Review: Marriott Nagoya Associa Hotel

Looks like a time capsule!

I love the Japanese bidets. So civilized. Better than the ones in Middle East.

It's not that Marriott was great. It was the Japanese that was great.

Good late night food in Japan, just head to a convenience store. 7Eleven, Lawson etc.

I just want to point out that you redeemed the equivalent of 35,000 points to avoid paying $250. This values your points at about 0.7 cents per point, which is about what you say anyway. So this all makes sense.

The care they put into cutting and plating the welcome amenity fruit platter, and the excellent upkeep of a hotel that has been around for a while. Only in Japan.

Lucky almost every 7-11 in Japan has an ATM that will work with American cards. And there are a LOT of 7-11s!

Quick question to Ben and others- why is a suite so much better than a normal room for a single night stay?
You won’t be hosting a 6 person dinner or anything, so that doesn’t add much ch value. What I started to realise lately is that I don’t sleep well in suites. At all. Can be the fact that the bedroom proper is smaller, or the way ventilation works, but I keep waking up felling hot and stuffy.

"You can arrange an in-room massage until 2AM, so it’s a bit odd that you can get a massage in your room later than you can get food in your room"

You might want to think about that a little more 😉

Good to know there are Marriot hotels in japan you can redeem the free night certificate. I’d almost given up looking.

Pity you didn't have time to check out the hotel Onsen. It was one of our favourite in Japan.

We had an awesome Gold upgrade to a high floor extra large room. Great hotel.

"...because we chose breakfast in the restaurant I couldn’t use the lounge at that time."
Why is that? Lounge access is your guaranteed benefit as Plat (or above), it doesn't have anything to do with restaurant. You can have breakfast in both. I do it all time - for the sake of reviews on my blog, of course 😉

@Mike

If you get upgraded that often you can always trade rooms with me.
Suites normally are in a better location, have better amenities. It's not just about the size.

Do you feel hot and stuffy at home too? It might be you not the suite. In Asia it might be a ghost or demons.

Japan cookie cutter points hotel price always give me a heart attack, while unless it’s Ritz or IC always feature drab, drab room.
Hard pass.

We recently stayed at the Associa Takayama. The Nagoya one is modern compared to that! And there was no Marriott branding we saw.

Thanks for making the effort to review this even though you were there less than 12 hours!
Overall, can anyone tell me what a 6-person dining table it doing in a room?

Half of the Marriotts in the US look like this w/the "classic" vibe

On my last two visits to the Marriott Nagoya Associa I was not able to get an upgrade. I was told the hotel was 'nearly full'.

I usually stay at the Nagoya Hilton and, as a Diamond Member, almost always get upgraded there even though this hotel also runs at a 'nearly full' level much of the time. I find the staff at the Nagoya Hilton to be more accommodating and personable. Two years ago I had to spend Christmas there and they put special decorations on my table to make my dinner more cheery.

You can catch the Hilton shuttle bus immediately across the street from the main train station.

The shoes in the gym were likely semi-compulsory, though it may not have been signed that way but Japanese folks would've known. If you go to Gold's Gyms, or the like, in Japan, they'll often require (and ask you to prove) that you have a pair of shoes worn solely within the confines of that particular gym. Not just "gym shoes" as in sneakers, but actual shoes that you use just in the gym.

While I am a Marriott man through and through the Nagoya Tokyo Hotel is my main choice in town. The Associa is great due to the station location but the Tokyu isn’t far from the Main Sakae district and a connecting train stop.

Also the Hotel Nagoya Castle (formerly a westin) has some great views of the Castle and the attached park if that’s more your speed.

I was there last week, and was assigned a recently renovated room. My SNA didn't clear but I was perfectly happy with the modern room. It seems your suite still hasn't been renovated yet. I would prefer a renovated room to a suite any day!