Peninsula Tokyo
Sep 1, 2007, 2:42 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: HKG
Programs: AA 3MM EXP, SQ Solitaire, LH SEN, CX DM, Hyatt CC, Marriott LT Titanium
Posts: 3,177
Peninsula Tokyo
Just checked into the Peninsula Tokyo... as expected, there are a lot lof locals around the hotel just checking it out.. Check-in was smooth and was done in the room, and my luggage showed within a minute. Welcome tea was served and I was left to relax...
The room size is fantastic and the decor is also quite tastefully done. I booked myself in a deluxe room, but it could easily be a junior suite in any other hotel. Seperate sitting area and a nice dining table next to the window. Bathroom is very large and the walk in closet/vanity area was as big as the bathroom... very impressed with the hardware so far... so far my only gripe is that the minibar is a bit small, as I have a box of mooncakes I need to keep refridgerated, and I can't get it in unless I take a few of the drinks out.
Service remains to be seen, but so far the check-in desk and all the staff I have interacted with so far has been friendly and helpful.
I've been told that only 3 floors of the hotel has so far been open, with the rest opening gradually by end of October. I haven't checked out the restaurants yet, but I have heard that most were fully booked already for the next week or so... Will post pics and more impressions after my 3 night stay here..
*updated*
Just checked out of the hotel and waiting in the airport now... Besides the initial observations, here is what I have to add:
Pros:
Each room had a mobile IP phone in it, which can be used throughout the hotel free of charge. Can also be brought outside the hotel, but the staff told me the prices were quite high, and did not recommend it.
Housekeeping staff is very thorough. They they wipe pretty much every surface during their rounds and I would guess they spend about 40 minutes a day just cleaning up the room in the morning. During turndown, besides during the usual slippers and new towels, they also went around wiping surfaces, etc.. very good...
The service part of Room service was excellent. They would come in and set up your small dining table by the window and lay everything out.. Much better than eating from the cart or tray.. Food was another matter. See below.
Conceirge was quite pro-active. I enquired about getting a taxi to the airport, and at first they quoted me 25,000 yen.. After I told them I saw an ad in the newspaper that morning about taxi services going to the airport for 19,000 yen inclusive, they went back to check and in the afternoon, called me to inform me they found a service for 19,500 yen.... It ended up to be a new honda oddessy, and the ride to the airport was very good.
Location is fantastic.. within walking distance to Tokyo Station (although I would not recommend it if you are hauling luggage), and close to all the Ginza shopping places, etc.. And if you have a view of the Imperial Palace, the sight is breathtaking. You can see the view from their Peter restaurant, but it would be nice to have that view when you wake up every morning as well...
Cons:
Service in the restaurants was VERY slow. In only tried the chinese restaurant, but our party had to keep on reminding the staff to replenish water and tea. Food was also a bit hit and miss. A few dishes were exceptional, but some dishes were just so so, and definitely priced on the high side. I think Japan is the only country in the world where Chinese food is a premium item. haha...
Room service food quality was very good, but the selection was poor. There were absolutely no chinese dishes on the menu, and only a few japanese "comfort" foods like curry and donburi, etc.. Most of the selection was international, but I would have expected more local fare. The no chinese food part was a surprise, but I talked to the Chinese restaurant manager, and he said that they wanted to work out the kinks in the chinese kitchen before offering chinese food on the room service menu. I did manage to get food from the Chinese restaurant sent up to the room though, which was better than nothing, but only because I ate at the chinese restaurant the night before and knew what I wanted.
In the Peninsula boutique shop in the basement, there were constantly lines averaging half an hour to get in, even though there were probably only 5 or 6 people inside.. I was told this was to limit the flow of customers so it was a more pleasant experience.. However, when I did finally get into the shop, I had to stand around for 20 minutes before I got any help.... Even after selecting 16 pieces of chocolate, I had to wait another 20 minutes for them to pack it up in a box... I don't know about the japanese, but I went absolutely nuts waiting around... maybe I am just use to really fast service.. but this was really quite unacceptable.. I could see some of the japanese customers were also getting a big aggitated at the slow service.
