The Nagoya Marriott Associa Hotel is one of the best choices in Nagoya for pleasure or business. We stayed there for 5 nights during the Aichi World Expo 2005 and were very impressed by the following:

- Location
- Service
- Convenience
- Room Quality and Amenities

Location - the hotel is centrally located above the JR Nagoya Train Station (trains are a big part of the transportation system in Japan). The Meitetsu Nagoya Station complex is right next door (part of the station is directly in front of the 1st floor entrance to the Marriott). This is important because Meitetsu offers the fastest direct train service (28 minutes) to Centrair (the New Nagoya International Airport).

Since it is part of the station complex, you not only have the restaurants from the hotel to choose from but dozens more. Anything from McDonalds (in the adjoining underground Meitetsu train station complex) to noodle shops (there is a one just outside of the 1st floor Marriott entrance into the station complex towards Meitetsu) to very nice restaurants (a whole bunch of them in the adjoining Tower Plaza building). BTW the noodle shop has a English character vending machine - just put your money in the machine, push the button for what you want, then take the ticket inside to the counter. They will give bring your food to you. Most people eat standing up since they are eating on-the-run.

Since Nagoya Station is a very busy place, it was great that the hotel signage was so visible (look for the familiar Marriott Red Logo and an arrow pointing the direction). Don't be confused if you see one of the signs on the second floor of the station since the actual hotel check-in is on the 15th floor of the same building that houses the Takashimiya Department store.

Service - Everyone we encountered from the Porters, to the Front Desk staff, to the Housekeeping people, to the Concierge staff were Exceptional! The Concierge Staff in particular were Bi-Lingual and were very helpful in locating restaurants and sightseeing information. Even though it was a little "pricey", we ate Breakfast at the Buffet Restaurant on the 15th floor most of our days. The food was consistantly good with an excellent selection of Japanese and traditional Western selections (typical runny scrambled eggs however). The pastries, fish, miso soup, salad, and fruit were especially good. Great way to "fuel up for the day".

Convenience - Finding ATMs that accept US (Plus System) cards can be a problem in Japan. Fortunately, there is a Citibank ATM located on an upper floor in the office building next to the Marriott (the other building lobby is accessible from the 15th floor lobby of the Marriott - ask the concierge for information). It is open from 10 AM to 5 PM Mon-Sat. Across from the front entrance (1st floor), there was a "7-11" type of "Supermarket" that had everything from ready to eat food, wine, beer, sodas, toiletries, that was very convenient. There is a taxi stand just in front of the Meitetsu train station at the 1st level entrance or you can wait for a cab at the 2nd floor hotel entrance as well. The Airport Limousine Bus also leaves from the 1st floor entrance. We loved gettting food from the Basement Food Levels in the Takashimaya Department Store (right next to the hotel) - a great Japanese experience.

Room Quality and Amenities - The rooms were kept very clean. We enjoyed the complementary Green Tea with the "always on" hot water dispenser. The hotel provided many toiletries. The only negative is that the beds were very hard (but supportive). If you want a view, make sure to get a room that is not facing the fire escape structure (the view is cut off). Overall the rooms were also very quiet. TV is typical for Japan with 2 English channels (CNN and BBC) but English during some NHK shows (TV shows "Bilingual", push that button on the remote)

Overall a terrific hotel that far exceeded our expectations. It made our language and food concerns disappear. A great base for everything in the Nagoya area.