- Around The World In 80 Hours: Introduction
- Review: US Airways Club Charlotte
- Review: US Airways Envoy Class Charlotte to Paris
- Review: Hilton Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport
- Review: Star Alliance Lounge Paris
- Review: Air China Business Class Paris to Beijing
- Review: Air China Business Class Lounge Beijing
- Review: ANA 787 Business Class Beijing to Tokyo
- Review: Hilton Tokyo Narita Airport
- Review: Tokyo Narita Airport Hello Kitty Check-in
- Review: EVA Air Hello Kitty Business Class Tokyo to Taipei
- Review: EVA Air The Star Lounge Taipei
- Review: Taipei Airport Hello Kitty Gate
- Review: EVA Air Hello Kitty Royal Laurel Class Taipei to Los Angeles
Given that we only had a 19 hour layover in Japan we just booked the Hilton Tokyo Narita Airport. It’s definitely not an aspirational property, but one I figured would be useful to review, since it is very convenient for overnights near Narita Airport. We booked a rate of 12,000JPY (~$120USD), which seemed rather low for Japan, though this was my first time staying by Narita Airport.
It’s a good thing we booked an airport hotel, since the weather was horrible for the entire time we were on the ground.
Once we cleared immigration (which was surprisingly quick) we exited terminal one and went to bus stop 16. As luck would have it the shuttle was waiting there. The bus drive to the hotel took about 15 minutes, including a brief stop at terminal two to pick up more passengers.
The exterior of the hotel looks entirely like a hospital. ‘Nuff said.
Hilton Tokyo Narita Airport exterior
The lobby of the hotel is spacious with extremely tall ceilings and plenty of natural light (in theory — the typhoon wasn’t helping with that). The lobby circled around the inner courtyard of the hotel, which had a pretty intricate fountain display. Check-in was located inside the lobby to the left.
Hilton Tokyo Narita Airport lobby
Hilton Tokyo Narita Airport lobby
Check-in was efficient, and my Honors Diamond status was acknowledged. We were informed we’d receive complimentary breakfast in the restaurant and free internet. I was assigned a deluxe plus queen room on the 11th floor.
Hilton Tokyo Narita Airport lobby
Hilton Tokyo Narita Airport hallway
I was assigned room 1135, which was located near the elevator.
Hilton Tokyo Narita Airport room entrance
By Japanese standards the room was pretty big. There was an entryway with a closet to the right and bathroom to the left.
Hilton Tokyo Narita Airport deluxe plus queen room entrance
The room featured a firm queen bed with two nightstands. On the right nightstand were all the controls to the lighting in the room.
Hilton Tokyo Narita Airport deluxe plus queen room bed
Across from the bed was the TV and desk.
Hilton Tokyo Narita Airport deluxe plus queen room desk and TV
Hilton Tokyo Narita Airport deluxe plus queen room desk
On the TV dresser were some minibar snacks, as well as a welcome amenity consisting of a couple of bottles of water and some cookies.
Hilton Tokyo Narita Airport deluxe plus queen room welcome amenity and minibar snacks
Over near the window by the bed was a chair with a mismatched ottoman.
Hilton Tokyo Narita Airport deluxe plus queen room chair and ottoman
The bathroom was fairly large though felt very sterile/hospitalish. It featured a sink, fancy Japanese toilet, and a rather ridiculously complicated shower with a bunch of unmarked knobs.
Hilton Tokyo Narita Airport deluxe plus queen room bathroom
Hilton Tokyo Narita Airport deluxe plus queen room toilet
Hilton Tokyo Narita Airport deluxe plus queen room shower
As usual, the toiletries were Peter Thomas Roth branded.
Hilton Tokyo Narita Airport deluxe plus queen room toiletries
The room didn’t feature much of a view, so was rather quiet. The weather was horrible throughout the stay, so there was very little visibility.
Hilton Tokyo Narita Airport deluxe plus queen room view
On the whole the room was perfectly pleasant. It was by no means luxurious and could have used a renovation, but given how big the room was and that I paid $120 for the stay, I was perfectly happy.
The one thing worth noting about the room is that it didn’t have Wi-Fi, but after calling down they brought an Airport Express to my room. The Wi-Fi speed was decent at that point.
I worked for most of the evening and went to bed at a reasonable hour. The next morning we had breakfast at about 7AM, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen such bad weather.
As I walked down to the restaurant I noticed that the waterfall in the courtyard the water was actually splashing upwards to the point that people were standing there filming it. Scary stuff, and I certainly wasn’t looking forward to flying in that weather!
