Review: Conrad Tokyo Bay View Room and City View Suite

Background:

I had a trip planned to visit Japan for cherry blossom season in 2020, then COVID had postponed those plans for a few years. I speculatively booked this November 2022 stay at the beginning of the year, and with Japan fully reopening to tourists in October 2022, my family and I decided to take the trip. I’ve always wanted to try out the Conrad brand, and so the Conrad Tokyo was booked!

Takeoff Points:

Date of Stay: November 2022
Room Types: Twin Room Bay View and Twin Suite City View
Pros: Great location, spacious, luxurious rooms and friendly staff. One of the best hotel experiences I have had!
Cons: Some of the furnishings could use an update.

Fora Travel Benefits:

I work with a travel agency, Fora Travel, and can assist in booking hotel stays. Fora is a Hilton Impresario Travel Agency. With Fora’s partnership, you can get special perks when booking with me. This specific property features:

• Daily breakfast for two guests per room, served through in-room dining or in the hotel restaurant
• Upgrade of one category, based on availability at check-in
• Double Hilton HHonors points for the stay
• $100 equivalent hotel credit once during the stay

Additionally, until March 31, 2025, there is a 3rd night free offer with Hilton Impresario (which I used on my stay).

If you are interested in getting these perks and want to stay at the Conrad Tokyo, feel free to email me at takeofftotravel@fora.travel and I would be happy to help you plan your trip.

Hotel + Location:

The Conrad Tokyo opened in 2005 and has a total of 291 guest rooms. It is located on the top floors (28-37) of the Shiodome Tower. The immediate area around the Conrad Tokyo is a business district, but it is just a short walk from the shopping streets of Ginza. It’s about a 15 minute walk to Ginza from the Conrad, and quite an easy walk from the skybridges. I enjoyed the location, and while it’s a bit further from Shinjuku and Shibuya, I liked being near Ginza. Ginza is a very upscale area and has plenty of high-end shopping and department stores with lots of restaurants.

It’s also a short walk (15 min) from the Tsukiji Fish Market. The Shimbashi Railway Station has subway and JR lines, and can connect you to most of Tokyo quite easily. The Imperial Palace and Tokyo main station are also not too far, about 1.5 miles away.

Arrival + Check-In:

I was emailed prior to my arrival if I needed anything, and they provided a list of transport options from both Haneda and Narita Airport. Currently the airport limousine buses are suspended to the hotel. The pre-booked chauffeur service starts at JPY 46,000 ($340 USD) for Narita and JPY 25,000 ($185 USD) from Haneda. We were flying into Narita, and took the more economical option with the Narita Express Train (JPY 3,070 per person, $23 USD) to Tokyo Main Station which was non-stop and took 1 hour. Then, a short 15 minute Taxi from the station that was less than JPY 2,000 ($15 USD) to the Conrad.

The main lobby is on the 28th floor. I arrived at 6pm and was checked-in promptly. The agent stated that they were sold out for the weekend, but upgraded me to a Bay View Room. I asked if it would be possible to move to a suite later in the stay, and he said he would try for the last 3 nights as being a Hilton Honors Diamond Member, and booking through Hilton Impresario would allow a two category upgrade from a City View Room to a City View Suite upgrade. A night before the last 3 nights, I saw on the app I had been upgraded to a City View Suite (yay!).

The Room: Twin Room Bay View

I booked a standard Twin Room which comes with a city view, and was upgraded to a Bay View. The standard rooms come in at a solid size already- with 516 square feet of space. Our room was on the 31st floor, and had 2 Twin sized beds.

Since we booked for 3 guests, they already had the rollaway bed set up too which was nice. There was a large desk, chair, huge sofa along the windows, as well as a hot water maker for tea + Nespresso Machine.

The beds and pillows were comfortable (on the firmer side), and the sheets were of a good quality for the five-star level. Also, cleanliness was amazing.

As it was my birthday in a few days, they gave a birthday bear instead of the normal Conrad Tokyo bear and the Conrad Tokyo Rubber Ducky.

