Hotel New Otani Tokyo Garden Tower

PRO’s: The room was basic but the view of their garden was beautiful. The garden is a must to walk through after touring Tokyo and Osaka’s densely populated concrete jungle. Luggage was taken to our rooms by bellhop which is expected in a hotel. Wasn’t sure I was allowed to tip them as tipping is uncommon and not expected in Japan. We did not use the pool. I liked the included use of pajamas as it was my last night in Tokyo before flying out so I didn’t want to wear my previously worn own pj’s. They happen to be just the right size for me. If it was any smaller, I wouldn’ been able to get the pants on and I’m not a big person. (I’m 5’5” tall and weigh 135lbs.) Bath robes were stiff and likely been used and washed too often. Decent disposable slippers were too small for my husband and son and would fit someone with a women’s size 8.5US like me. I was surprised of the quality of their shampoo and conditioner. I usually bring my own because I use high end salon quality products but I decided to try theirs since it smelled so refreshing. Bathroom mirror is heated to prevent fogging up. CON’s: We booked months in advance and received a room with the adjoining room for our teenage children that didn’t quite match the photos and space plan view online. To get into our room, front hotel entrance door to our suite door, it took over 5 minutes. We entered 2 sliding doors, 2 elevators and 3 long hallways. The access card they gave us, when tapped at the elevator to our tower, automatically selected our floor so we didn’t need to select it. Which means that we probably couldn’t access other floors, but also means anyone who found a lost card, can go up to our floor and tap at each door until they found it. This is alarming to know a lost keycard is unsafe in a hotel that is considered high end. The toilet in our room was not bolted down well and was not siliconed around the base so it wobbled when I sat on it. I realized there was a foul smell which came from the toilet and I then discovered a leak which had obviously been there for a while. See attached photos. As we were only there one night and we told staff when we checked out. Hopefully no one got this terrible room until they fixed it. We selected the added breakfast option in our price. The online booking stated that it was $85CAD breakfast per person if selected separately which we thought we were getting an amazing deal until we had the breakfast. Their advertisement board outside the restaurant stated ¥6000 per adult. Their breakfast was very mediocre and very disappointing. I’ve had free breakfasts included which were better. Limited fruit options and rotting lichee and cut pieces of bananas with the peel still on! I had to spit out the lichee after realizing it was rotten. Conclusion: This hotel was not worth the price we paid. Wanted to make our last night in Japan memorable and thought we found a place that did that. It was memorable, just not in the positive way we had hoped.

The hotel is very big, has different wings and have many restaurants and facilities.The garden and waterfall is lovely but quite a walk. It is a short walk to the nearby train station and convenient for parking. The room is dated but spacious for Japan standards. The bed is on the soft side but ok for a night.