Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Imperial Hotel Tokyo
Meta description: The legendary Imperial Hotel Tokyo, a popular hotel in Japan, provides the ultimate luxury experience for travelers seeking top-notch service and an indulgent yet comfortable hotel stay. This hotel, which overlooks the Imperial Palace, features a wide array of amenities and is sure to have something for everyone.
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Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Imperial Hotel Tokyo
Luxurious. Upscale. Quality. These are just a few words used by guests to describe their experience at the Imperial Hotel Tokyo. This legendary hotel, featuring 931 rooms and suites, has charmed guests for several generations with its traditional charm and contemporary splendor and is highly recommended for travelers visiting the Japanese capital of Tokyo.
Rooms and Suites
Whether traveling for business or pleasure, solo or with a group, hotel guests can be accommodated accordingly, with varying levels of opulence and luxury. Guests may stay in the Main Building or the Tower Building, depending on their choice of room or suite. Options range from a standard room (333 square feet) to a suite (1,237 square feet), with varying sizes in between. Many guest rooms and suites boast a fabulous view of the city from different vantage points.
For those staying in the Main Building on floors 7-12, they can expect comfort and basic elegance. (Also, floors 8-12 are nonsmoking.) Guests staying on floors 21-29 of the Tower Building can expect the same, and many will also enjoy the view of the Hibiya Park greenery by day and the lights in Shiodome and Ginza by night.
For those seeking an even more luxurious experience, floors 14-16 of the Main Building are designated as “premier” and offer some of the finest, most opulent rooms and suites, featuring renowned SleepWorks beds and designer interiors. These floors are nonsmoking. The Tower Building’s 30th and 31st floors are also dedicated to visitors seeking the ultimate experience in class, with nonsmoking suites that have been newly redesigned. These guests may enjoy complimentary continental breakfasts with an exceptional view of the city skyline.
Guest Services and Amenities
Guest services are provided for all staying at the Imperial. A hotel concierge at the front desk is available to assist with guest concerns both within and outside the hotel, including questions about tourist attractions, arranging day tours, or limousine or shuttle bus service.
All rooms and suites are furnished with toiletries for both women and men, including bath additives, body lotions and haircare items. Women’s toiletries include skincare and nailcare items, and men’s toiletries include aftershave lotion and hair tonic. Additional items, such as extra pillows, pajamas and mobile phone chargers, are available upon request. Bath grips, handrails and other safety equipment are also available upon request for those who may need them. Humidifiers, DVD players and airweave mattress pads can be provided if requested. Keeping in mind the needs of younger guests, toothbrushes, slippers, cups, diaper disposal bins and stools are provided for children.
Laundry, dry cleaning and pressing services are available for an additional cost. Complimentary internet and Wi-Fi access is provided for all guests. Room service is available 24 hours a day, serving both Western and Japanese food, from appetizers and full-course meals to desserts and snacks. Automated wakeup calls in the guest's language of choice are available for weary travelers who don’t want to oversleep. Need to unwind? The hotel offers an in-room massage service, where a massage therapist comes directly to the guest’s room for a fee. Want to make an even better impression when going out? A shoeshine service is also available. Need a ride to the airport? Guests may ride in style using the hotel limousine service.
Guests staying in the suites have access to even more features. Attendants are available from morning until evening, providing exemplary service and ensuring that all guests’ needs are met. Breakfast is provided in the suite, and the room service for breakfast is complimentary. Preferred seating is provided for suite guests at each restaurant inside the hotel. Suite guests may enjoy a complimentary drink (alcoholic or nonalcoholic) at the Imperial Lounge Aqua. The shoeshine service is complimentary for suite guests, as is access to the fitness center, pool, sauna and laundry services.
Restaurants, Bars and Lounges
The hotel features 17 restaurants, bars and lounges, offering a variety of choices to hungry guests. Most feature Japanese and Chinese cuisine, but French cuisine is also available, as well as open grill and buffet selections. Bars and lounges offer a selection of beverages for adults wanting to unwind and socialize. The delicatessen in the lobby offers a variety of comfort foods and desserts.