Hilton Tokyo Narita Airport courtyard
Hilton Tokyo Narita Airport courtyard
Breakfast was served at Terrace Restaurant starting at 7AM, and the restaurant was packed. Virtually everyone at breakfast seemed to be airline crew. In one corner you had your 50-65 year old graying, bearded men discussing the Vietnam War and Obamacare, in the other you had your young attractive girls from somewhere between the UK and Russia, and in the other you had your group of more experienced ladies well into their 70s discussing back pain, etc.
Hilton Tokyo Narita Airport Terrace Restaurant
Hilton Tokyo Narita Airport Terrace Restaurant
Hilton Tokyo Narita Airport Terrace Restaurant
Hilton Tokyo Narita Airport Terrace Restaurant
The buffet spread itself was okay. Generally Japanese breakfast buffets can’t compete with breakfast buffets in most Southeast Asian countries, as they’re not nearly as varied, and this one was no exception. Even the Japanese selection was somewhat limited.
The limited Japanese options were actually quite good, though the meat looked like it came out of a Lunchables box, the eggs were as runny as they usually are in Japan, and the western selection seemed to mostly be limited to 63 varieties of bread. Unfortunately there wasn’t much of a selection of fresh fruit.
Hilton Tokyo Narita Airport Terrace Restaurant breakfast buffet
Hilton Tokyo Narita Airport Terrace Restaurant breakfast buffet
Hilton Tokyo Narita Airport Terrace Restaurant breakfast buffet
Hilton Tokyo Narita Airport Terrace Restaurant breakfast buffet
Hilton Tokyo Narita Airport Terrace Restaurant breakfast buffet
Hilton Tokyo Narita Airport Terrace Restaurant breakfast buffet
Hilton Tokyo Narita Airport Terrace Restaurant breakfast buffet
Hilton Tokyo Narita Airport Terrace Restaurant breakfast buffet
Hilton Tokyo Narita Airport Terrace Restaurant breakfast buffet
Hilton Tokyo Narita Airport Terrace Restaurant breakfast buffet
We checked out of the hotel at roughly 11AM and waited inside the lobby for the shuttle. Though the weather was marginally better at this point, the typhoon was apparently the worst one to hit Japan in 10 years, so the bellman apologized profusely that the shuttle was running “a few minutes late.” Of course this was communicated to us with a horrible sense of shame as if they had personally offended us, but sure enough they had a solution. “Please go outside and our staff drive you to the airport in their car.”
Hilton Narita Airport exterior
Hilton Narita Airport exterior sign
I figured I misunderstood him. I mean, surely they weren’t going to have their employees drive us to the airport in their personal cars.
Nope, that’s exactly what they were going to do.
We headed outside and one of the employees was waiting in his car, which was similar to a Toyota Yaris, and was clearly his personal vehicle. It even had a Hello Kitty umbrella in the trunk and a McDonald’s “holder” in the center of the console.
We were too blown away to take even a single picutre, but during that short drive he apologized no fewer than eight times and said “thank you for waiting” no fewer than five.
Anyway, the Hilton Narita Airport is a nice, no frills hotel. It could use a renovation, but given the price point and convenience it’s tough to beat, especially if you’re a Hilton Honors Diamond or Gold member. Given how expensive stuff is in Japan, getting complimentary internet and breakfast adds a lot of value to staying here, in my opinion.
‘Complicated shower’, puhleeze. Water flow, water temp, valve to select handheld or fixed nozzle... Two separate taps below for the bath.
That is a very basic toilet by Toto/Japanese standards. I had one in a new 5-star property in Tokyo some years ago that had a remote control and opened and closed the lid as you approached it, automflushed and closed the lid. $10,000 to buy in the US.
That was the first and...
‘Complicated shower’, puhleeze. Water flow, water temp, valve to select handheld or fixed nozzle... Two separate taps below for the bath.
That is a very basic toilet by Toto/Japanese standards. I had one in a new 5-star property in Tokyo some years ago that had a remote control and opened and closed the lid as you approached it, automflushed and closed the lid. $10,000 to buy in the US.
That was the first and only hotel I ever stayed in where room amenities included a built in nail polish dryer. I love Japan...
I found that avoiding Western chains was - for the most part - key to getting a good yet inexpensive place to stay in Japan, when I visited there at the end of February/Beginning of March last year. I also found that you don't need anything more than a 3* hotel in order to get great accommodations. There are lots of Japanese hotel chains, including Dormy Inns, which are excellent.
Take Kyoto for example -...
I found that avoiding Western chains was - for the most part - key to getting a good yet inexpensive place to stay in Japan, when I visited there at the end of February/Beginning of March last year. I also found that you don't need anything more than a 3* hotel in order to get great accommodations. There are lots of Japanese hotel chains, including Dormy Inns, which are excellent.