The line for afternoon tea was really long. Even though I did not have tea there, whenever I walked by the lobby around 3-5pm, there would be at least 50 people lining up waiting to have tea. Could just be the novelty of it, but I would go crazy if I had to wait that long just to have a drink...
Breakfast was only served in the lobby, which is fine for the time being since less than 100 room were open. But I could see it being a problem when the hotel is at full capacity. There was no way they could fit that many people in the lobby at one time. They would probably have to open the other restaurants for breakfast in the future.
Internet service was a bit spotty. While I could get online without a problem, some websites somehow did not load properly or took really long. Also my corporate VPN didn't work. Didn't really bother to call their technical support as it was not a big deal for me.
Room was missing a few items that should have been there in the first place. Internet cable, USB cable for the printer and cotton buds were a few things I noticed that were not in the room. Of course one call to housekeeping fixed that, but it should have been in the room the first place.
Conclusion:
I would rate the Peninsula probably one of the best hotels in Tokyo at the moment. The design of the hotel is fantastic and very well thought out, very cosy and the colors are all quite pleasing to the eye. The rooms are exceptional and the level of service on the hotel side is definitely there already. They just need to work on the restaurant side, but I'm sure after a few months, they would get all the kinks worked out. Previously I've been staying at the Four Seasons Marunochi and the Park Hyatt, but I'll be staying here again on my next trip for sure.. Peninsula Tokyo definitely beats those 2 hotels in pretty much every category imho, not by a huge margin, but enough to give the Pen my business...
The room size is fantastic and the decor is also quite tastefully done. I booked myself in a deluxe room, but it could easily be a junior suite in any other hotel. Seperate sitting area and a nice dining table next to the window. Bathroom is very large and the walk in closet/vanity area was as big as the bathroom... very impressed with the hardware so far... so far my only gripe is that the minibar is a bit small, as I have a box of mooncakes I need to keep refridgerated, and I can't get it in unless I take a few of the drinks out.
Service remains to be seen, but so far the check-in desk and all the staff I have interacted with so far has been friendly and helpful.
I've been told that only 3 floors of the hotel has so far been open, with the rest opening gradually by end of October. I haven't checked out the restaurants yet, but I have heard that most were fully booked already for the next week or so... Will post pics and more impressions after my 3 night stay here..
*updated*
Just checked out of the hotel and waiting in the airport now... Besides the initial observations, here is what I have to add:
Pros:
Each room had a mobile IP phone in it, which can be used throughout the hotel free of charge. Can also be brought outside the hotel, but the staff told me the prices were quite high, and did not recommend it.
Housekeeping staff is very thorough. They they wipe pretty much every surface during their rounds and I would guess they spend about 40 minutes a day just cleaning up the room in the morning. During turndown, besides during the usual slippers and new towels, they also went around wiping surfaces, etc.. very good...
The service part of Room service was excellent. They would come in and set up your small dining table by the window and lay everything out.. Much better than eating from the cart or tray.. Food was another matter. See below.
Conceirge was quite pro-active. I enquired about getting a taxi to the airport, and at first they quoted me 25,000 yen.. After I told them I saw an ad in the newspaper that morning about taxi services going to the airport for 19,000 yen inclusive, they went back to check and in the afternoon, called me to inform me they found a service for 19,500 yen.... It ended up to be a new honda oddessy, and the ride to the airport was very good.
Location is fantastic.. within walking distance to Tokyo Station (although I would not recommend it if you are hauling luggage), and close to all the Ginza shopping places, etc.. And if you have a view of the Imperial Palace, the sight is breathtaking. You can see the view from their Peter restaurant, but it would be nice to have that view when you wake up every morning as well...
Cons:
Service in the restaurants was VERY slow. In only tried the chinese restaurant, but our party had to keep on reminding the staff to replenish water and tea. Food was also a bit hit and miss. A few dishes were exceptional, but some dishes were just so so, and definitely priced on the high side. I think Japan is the only country in the world where Chinese food is a premium item. haha...
