We’ve lined up a couple of hotels in Tokyo that fit a range of clients—families, twosomes or the very artsy kind.
The family-friendly Shiba Park Hotel, located near Shiba Park, Zojoji Temple and Tokyo Tower in a serene area of the city, is a three-star budget hotel with 198 rooms that’s been on the Tokyo hotel scene for quite some time. The property welcomed its first guest in 1949 and its Chinese restaurant opened 10 years later. The hotel also has the rugby-influenced Bar the Fifteen’s and a Japanese restaurant, and offers non-smoking rooms and complimentary WiFi. Rates start at approximately $124 per night.
In July of next year, the property will welcome a new building across the street that will add 70 rooms to the hotel inventory, as well as cultural experiences available to guests, including calligraphy and sake tasting. Booking starts in January, and rates are approximately $206.
“Our goal with this new building,” says Atsuko Takahashi, the hotel’s sales and marketing manager, “is to attract guests with deeper pockets who have traveled extensively.”
For more information, visit en.shibaparkhotel.com.
The Park Hotel Tokyo, part of the Design Hotels collection, is a completely different experience and offers rooms with a view of the Tokyo Tower—as hotel press material says, it’s “close enough to touch.” This 273-room property offers a corner suite with views of the bullet train, but the coolest factor here is the artist rooms.
Part of what the hotel calls the “Artist in Hotel” project, these rooms—there are currently 18 and the goal is to have 30 by 2016 taking up the entire 31st floor—have been decorated by individual artists—a sort of graffiti-style accommodation. The room names describe the theme—from Zen and Dragon to Festival and One Hundred Poems. There’s also Geisha Goldfish and Bamboo, as well as Cherry Blossoms. I really could go on, because it’s fun, innovative and a great vibe for an accommodation—in other words, a great oasis for your clients after they’ve toured buzzy Tokyo.
Here, 80 percent of the guests are from overseas, and “the target clientele in the U.S.” says Takahashi, “are well-traveled clients from age 30 to 50. Guests have access to amenities such as the 1-Michelin star French restaurant, Tateru Yoshino, a Japanese restaurant, Hanasanshou, a bar, a Café lounge, an intimate spa, a small fitness center, and the Art Lounge with art exhibits featuring local Japanese artists—guests can purchase the pieces.
Accessing the city’s many marvels is easy: The hotel is located in the Shiodome business district in downtown Tokyo, a 10-minute walk from the Ginza shopping district, and has direct access to the Waterfront Transit Station. Rates start at approximately $166. For more information, visit en.parkhoteltokyo.com.