On the top floor of the Main Building is Kamon, which specializes in teppanyaki cuisine, a blend of Western and Japanese styles that includes open-grilled steaks and other dishes. Lovers of Japanese cuisine have four restaurants from which to choose: Tokyo Nadaman, Tokyo Kitcho, Isecho and San Applause. All have their unique styles but have something to offer everyone seeking Japanese cuisine. Nakata and Sushigen cater to sushi lovers seeking an authentic Tokyo-style dining experience. For those craving Chinese food, the hotel's Peking restaurant never fails to deliver. Ten-ichi is the place to go for tempura dishes battered and fried with an Asian flair.
Two restaurants, Les Saisons and La Brasserie, provide fine French cuisine for hotel guests. Les Saisons captures the spirit of both the past and present with its modern chic and traditional décor sensibilities, while La Brasserie serves traditional French cuisine that will give diners a feeling of being transported to Paris, if only for a moment.
Sometimes, a buffet is just the thing that is desired. The Imperial Viking Sal does not disappoint, with chefs preparing many different types of food in front of diners. Soups, salads, entrees, desserts — you name it, the Imperial Viking Sal more than likely offers it.
The Parkside Diner has whatever a hungry guest can want at any time of day or night. Hamburgers? Sure. Pancakes? Of course. Ice cream sundae or apple pie? Absolutely. Parkside has something for almost everyone.
In addition to the various restaurants at the hotel, the Imperial offers four bars and lounges: Old Imperial Bar, the Rendez-Vous Lounge and Bar, Imperial Lounge Aqua and Toraya. The Old Imperial Bar is the main bar of the hotel and offers sandwiches at lunchtime and a variety of cocktails from around the world. Its décor is a nod to the early 1920s version of the hotel, featuring designs from famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The Rendez-Vous, located in the main lobby, is open from midday to late night and is a perfect place to meet with friends and enjoy live piano performances. The Imperial Lounge Aqua overlooks the picturesque Hibiya Park, and by night, features a sophisticated ambiance for guests to enjoy cigars and cocktails. The Toraya is a small, intimate tea room offering snacks, desserts and, of course, an assortment of teas.
Speaking of teas, the hotel features a tea ceremony room known as “TOKO-AN.” Guests remain seated on floor mats while their tea is served to them in the traditional Japanese style.
Imperial Hotel offers numerous other facilities for guests as well, including an executive floor containing meeting and conference rooms to conduct business, 26 banquet rooms and a baby room where child care is provided for the youngest guests.
Location
The hotel is conveniently located in the busy Hibiya district and has close proximity to the theater and shopping districts of Marunouchi and Ginza, as well as to several government facilities. With easy access to major roads in the city, visitors can leave the hotel and travel to the trendy Shibuya, Roppongi and Akihabara areas for sightseeing. Guests who prefer to travel by train to major tourist attractions will be pleased that a train station is located next to the hotel for their travel convenience.
History
With so much being offered by the Imperial, it should be noted that the hotel has a long history dating back to the late 1880s, when the Japanese aristocracy mandated a hotel should be built to accommodate the increasing number of Western travelers to Japan. The original hotel opened in 1890 on the property where the current hotel is located. The hotel was destroyed by fire in 1922 and was rebuilt. The second Imperial Hotel opened in 1923, and after falling into decay, it was closed in 1967 and demolished. The current Imperial Hotel is the third version, opening in 1970.
Reviews
The Imperial has a long history of providing courteous service to travelers for over 100 years, and based on modern reviews, the hotel continues in the tradition. Past guests have described the hotel as providing “old-school luxury” and gave the hotel high ratings on Google in all areas, including customer service, décor, accommodations, food and amenities. One reviewer noted that all staff members encountered were proficient in speaking English and were “awaiting an opportunity to serve.” Another noted that, while expensive, the hotel “offered a great first-class experience.” Other words used to describe the hotel were “impeccable” and “extraordinary.”
Conclusion
The Imperial has successfully maintained its reputation as a top-notch destination for travelers seeking a five-star hotel experience in Tokyo. With its convenient location, easy access to tourist locations and all the amenities a hotel can offer its guests, it is likely this hotel will continue to charm and please its guests for many more years to come.
