The Ritz-Carlton, Tokyo

My son and I spent 5 nights at this hotel as part of our boys trip around Japan. I usually stay at Conrad hotels but decided as this was a special trip to move to Ritz Carlton for our stays in Tokyo and Kyoto as I assumed they were of a higher level of quality. We arrived in Tokyo extremely tired after a 15 hour flight but excited to get to our nice hotel. It was around 12pm so we were early but hopeful of our room being ready or having somewhere to rest in the meantime. We found our own way there from the airport and arrived outside. A man took our luggage and gave us a ticket and pointed us to the back of the lobby of the huge building where the Ritz is situated where he said a lift would take us up to floor 45. We arrived and walked to the reception desk and were intercepted by a young Russian lady who asked us who we were and told us to wait whilst she checked on our room. She came back and said the room wouldn’t be ready for another 2 hours. I told her we had just arrived from a very long flight and could we go and sit in the Club Lounge that we had booked for our stay and was told that we weren’t allowed in until 1.30pm so could we come back later! No welcome drink no offers of somewhere to sit, nothing at all. I had to ask if we could sit at the bar and get a coffee! Not the arrival I had expected. They said they would text when the room was ready. So we went to the bar and asked for a coffee. The barman came over with a bottle of 61% whiskey and asked if we’d like some of that instead! (He repeated this several times over the next few days..) Anyway 2 hours later jaded and fed up I went to the reception desk and asked when the room would be ready. Apparently it was already ready. So they gave me the key cards and off we went to find our room. They verbally told us the timings for the club lounge but we had nothing in writing etc or anything at all related to the hotel so we had to figure it out ourselves. Anyway we had a room. The room itself was lovely with a great view. A little dated as others have said but still a lovely very spacious room we were happy with. 2 hours later we received a text to say the room was ready… Later we visited the pool and gym. Firstly we had to sign disclaimers, then were given a tour of dos and dont’s. You must go in the sauna naked, you mustn’t use that swimming lane its for gym members only, you must shower first, you must wear a swim cap etc etc. The gym was very good but again looked a little tired as did the pool. Sadly, this level of service sadly continued throughout the stay. We felt invisible the whole time we were there. The only time anyone spoke to us was to tell us breakfast would be closing in the next 5 minutes. No acknowledgments, no good mornings, not even a “Did you enjoy your stay” on checking out which is a first. I really don’t get the rave reviews about service. The only staff worthy of mention are the concierges who I had contact with before I arrived and were very helpful. Others said the same and were very pleased with them. Sadly, the rest are in need of serious training. I would’ve spoken to the manager had I any idea of who he was. Positives - The public areas, lobby, restaurants etc are lovely, the food was of a high standard and the location is good with the metro station underneath next to the lovely Midtown Shopping centre which made it easy to get around, the rooms are a little dated but still lovely and spacious and we slept well on the very comfy beds. But overall, we left this hotel after 5 days very disappointed. We moved on to Hakone before our next stop at the Ritz Carlton Kyoto which was on another level in terms of service. This hotel made me feel much better about Ritz Carlton in general but not enough for me to use them again over the Conrad which we stayed in later on at Osaka and Tokyo and were delighted with.

Location not that great far from center rooms big and good but service in breakfast section very poor. Bad selection of food. Cheese. Bread. And very poor English no one understands. The Japanese restaurant food not good at all no taste. Not good meat not worth it.

Nothing not to like centrally located beautiful lobby bar excellent club level with expansive, amenities, high-quality surroundings area near the hotel has beautiful gardens and museums plus an incredibly cool cemetery. The only drawback is that the rooms are absolutely getting dated. They’re still well cleaned and have high-quality finishes, but no longer look to match modern times.

Great stay - rooms and bathrooms are very spacious. Terrific service as expected in Tokyo. I’ve stayed in several of the 5 star hotels in the city and the Ritz is in the very top tier. Gym is good not great but there is a sauna and hot/cold plunge. Breakfast buffet is excellent.

Great hotel, beautiful, service is perfect. Most of the guests are business travelers; it's high-end, a way to show off. What does that mean for leisure travelers? Restaurant reservations are made in advance. If you're just too tired after walking 10 miles around Tokyo, your option is room service. Plus dressing up required even for the lounge - no slippers allowed on tired feet… There is no iron in the room, but you can ask to iron your clothes in advance. This is great if you have a business meeting scheduled, I guess. Many other little things. Overall, this is the first time I’d prefer another hotel to the Ritz-Carlton