternatively you can go to the gym and spend your day there.” NEVER have I or we been to a top class hotel where such an attitude was the standard. Being so surprised with the total inflexible attitude of the receptionist, who didn’t do the least of efforts to accommodate us, we asked to speak with his manager. And the situation got only worse! The guy, of a stoic distance, said that his colleague had already explained that there was no way of offering us a drink or breakfast. The manager and his colleague spoke in Japanese to each other while laughing … and that while we were flabbergasted by the situation. If I hadn’t prepaid the hotel, I’d have left and returned to the Palace hotel where we had stayed before and where the service was great and much more accommodating.|This being said, the hotel has great assets and is worth staying. The ladies from the concierge desk were excellent and very accommodating. We have adored the executive lounge, accessible for the higher category rooms and suites, and offering a great discrete service. We were even more surprised with the receptionist’s attitude when we realised that there was this exceptional lounge and that he could have suggested us to go there upon our arrival.||A second negative experience was when we wanted to take a cab to go for dinner.|We came out of the lobby and there was a long queue of delegates who had been at a conference in the hotel. NB: this hotel has a large conference center and there is also that vibe of people who are passing by for the day but are not necessarily hotel guests. I asked to the bellboy’s manager if he could help us get a taxi. He said that we had to wait in the line. I said that we were hotel guests and that we were going to be late for dinner if we had to wait for all the people being gone. He repeated that we had to wait in line. I said that the hotel should organise things differently, with a fast service for hotel guests and a separate line for conference delegates. |When a taxi arrived and deposited guests, I went to the taxi driver and asked if he could take us to the restaurant. Normally, I learned, taxi drivers are supposed to deposit guests and drive off the property and eventually come back to pick up guests. Long story short, the driver was willing to take us. So we got in the taxi. When the bell boy saw us almost driving away he came to us a,d said that we couldn’t do this, that this wasn’t the procedure and that we should get out of the taxi. I told him that he was crossing a red line and that he had nothing to do there. We drove away and got to our dinner reservation.||Would I recommend to stay at The Okura Tokyo? Not for the reasons I explained. |Would I go back? No!|The attitude of this one guy and of the non-welcome was so decisive in our overall experience that we couldn’t keep referring to it when we speak about this hotel, and when I write this comment. The taxi line experience was an additional frustration and learned us that at the Okura Tokyo they don’t understand how to deal with non-Japanese customers.||If we wouldn’t have had these lousy experiences I’d have scored the hotel with a...

My mother and I checked into Room 1512 at the Okura Heritage Building on June 15th, 2025. On June 16th, I placed an envelope containing 10,000 RMB in cash and a Hermès handbag into the room safety box. On the evening of June 17th, at around 9:00 PM, we returned to the room and immediately noticed that the drawer housing the safe had been left open. This unusual detail drew my attention and raised my concern. I promptly opened the safe and asked my mother to recount the cash. The handbag was untouched, but we found that 1,600 RMB in cash was missing. I reported the issue to the front desk immediately. A senior room department manager came to our room to investigate. He said he would check the security footage and left. After waiting nearly an hour without a response, I called him back, and he informed me that no irregularities had been found. I insisted that the hotel contact the police, and eventually, the night Duty Manager called the authorities. Two officers arrived at 10:56 PM. Unfortunately, I do not speak Japanese and could not understand the conversation with the police. The two hotel managers acted as translators. After the police left, the Duty Manager told me that further investigation would be carried out and that I would receive a follow-up the next day. On June 18th, I received a written explanation from the hotel outlining two points: Only three staff members have access keys to the safe. According to the hotel’s keycard records, none of them had entered our room. In addition, the safe password is reset automatically if accessed by a staff member. Since I was able to open the safe with my own password, they concluded that no one had accessed the safe. There was no evidence or record indicating the original amount of money placed in the safe.

The hotel emphasized that this was their final conclusion. I am deeply disappointed by this explanation. My mum and I are absolutely certain that we placed 10,000 RMB in the safe. No matter what the explanation is, the truth is simple: money went missing from the safe while we were not in the room.

Unfortunately, it is fundamentally impossible for us to provide any objective proof of the exact amount of cash I placed into the safe. If the drawer hadn’t been left open, I wouldn’t have thought to check the safe at all. Regardless of how the hotel interprets the situation, the simple and unfortunate fact remains: the loss occurred while the room was under the hotel's care.

As an international traveler who visits Tokyo frequently. This experience left we feeling helpless and disappointed. We stopped all housekeeping services for the rest of our stay because we no longer felt safe in the room. Our vacation time in Tokyo was limited to five days, and we did not have the time or resources to continue pressing the issue with the police or hotel.

Without a doubt, this has turned into an unresolved case, and as an international traveler, I find it deeply frustrating that there is nothing more I can do but reluctantly accept the reality.

Security and guest trust are fundamental to any hotel experience. I sincerely hope this situation serves as a reminder of the importance of safety, transparency, and accountability. I am sharing my story so that others can be aware and hopefully avoid similar...

I chose Okura for one and only one reason: it has what I consider to be the most beautiful hotel lobby in the world. My opinion, after staying there, is that I'll come here for photo ops next time. If you are looking for a luxurious stay, then Okura Tokyo (Prestige Tower) is not it. ||Having just stayed at SOWAKA in Kyoto, I booked a Corner Room in the Prestige Tower, hoping that the higher floor would offer a better city view. I initially assumed that the only difference between the Prestige and Heritage Towers was simply the room design. However, after reading some reviews, I discovered that the Heritage Tower was deemed to be more upscale and luxurious, while the Prestige Tower was more business-oriented, with a majority of guests coming from the US, seemingly on business trips. ||Our room was on the 36th floor. Unfortunately, we did not get a Tokyo Tower-facing room, and the views on our side were significantly less appealing, although it did offer some great views of the American Embassy and the Ambassador's Residence. The room felt smaller than the advertised 55sqm and had a moldy/cigarette smell that was typical of an older hotel. For a room costing nearly $600 per night, there was no welcome card, handwritten or printed, or welcome fruit basket - only a small notepad as a check-in gift. The hotel's soundproofing was rather poor, as I was woken up by a campaign loudspeaker downstairs. It's shocking can I could literally hear every single word as if the candidate was in the next room. ||Location was the biggest flaw. I booked it knowing that it's not near any major attractions, which was fine since I've been to Tokyo many times and have no sightseeing to do. Still, it's an 8-10 minute walk from the nearest subway stations. Since it's in the middle of a business district, shopping and dining options near the hotel were also limited. ||The overall service level at the Prestige Wing was comparable to that of a standard business hotel. Besides the lack of a personalized welcome gift, housekeeping was also quite disorganized. On our first day, we left some laundry in the laundry bag, filled out the form and left it at a clearly visible part of the room. Upon our return, we realized that housekeeping had been there, but did not take the laundry. At that point, the cutoff to receive them by the next morning had passed. Furthermore, my shirts were folded when they were returned, after the laundry bag clearly had "On Hangers" printed on it by the staff. Finally, the general English proficiency of the staff working there was the worst of the three hotels that I stayed at on this trip. ||The breakfast options were plentiful, but the flavors were just alright. I didn't have time to try the other facilities this time. They looked nice in the pictures, but I wouldn't exactly call them a plus. During my stay, I saw many Japanese couples taking wedding photos in the lobby. The lobby was truly beautiful, especially in the afternoon when the weather was good and you could see the reflections of the trees on the Japanese-style paper windows. I might return to try the Heritage Wing in the future, but I probably won't consider the...