They also brought me some baked treats on the first day!

The bay view was stunning in the morning, particularly the one day when the Tokyo sun came out. It was nice to lounge on the oversized sofa along the windows and see the view.

Bathroom:

The bathroom looked very aesthetically pleasing, with a dual vanity, nice standalone tub, separate shower area and W/C with the fancy Japanese bidet style toilets.

Plenty of amenities were included, containers had cotton balls, razor, shower caps, toothbrush, toothpaste, mouthwash and Conrad Tokyo branded hand sanitizer. The only thing that was missing was a facial tissue box (but the room itself had one). The scent for the soap was Byredo’s Mojave Ghost. I like Byredo’s Le Chemin scent that they use at Luxury Collection properties, but I found Mojave Ghost to be a bit too strong for my liking.

Unfortunately, I feel style won over function as there were some flaws with the practicality. First, there was only one electrical plug located on the far left of the sink, which was inconvenient. Secondly, the shower area was quite small and the addition of the large refillable shampoo bottles allowed no space to place your own shower toiletries. Third, the light controls for the bathroom are outside of the bathroom, so you actually have to exit the bathroom to change the light settings lol.

One minor pet peeve was that the nightlight in the toilet area is just not bright enough to illuminate the room at night. And the rest of the light options were too bright to keep on as a nightlight. We ended up just using our phones as flashlights. Additionally, some of the furnishings like the chair had some touch ups, and could use a soft renovation.

Twin Bay View Room Takeoff Point:

Overall, the Twin Bay View Room was a solid room. Highlights included the view on a sunny day, large space, huge sofas along the window and excellent cleanliness.

The Suite: Twin City View Suite

On our last 3 nights, we were upgraded to a Twin City View Suite. The suite was 775 square feet, and had a separate living room and bedroom. Additionally, it had a walk-in closet and a separate half bath. Our room was on the 35th floor.

Upon entering the suite, there is a living room with TV, and desk with spinning chair. There is also this wavy chair that looked super ergonomically and comfortable, but it wasn’t lol. The room was very spacious, and I couldn’t believe I was in Tokyo!

Also, there is a half bath right next to the entrance. That was very nice to have, especially when traveling with a family. It was a bit tight however, and I do wish they made it a bit larger as the door swings into the small space.

The room design was quite cool, and there are two doors that come out of the TV case that can close off the bedroom from the living room. Additionally, the closet can be accessed by the main living room, which connects to the bathroom, and connects to the bedroom.

As with the standard room, there was a hot water maker for tea + Nespresso Machine.

The suite bedroom had two Twin Beds, another TV, and was very similar to the standard room. The same rubber ducky was provided, and the standard bear (which is a holiday theme currently).

Suite Bathroom:

The bathroom had two sinks and a bit less counter space than the standard room, but it worked out more functionally. The shower and tub area was combined, which helped to give a much larger shower area which I appreciated. There was also another TV with the tub.

The walk in-closet was nice and large too.

On the last day, I also discovered they had pajamas in the drawers, which was nice.

In terms of the views, the Bay View was definitely nicer, but I didn’t mind the City View at all!

Twin City View Suite Takeoff Point:

Overall, I truly enjoyed the City View Suite with the extra half-bath, and the spacious room design seemed to be pretty functional.

Breakfast:

The main breakfast is served at Cerise, but it also utilizes seating from Collage. Additionally, during my stay, there were some days with high demand that they opened up seating in China Blue and/or Kazahana as well.

I am a Hilton Diamond Member from my Hilton AMEX Aspire Credit Card and that includes Executive Lounge Access. For the Conrad Tokyo, you can opt to take your breakfast in either the full restaurant (Cerise + Collage) or at the Executive Lounge. We opted to eat in the main restaurant each morning as I read the selection was larger. There is a full breakfast buffet, and you can also order an item from the a la carte menu as well. The breakfast option is currently JPY 5000 ($37 USD) per person, if you don’t have lounge access or book with breakfast included.