Room service food quality was very good, but the selection was poor. There were absolutely no chinese dishes on the menu, and only a few japanese "comfort" foods like curry and donburi, etc.. Most of the selection was international, but I would have expected more local fare. The no chinese food part was a surprise, but I talked to the Chinese restaurant manager, and he said that they wanted to work out the kinks in the chinese kitchen before offering chinese food on the room service menu. I did manage to get food from the Chinese restaurant sent up to the room though, which was better than nothing, but only because I ate at the chinese restaurant the night before and knew what I wanted.
In the Peninsula boutique shop in the basement, there were constantly lines averaging half an hour to get in, even though there were probably only 5 or 6 people inside.. I was told this was to limit the flow of customers so it was a more pleasant experience.. However, when I did finally get into the shop, I had to stand around for 20 minutes before I got any help.... Even after selecting 16 pieces of chocolate, I had to wait another 20 minutes for them to pack it up in a box... I don't know about the japanese, but I went absolutely nuts waiting around... maybe I am just use to really fast service.. but this was really quite unacceptable.. I could see some of the japanese customers were also getting a big aggitated at the slow service.
The line for afternoon tea was really long. Even though I did not have tea there, whenever I walked by the lobby around 3-5pm, there would be at least 50 people lining up waiting to have tea. Could just be the novelty of it, but I would go crazy if I had to wait that long just to have a drink...
Breakfast was only served in the lobby, which is fine for the time being since less than 100 room were open. But I could see it being a problem when the hotel is at full capacity. There was no way they could fit that many people in the lobby at one time. They would probably have to open the other restaurants for breakfast in the future.
Internet service was a bit spotty. While I could get online without a problem, some websites somehow did not load properly or took really long. Also my corporate VPN didn't work. Didn't really bother to call their technical support as it was not a big deal for me.
Room was missing a few items that should have been there in the first place. Internet cable, USB cable for the printer and cotton buds were a few things I noticed that were not in the room. Of course one call to housekeeping fixed that, but it should have been in the room the first place.
Conclusion:
I would rate the Peninsula probably one of the best hotels in Tokyo at the moment. The design of the hotel is fantastic and very well thought out, very cosy and the colors are all quite pleasing to the eye. The rooms are exceptional and the level of service on the hotel side is definitely there already. They just need to work on the restaurant side, but I'm sure after a few months, they would get all the kinks worked out. Previously I've been staying at the Four Seasons Marunochi and the Park Hyatt, but I'll be staying here again on my next trip for sure.. Peninsula Tokyo definitely beats those 2 hotels in pretty much every category imho, not by a huge margin, but enough to give the Pen my business...
Last edited by tfung; Sep 4, 2007 at 8:22 am
Sep 1, 2007, 8:47 am
#7
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Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Boston, Jo'burg, HK
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Posts: 13,150
Visited the common areas today. As expected, lots of people milling around, many having afternoon tea. Lobby is small ("intimate"), a few stores and restaurants, but overall pleasant. Not stunning like PHT or Conrad, but I think it will do well as it settles in.
Sep 2, 2007, 12:43 am
#8
Join Date: Dec 2000
Programs: AA Platinum 1MM, AC SE*100k, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Gold, SPG Gold
Posts: 2,353
Just finished afternoon tea at the Pen Tokyo.. very nice (a bit too intimate) 
I'm currently staying at the MO Tokyo which is ever so lovely (upgraded to the Grand room). It will be MO for me for the next few weeks (Tokyo, Hkg, Singapore and Bangkok) while I am in Asia for business.
Will try the Pen Tokyo in a months time.
I'm currently staying at the MO Tokyo which is ever so lovely (upgraded to the Grand room). It will be MO for me for the next few weeks (Tokyo, Hkg, Singapore and Bangkok) while I am in Asia for business. Will try the Pen Tokyo in a months time.
Sep 4, 2007, 8:21 am
#14
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: HKG
Programs: AA 3MM EXP, SQ Solitaire, LH SEN, CX DM, Hyatt CC, Marriott LT Titanium
Posts: 3,177
I have only stayed at the MO Tokyo once, and while I thought their service was alirght, I did not like the room... room size was small, and the furniture was too big for it. Haven't stayed at the Ritz Tokyo, but I have never liked the decor at any Ritz, except the one in BCN...