Park Hyatt Tokyo Review
The Park Hyatt Tokyo is located in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo, Japan. It’s one of the nicest hotels in Tokyo, and one of the most famous hotels in the world due to its prominence in Lost in Translation, a film starring Scarlett Johansson and Bill Murray. In this review, we’ll feature room photos of the Park Hyatt Tokyo, and discuss whether it lives up to its on-screen reputation.
I’ll be honest, we’re those people–the kind who booked the Park Hyatt Tokyo in part because we’re big fans of the movie. We became even bigger fans in the months leading up to our Japan trip, as Lost in Translation was played regularly to get us excited for Japan. As a result, when we arrived at the Park Hyatt Tokyo, it felt like we had already been there.
As for the actual quality of the Park Hyatt Tokyo, it was exceptional. It’s difficult to rate it as compared to other luxury hotels in Tokyo, as this is by far the nicest hotel at which we’ve stayed during our many visits to Japan. We’ve stayed at other Western chains and many “Eastern Style” accommodations and this still ranks as the best place we’ve stayed. This isn’t much of a surprise, as the Park Hyatt Tokyo is #1 ranked and an award-winner on Trip Advisor. Now, let’s take a look inside the Park Hyatt Tokyo…
Let’s start with the location. Depending upon what you’re doing in Tokyo, the Shinjuku district may or may not appeal to you. It’s an area of start contrasts. During the day, this is predominantly a bustling business district, and may not feel all that different than a major American city. Beyond the office buildings, there is a lot around here.
Not only is the sprawling Shinjuku station (which provides convenient transportation to anywhere in Tokyo) nearby, but there are plenty of local stores and even an entertainment district in Shinjuku. This entertainment district is home to The Robot Restaurant, one of the most bizarre things we’ve experienced in our lives (more on that in the review at the link above!), among other things.
Shinjuku isn’t just for business people, and may actually be a good base for your adventures in Tokyo. It may also be a poor location depending upon what you want to do. I would give serious thought to your plans in Tokyo before booking, to determine whether another hotel will provide easier walking access to everything you want to do.
Based on our plans in Tokyo, there was no single ‘center’ that would have proven more convenient (if you are doing the normal tourist-y stuff, it’s unlikely that there will be any central location since the highlights seem to be scattered around Tokyo). Being walking distance from the Robot Restaurant and close to Shinjuku station made it a great option for us. Your mileage may vary.
In terms of service, Park Hyatt Tokyo is a hotel without equals, at least in our experience. While it is true that the service we experienced was world class in every hotel at which we stayed in Japan, Park Hyatt Tokyo took this service to the next level. When we first arrived in the lobby, we were greeted by 5 hotel staff members, all eager to assist us.
This continued as we continued up to our room, where a staff member walked us through the room to inspect it, and did an in-room check-in. Each time we left the room, whether it was for 30 minutes or three hours, someone came into the room to tidy up. Each time we went downstairs, the staff greeted us by name.
In general, the design of the Park Hyatt Tokyo, which occupies the upper-most floors of an office building in Shinjuku, is modern and well-appointed. This is to be expected from a hotel with nightly rates averaging $300-500.
The modern design is offset by classic details, such as a library in the lobby that contains many classic pieces of literature available for guests to borrow. We didn’t exactly have time or desire to read War & Peace while in Tokyo, but perhaps the next time we return for a month-long stay!
Our room at the Park Hyatt Tokyo was also superb. It was everything expected of a luxury hotel: nicely sized, high quality Egyptian bedding, bathtub and separate shower, bathroom television, and plenty of art and little details that really drive home the feeling of luxury.
Rooms come standard with 37-inch plasma flat-screen televisions, DVD players and entertainment systems, and complimentary wireless high-speed internet. The rooms also include sitting areas with a table and chairs, as well as a desk, chair, and bookcase. All guest rooms are located above the 41st floor, and offer stunning views of the city.
The view is a big selling point of the Park Hyatt Tokyo. Sarah was so enamored with the view from our room that she actually opted to sit in the window one morning while I went to the Tsukiji Fish Market–when I left the room she was in the window, and when I returned a couple of hours later, she was still there!
Our room was so high up that it made photography tricky since no other buildings of comparable height were in the foreground of my photos to give them depth.
There are several restaurants in the Park Hyatt Tokyo: the sophisticated roof-top New York Grill & New York Bar, Japanese Kozue Restaurant, and French brasserie Girandole. We dined and had drinks at the New York Bar (this is the bar featured heavily in Lost in Translation) and Girandole.
The nighttime ambiance and view at the New York Bar is a big draw, with great live entertainment. While what we ordered at the New York Bar was exceptional, but for appetizers and a few drinks, our bill was over $100. We had an early lunch at Girandole and it was also excellent, and much more reasonably priced.
However, we only did this for the sake of convenience–we would definitely recommend going out and dining at one of the equally priced sushi/seafood restaurants in Tokyo. We do recommend popping up to the New York Bar for drinks before or after a night on the town, even despite its price.
One thing worth noting is that this is a Western style luxury hotel, and not a hotel that gives you a taste of local culture. I view this as somewhat of a mixed bag. On the one hand, we experienced local hotels elsewhere in Japan, and by the end of the trip when we stayed at the Park Hyatt Tokyo, we were ready to unwind in luxurious accommodations. On the other hand, had we stayed at the Park Hyatt Tokyo for our entire time in Japan, I would have been disappointed by not experiencing the local culture, and the room would have been a waste as we were constantly on the move earlier in the trip.
Overall, we were blown away by the Park Hyatt Tokyo and highly recommend it if you’re looking for Western style luxury accommodations along with the height of Japanese service. It’s a great way to end a trip, but definitely not the only place you should stay while in Japan if you want a true taste of the culture. Based on our experience here, we understand why this is an award-winning, world class hotel. We highly recommend it, with only those reservations already stated.
If you’re planning a visit, please check out my other posts about Japan. I also recommend the Lonely Planet Japan Guide to help plan.
Your Thoughts…
Have you stayed at the Park Hyatt Tokyo? If so, what did you think of it? If you haven’t stayed there, would you consider it as part of your trip to Japan? Please share your thoughts in the comments!
I find that many times in Asia, I preferred staying at Western chains. First in Southeast Asia, there are serious humidity/mold problems. The Western chains seem better at getting rid of the mold. Although humidity is a problem in Japan in the summer, the Japanese are better at their cleaning protocols than SE Asians, so I don’t worry about mold in Japan. Secondly, I find many times Asian local hotels have much smaller sized rooms than the Western chains. When you are on 3-4 week trip, one needs room to have all that stuff out and about. Thirdly electrical plugs are plentiful in Western chains, local chains not so much. I find the Intercontinental, Conrad, Okura, Prince, some Marriotts are all quite good, at a fair price. Whereas Aman, Ritz-Carlton, Peninsula, etc. are just too over the top expensive, compared to other 5 star properties. Although the Park Hyatt Tokyo is easily booked on points.
A great hotel! I love this and actually experienced my first earthquake there (though I slept through it). I love the lobby and the piano. they also had a mixer dance party which was fun.
Great beds though
An earthquake while you stayed there…but you still slept through it? That does sound like a ringing endorsement for the quality of those beds! 😉
Oh yes, or the level of jetlag from a 17 hour flight…my boss thought he was having a vertigo attack. This was only 5 months after the big earthquake too!
El pollo y pavo también poseen carnitina.
Cool pictures! So far I stayed at the Doubletree in KL several times. Seems it’s time to try the Hyatt 🙂