For the buffet, the selection was pretty good, with Japanese specialties like salmon and miso soup, and there is a Western section with ham, potatoes and pasta. There are also pastries, salads, and even a taco bar. Tea and coffee is included, and they even make iced teas and lattes.

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Of the a la carte dishes, I particularly enjoyed the Truffle Eggs Benedict, Egg White Omelet and the Scrambled Vegetable Tofu. On the last day, they added a Holiday Themed dessert- which was a Chocolate Pancake with pistachio and berry sauce and I also thought that one was fun.

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Depending on the crowds of the day, they opened up the dining areas at China Blue and Kazahana as well.

I enjoyed the food, but if there was one wish (me being extra), it would be that they perhaps change around the buffet items each day a little bit for some more variety. Especially during a 6 night stay, the buffet got a bit tiring, but the a la carte menu item option helped to make things interesting.

The service was always very friendly, but sometimes during the breakfast rush it tended to be a little less attentive.

Executive Lounge:

The executive lounge is located on the (top) 37th floor. It takes up two spaces on the 37th floor, the main area with city views, and a smaller area with bay views, both of which are across the hall from one another.

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Breakfast is served from 7-10:30am, Afternoon Tea from 3-5pm, and Cocktail Hour from 6-8pm. The lounge itself closes at 9pm. On the weekends, they do request you make a reservation for cocktail hour (5-6, or 7-8) to guarantee a seat, but other than that you can come in whenever. My Hilton Diamond status allowed me to enter the executive lounge, and I visited for cocktail hour a few times during my stay. The selection were a few small sandwiches and Japanese dishes, and they were nice little bites, but definitely not heavy enough to replace a meal. I also visited during afternoon tea once, and they had little cakes and macarons which were enjoyable. Outside of afternoon tea and cocktail hour, they still have soft drinks (Coke, Orangina) as well as coffee/tea machines. Tip: the coffee/tea machine on the bay view side has a Matcha selection, and it is amazing!

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I enjoyed the lounge access, as it was nice to have refreshments and some light snacks. It felt more calm and high-end than similar lounges at Hilton properties, which fits the brand of Conrad being more upscale.

As breakfast was included in the main restaurant, I did not try the breakfast offering in the lounge, but I would expect it to be decent, but probably more limited than the restaurant.

Dining:

The property offers a variety of dining selections, all on the 28th floor. Collage is the modern French cuisine that is open for dinner on Tuesday through Saturday. For both lunch and dinner, China Blue serves sophisticated Chinese cuisine, and also Kazahana is the Japanese restaurant offering kaiseki, sushi and teppan. Cerise is the casual all day dining serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, while also having a “Sweets Buffet” on the weekend and holidays. The “TwentyEight” Bar and Lounge offers great views of Tokyo Bay and is open daily, while offering afternoon tea as well. Lastly, there is of course room service.

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Since we had $100 USD, which the hotel converted generously to a JPY 14,700 credit, we used it on the afternoon tea service at the TwentyEight Bar and Lounge. It was Swarovski themed and I thought it looked cute, but most of the selections could have tasted better in my opinion. It was JPY 6,500 per person.

Service + Amenities:

The service was very attentive, with all staff members that I had interacted with being very kind and helpful.

Mizuki Spa and Fitness is located on the 29th floor, and offers Spa Treatments, as well as having a 24 hour fitness center and a swimming pool, jet bath and sauna. I took a quick look at the swimming pool at night and there was no one there when I visited.

The Verdict:

The Conrad Tokyo is a luxury five-star oasis in the hustle and bustle of Tokyo. The solid location near Ginza, attentive service, along with the large, well-appointed rooms, makes the Conrad Tokyo one of my favorite hotels. I will definitely consider staying here again when my travels bring me back to Tokyo.

Have you stayed at the Conrad Tokyo before? How was your experience? Comment below!

Cheers,

Ty

Have any questions? Comment below or email me at takeofftotravel@gmail.com. I’ve also started working with a travel agency, Fora Travel, and can assist in booking hotel stays or planning trips. You can also view all my other posts here! Thanks for stopping by!