Before we continue โ quick PSA: The Hilton group is currently having a 50% flash sale across Japan and South Korea. The sale ends on 9 Sep 2016 1pm (SGT) and is valid for stays completed by 28 Feb 2017. Depending on your ability to firm up plans right now, this might be perfect for the various upcoming long weekends – perhaps even CNY 2017 (28-30 Jan)?
Given the ongoing sale, I figured this would be as good a time as any to share my recent stay at the Hilton Tokyo Odaiba, which I really enjoyed.
Of the various Tokyo properties, the Conrad Tokyo (at Shiodome) and Hilton Tokyo (at Shinjuku) are generally very well-regarded, and I was initially rather hesitant to give this new (to Hilton portfolio)ย property a go. I managed to book it during a previous sale at a 40% discount (ยฅ12,000 per night) though, and I thought that was an offer I simply couldnโt refuse.
Upon arrival we were told that unfortunately, having done online check-in, our room selection had been locked and could not be upgraded. Thatโs different fromย most other Hilton properties Iโve been to, and if Iโdย known Iโd have held off doing online check-in, but since we were planning to spend most of our time outside the hotel, it wasnโt really all that big a deal.
The room itself was pretty good as it is, anywayโฆ (excuse the mess)
โฆwith an additional little something for being a HHonors guest (not sure if Diamond-specific). The plums were somewhat unripe and sour, which is rather disappointing given the overallย excellence of Japanese fruit. Still, a freebieโs a freebie!
We were given breakfast coupons that couldย be redeemed at two of the hotelโs restaurants โ Ocean Dining and Taronga.ย Iโve heard that the breakfast offeringโs identical, so we opted to stick with Ocean Dining, with its excellent view of the Rainbow Bridge.
I rather enjoyed the spread on offer, with a good mix of Japanese and Western options.
The executive lounge offered another nice quiet environment from which toย gaze uponย the bridge, offering an enjoyable light spread during cocktail hours (5.30-7.30pm). Itโs possible to skip dinner with these offerings, though being in Tokyo that might not actually be aย desirable option.
All in all, I think itโs a great place to stay โ the location being its weakest feature, though. Paying an additionalย ยฅ300ish one-way every day to getย out of Odaiba (taking up aboutย half an hour each way) isnโt really ideal, but still very doable.
On the upside (if youโre a geek like me), Odaiba is apparently aย Pokemon Goย hotspot, withย swarmsย of Japanese walking around catching Pokemon in the evenings. The following picture doesnโt begin to do it justice โ and thereโre more during the weekends.
Like I said earlier, I really enjoyed the stay. ๐
Just a quick note – I was advised that I should have been entitled to an upgrade (if available) and should have requested to speak to a manager then – I emailed HHonors to ask about this and they agreed with the assessment, while opening a ‘Guest Assistance’ file to take note of the issue.
A few hours later the hotel emailed me to apologise for the mistake and offered 20,000 HHonors points as compensation – while I think I might have preferred being upgraded then, I’m pretty gladdened by their efforts at service recovery!
[…] at service recovery! In case anyone's interested, here's a brief review of the actual place: https://milelion.com/2016/09/07/hotel…-tokyo-odaiba/ […]