Stayed in Richmond Hotel Narita for one night in order to catch an early flight the next morning. The hotel is very close to Narita station (Keisei line) but have to walk around a block to get to the hotel due to the peculiar station design. You see, there are multiple flights of stairs between the closest station exit (on higher ground) and the street (on lower ground), but the escalator only operates one way (from street up towards the station level) therefore it is necessary to walk down the stairs (an almost impossible task unless the bag is a carry on), or take the 5-minute walk around the block to reach Richmond Hotel. Walking back from the hotel to the station is an easy breezy 2-minute walk and the escalator works in your favour this time travelling up towards the station.
Richmond Hotel feels like an international hotel with good facility (bar, restaurant, free wifi, coin laundry, vending machines etc). It offers free shuttle bus to and from Narita Airport but I see 2 problems with this service (1) It has very limited service (9 return services per day) and limited seating so most guests are likely to miss out (2) The first shuttle service departs Hotel at 6:40am (20-25 minutes ride to Narita airport). When the first flight requires passengers to check in by 5:30am, the shuttle service is simply unable to cater for early departure or arrival. My advice is to put aside 260 Yen for the one way train fare from Narita station to Narita Airport, this is far more reliable than the airport shuttle.
The room I had was clean, comfortable, and spacious. The bathroom was one of those “pre-fabricated” kit bathroom, nonetheless it was clean and functional. The double glazed window effectively blocked out any noise.
The journey between Narita Airport and downtown Tokyo is about one hour by train so most people choose Richmond Hotel Narita because they are transiting (late arrival or early departure). Therefore one would think that this shuttle service would be a big draw card for would be hotel guests - for the invaluable convenience it offers. However with such limited service (6:40, 8:00, 9:20, 10:30, 11:40, 16:10, 17:20, 18:35, and 19:40), it makes me wonder why bother.