Name of the hotel
Palace Hotel Tokyo
Year opened
The current Palace Hotel Tokyo was re-built entirely from the ground up over a three-year period and opened in May 2012. The original Palace Hotel, however, first opened in October 1961.
Neighbourhood
The hotel is situated in Marunouchi, a prestigious district known for having the highest concentration of Fortune 500 companies, so for corporate travellers, it’s the place to stay for ease of meetings and other business dealings.
For leisure travellers, the area has established itself as an up-and-coming destination as far as high-end dining and shopping goes. Along the picturesque Marunouchi Naka Dori (Tokyo’s equivalent to New York’s Madison Avenue and London’s Bond Street), brands such as Hermès and Tiffany intermingle with eateries such as La Boutique de Joël Robuchon. In addition, the hotel is located a stone’s throw away from Tokyo Station, Japan’s main rail hub, and offers direct access to Otemachi Station (one of the largest subway interchanges in the city) so it makes for a great hub whether travellers are navigating the city for business or leisure.
Walking distance to:
The hotel is just eight minutes from Tokyo Station, a 20-minute walk to Ginza and 10 minutes to Nihonbashi historic district by foot.
Size and style:
The 290-room Palace Hotel Tokyo is the anchor to a US$1.2 million (about A$1.5 million) mixed-use development which includes guest rooms, restaurants and bars, Japan’s only Evian Spa, and extensive meetings and events facilities.
The wholly Japanese-owned and managed hotel was envisioned and developed as a tribute to omotenashi (Japanese hospitality) and design.
Guest profile:
The hotel caters to high-end business and leisure travellers in near equal parts. Business travellers are far more prevalent on weekdays, however on weekends and popular holiday periods many families and couples stay at the hotel.
Family friendly:
Yes. The hotel has several children’s amenities available including toothbrushes, pyjamas, slippers, bathrobes, umbrellas, stickers, in-room kids’ menu, origami of popular Japanese animated characters and a list of kid-friendly places and activities for Ginza, Omotesando, and Ueno.
Airport transfers:
Palace Hotel Tokyo is on the airport limousine route as a pick-up/drop-off location. It takes approximately 85-110 minutes and costs JPY3,100 (about A$34). The hotel is also a short stroll (eight minutes) from Tokyo Station, where guests can take the Narita Express direct to the airport in less than an hour.
You need to know:
Location: The hotel spans both Tokyo’s past and present, located moat-side across from the Imperial Palace gardens (3.5 square-kilometres of green space in the heart of the city) but still close to the city’s bustling CBD.
Views: The property also features open-air balconies, a rarity in Tokyo, that deliver incomparable views of both Tokyo’s natural splendour and the city skyline.
Art: Inside, the hotel houses more than 1,000 individual pieces of art commissioned or chosen for the hotel from an array of artists, including some of Japan’s most promising artists as well as long-established ones. The hotel even has its own book highlighting the collection.
On-site dining and drinking facilities:
Crown: French fine dining restaurant Crown is led by award-winning Chef de Cuisine Manabu Ichizuka, who has more than 30 years of experience in the French culinary arts.
Wadakura: named for the eponymous moat outside its windows and also for the original Palace Hotel’s flagship Japanese venue, Wadakura pays tribute to the country’s cuisine in four distinct areas: Sushi Kanesaka (prepared by Michelin-starred chef Sinji Kanesaka), six-seat tempura bar Tatsumi, teppanyaki grill GO and the main dining room which serves a popular seasonal keiseki course.
Amber Palace: Chugoku Hanten Group, which plates up Shanghainese & Cantonese cuisine, is at the helm of the Michelin-starred Amber Palace.
Grand Kitchen: The hotel’s all-day dining restaurant has one of the most sought-after al fresco dining spots in the city – an outdoor terrace on the edge of a moat of the Imperial Palace gardens.
The Palace Lounge: The hotel’s convivial eating and drinking venue features an oversized fireplace that defines one side of the lofty space while a grand white Steinway stands just opposite. By day, kimono-clad staff serve 48 varieties of tea from a contemporary teahouse situated within. Sunset cues the space’s transformation into a live Jazz lounge.
Royal Bar: This dark-wood, deep-leather, plush-velvet alcove has a brooding appeal that draws aficionados of the finest cigars and top-shelf liquors.
Sweets & Deli: The hotel’s Chef de Pâtisserie takes charge of pastries, cakes and sweets, and a dedicated chocolatier turns out an array of confections at this basement-floor deli.
Create your own mini bar service. WineHour is held every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday in The Library (complimentary wine).
On-site facilities:
Parking
Underground parking is available directly beneath the hotel. Rates are JPY2,060 (about A$23) per overnight stay for self-parking and JPY3,060 (about A$34) per overnight stay for valet parking.
Gym
Yes – a 127 square-metre fitness facility with captivating floor-to-ceiling views of the Imperial Palace gardens just beyond (the perimeter of which doubles as a five-kilometres jogging track). Open 24 hours, seven days a week, the latest cardiovascular and weight training equipment is a lure to the fit and soon-to-be-fit.
Pool
The hotel’s indoor swimming pool measures 20 metres long by five metres wide, is framed on one side by wall-to-wall windows, and comes with an outdoor terrace overlooking the vast surrounding green space.
Spa
Occupying 1,200 square metres of space on the fifth floor of Palace Hotel Tokyo, Evian Spa Tokyo is the first Evian branded spa in Japan and just one of three outside France.
The space encompasses five treatment rooms, one spa suite, and separate men and women’s relaxation lounges with French savoir-faire and Asian therapies.
Signature treatments include Japanese seitai trigger point-style bodywork combined with Swedish deep-tissue massage, a detoxifying spirulina warp, a relaxing four-handed massage and diamond power and caviar mask treatments.
Eco and community initiatives:
The hotel gives a four per cent donation for every reservation booked directly on the website.
FEED (Charity organisation): Create your own mini bar and receive a FEED Bag. Each FEED Bag feeds 11 underprivileged families.
Wadakura Fountain Park at night