Take Kyoto for example - While the Ritz and Hyatt in Kyoto were going for around $800 USD/night, I found an absolutely amazing 3* place called Hotel Anteroom (very highly rated on TripAdvisor) for less than $50 USD/night, and it absolutely blew me away. Granted it was not the Ritz, it was for a single room, didn't have so many amenities, and perhaps the location was *slightly* out of the way (but still walkable from the train station) it somewhat resembled (and was definitely as good as) a W Hotel. This place could easily pass for 4* if it had more amenities. I suppose one could stay at the Ritz or Hyatt if they've got money (or points) to burn, but really, you don't have to.
On the other hand, in Tokyo, I found an AMAZING Choice property (Comfort Hotel Tokyo Kanda) for about $85 USD/night, and that was for a twin room, single occupancy (recommended if you can get it!). Basic but very clean, and very quiet. The free breakfast was also much better than what you'd find in North American Comfort Inns too.
Now...for Narita, if you're a single traveller that needs a relatively basic place to crash near Narita and don't have status that will get you a free breakfast, take a look at the Narita View Hotel. Often, for around $50 USD (not including breakfast) one can get a single room there. I didn't try it, but apparently their breakfast is expensive yet extensive - though it might still be best to grab something at 7-11 at Narita for breakfast before you go if you don't eat much. It's definitely not the most modern hotel, but it was clean enough, and I got a free upgrade from a single room to a twin room without even asking! I didn't get a renovated room, but it was absolutely fine for 1 night. The hot spring (Onsen) was a very nice touch (even if you had to pay to get in).
Another notable hotel was the Beppu Station Hotel in Beppu, where I decided to take a side trip to because I couldn't get a hotel room in Kagoshima that night due to a marathon, and the place I'd purchased my JR Pass from suggested it when I mentioned I wanted to visit a hot spring town while I was in Japan. OK, now this place was a bit old (more so than the Narita View), the single room was 85 square feet (yep, you read that right!), and there was no such thing as a non-smoking room (at least the windows opened wide), but at $37 USD (no breakfast included - but it was available for an extra cost) on a Saturday night it was an incredible value compared to everything else - and most places seemed to be full. Yes...it was clean, AND it had an Onsen for guest use (again, old, but FREE!). I just needed a place to crash, and it more than served its purpose. I also liked that it was pretty well right next to the train station - as the name suggests.
In terms of the bathroom amenities, most hotels in the US don't have toothbrushes in the bathrooms. However, there was one at every single hotel I visited. On the other hand, you typically don't get small bottles of shampoo et al - these are in refillable bottles. In the $37 place in Beppu, they even had really good Shiseido bath products. Couldn't believe it!
In closing, do your research on TripAdvisor and Booking.com (as well as double checking with the hotel's website, if they have one)
You might find some great places to stay in Japan that won't cost you an arm and a leg.
I'm just so curious... How do they they manage (if they do) the liability implications of hotel staff driving guests in personal cars. Not to mention the added peril of driving in inclement weather.
Having visited the Hilton Narita and the ANA Crowne Plaza Narita, I still prefer the ANA Crowne Plaza Narita Airport Hotel which is just down the road. Their breakfast is much better and no sense of a hospital!
@Jeffrey the "deluxe dental kit" is toothbrush and toothpaste. I got two of them every day for 8 days in SIN. I have guest toothbrushes for months now....
I always enjoy your posts but the Peter Thomas Roth "deluxe dental kit" is hilarious. A fellow Hilton Diamond, I haven't seen these in the US. Assume it was a toothbrush and tiny toothpaste tube and not, like, a Sonicare and whitening kit? LOL
I stayed there during a DONE4 last year. The hotel was reasonably pleasant, staff were friendly and I ended up buying a yukata to take home.
If I had to transit NRT again I wouldn't have a problem staying there.
Lucky
We stayed there a few months ago and the breakfast experience was better than the Shinjuku Hilton for my kids.
Wifi was slow and quite variable with lots of dead zones.
That said, the service was good.
Halloween decorations at the buffet? Who knew it is a universal holiday!
The Hello Kitty umbrella in the hotel employee's car was a fitting start to the next leg of your journey. ;-)
I stayed there during an IRROP a few months ago. The wired Internet in the room did now work at all, and the desk informed me it was a hotel-wide problem. The only thing working was the WiFi in the lobby, and that was quite slow. Even the pilots from my UA flight who were staying there were complaining!
No picture of the Teaching of Buddha book they place alongside the Gideons Bible? :-)