The good - i didnt pay cash to stay at this hotel and used points. The breakfast buffet was a good (it was free as a platinum elite guest).
The bad - hotel rooms are dated, definitely need an upgrade. There were no english channels available on the TV, not even BBC. it truly is a PITA to get to Tokyo center from this hotel. I was under the impression that the hotel offered a shuttle to the train station, but this was not accurate - they only offer it on weekends. Otherwise, you have to take the Disney monorail to the train station, then a commuter train to Tokyo Center. It truly was a pain, and the short Disney monorail cost more than some subway trips in Tokyo that covered much more distance.
The executive lounge - what a joke. each night, they offered the same basic salad, cheese squares and crackers, and hershey kisses. They also offered wine, but seemed to be very slow on replenishing the two bottles they had out for the entire lounge, and they had no bottled water for guests. On my 2nd night, i was denied access to the lounge because it was "full". When i looked in, it was filled with mostly children. Why are children permitted into the executive lounge which then results in adult customers being denied access? At that point, I simply needed access to the computer to print out directions. However, a child was using the ONE computer to play games. I asked the lounge staff if they could either print out my directions on their computer or ask the child to stop playing games so I could use the computer for 2 minutes -- the staff member looked at me - stared at me with a dumb smirk on his face and did nothing. I was defeated and never got my directions nor an evening snack or glass of wine. Throughout the day, the only thing you could get from the lounge was a coffee from the coffee machine. They did not offer any refreshments or fruit. Again, a pathetic lounge and I was very disappointed by the offerings, the management of it, and the disinterested and unhelpful staff that worked it. By the way, no breakfast was offered in the lounge - they gave you a voucher to go to the restaurants for the buffet.
The ugly - this hotel does not have a good understanding of the Starwood rewards program. First, there was no one working the Starwood desk at check-in or for even basic inquiries. Instead, I waited in line for 45 min before I could check in. Upon being waited on, it took almost another 15-20 min to just check me in. I reminded the clerk that I was a platinum and asked for my room upgrade. He claimed I had a room upgrade but in reality, it was just a standard room. Why tell me this if it's not true? Well, that's what this hotel staff likes to do -- tell you stuff that was not true, hence the ugly. I was told that i was only entitled to breakfast for one day in the lounge because my 4 night reservation was being paid with my points for one night, and my friend's points for 3 nights (and she was just a Gold Elite). I don't understand - the reservations were linked, and I was still a guest in the hotel, but they denied benefits for the remainder of my stay. I wasn't going to make a big deal out of it, but when I went to the lounge the next morning for breakfast, it was closed. The "manager" told me to my face that i would have breakfast in the lounge as a platinum for that first night/mornign, yet they don't even offer breakfast in the lounge, and you are required to have vouchers for breakfast, which he never gave to me. I find this out AFTER THE FACT, another bold face lie from hotel staff. Then I inquired about internet in my room. I was told i would have to pay for it. I had to prove to them by printing out info from the spg website that platinum AS WELL AS GOLD (my friend was a gold) were entitled to free internet in our room and that we would not be paying for it as they insisted we had to pay for it. I finally had to engage SPG platinum concierge to take care of the matter, as anytime i would try to communicate with someone at the main desk, i would just get nods and a smile, but no answers and no resolution. after the smile, i was told "NO, that's not how we do it or NO, that's not right."
This was an absolute horrible experience at this hotel, and it ruined the first four days of my vacation - having to deal with the staff and the issues regarding my stay, and just an overall feeling of not being welcomed by this hotel. I would recommend that you avoid it - use your SPG points for a different property and pay cash at a hotel in the center of Tokyo.
BTW, the manager of the hotel met with me the morning i was checking out -- he apologized for any issues - but sorry, that came a little too late. my four night stay was already ruined. overall, i felt very disrespected at this hotel by management and staff.
