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We had a total of four nights in Tokyo, and decided to split our time between two popular hotels, so I could review them:
- We spent our first two nights at the Ritz-Carlton Tokyo, as I’m trying to review more Ritz-Carltons now that Marriott Bonvoy and Starwood Preferred Guest have merged
- We spent our last two nights at Aman Tokyo, which would be my first-ever Aman city hotel (and I was curious how they’d do with city hotels)
Booking Ritz-Carlton Tokyo
We booked back before changes were made to Marriott Bonvoy, when a free night cost 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy® points per night (now the hotel costs 85,000 Marriott Bonvoy® points per night).
Ritz-Carlton is the only Marriott brands that doesn’t include club access for Platinum, Titanium, and Ambassador members, though you can pay to upgrade to a club room, which we did. The cost is 35,000JPY per night. While that’s steep, it has been years since I’ve reviewed a Ritz-Carlton club lounge, and I figured that would be interesting.
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo location
The Ritz-Carlton is located in Midtown Tower, which is one of the tallest buildings in Tokyo (until 2014 it was the tallest). The Ritz-Carlton is on the 45th-53rd floors of the building.
The hotel is also connected to the Tokyo Midtown shops & restaurants, which has a ton of great options to choose from.
The hotel is near Roppongi — personally I think it’s a great location, and there was a subway station nearby so we could easily get around the city.
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo exterior
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo check-in & lobby
The hotel’s main entrance is on the ground floor, where we were greeted by the friendly bellmen and escorted up to reception, on the 45th floor.
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo entrance
There’s a small lobby area with a flower display on the ground floor, but otherwise everything is on the 45th floor.
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo ground floor entrance
The hotel’s 45th floor lobby is quite grand, with high ceilings and an open layout. The hotel opened in 2007, and I should note that it does very clearly have decor that reflects that. I wouldn’t say the hotel is outdated, but you definitely do notice that it hasn’t been majorly renovated in the past decade.
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo lobby
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo lobby
The hotel has a huge lobby lounge and bar — we never spent much time here, since we had access to the awesome club lounge.
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo lobby lounge
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo lobby bar
Reception was right near the elevators.
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo reception
Once they identified us as club guests they brought us up to the club lounge for check-in, and then escorted us to our room, located on the 51st floor.
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo elevators
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo room
We were assigned room 5124, located on the 51st floor (the hotel goes up to the 53rd floor, which is where the lounge is located).
We had been upgraded to a suite, which sure was appreciated. The suite had a large entryway, with the bathroom immediately ahead.
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo suite entryway
Interestingly down the hall the bedroom was first, and then the living room (which is the opposite of what you’d typically see). The king size bed was so comfortable, even more comfortable than the bed at Amanemu.
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo suite bedroom
The bedroom had a couple of dressers, along with a TV.
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo suite bedroom
The living room was large, and featured a couch, a chair, and a desk.
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo suite living room
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo suite living room
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo suite living room
There was a bottle of sake as a welcome amenity sitting on the table.
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo welcome amenity
The room also had a minibar and Nespresso machine.
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo minibar
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo coffee machine
We loved how spacious the room was, but the real highlight was the view. This hotel had the best views I’ve ever had of Tokyo, bar none. I was simply in awe the entire time we were there.
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo room view
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo room view
The views were even more dramatic at dawn and dusk. Tokyo is such a sprawling city, and this really put that into perspective.
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo room view
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo room view
Anyway, back near the entrance to the room was the bathroom, which featured double sinks, a bathtub, a walk-in shower, and a partitioned off toilet.
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo suite bathroom
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo suite bathtub
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo suite toilet
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo suite shower
Toiletries were from Asprey, as is the standard at Ritz-Carlton. Personally I’ve always felt lukewarm towards these.
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo Asprey toiletries
Overall I thought the room was awesome. I appreciated the suite (space comes at a premium in Tokyo), and while the furniture was a bit dated, the views more than made up for it.
In-room Wi-Fi was fast and free.
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo club lounge
The club lounge is located on the 53rd floor, and has five food presentations per day:
- Breakfast from 7AM until 11AM
- Light snacks from 12PM until 2PM
- Afternoon tea from 2:30PM until 4:30PM
- Evening hors d’oeuvres from 5:30PM until 7:30PM
- Sweets and cordials from 8PM until 10PM
Club lounge guests also receive free pressing for five pieces and free coffee or tea delivered to your room in the morning.
The club lounge was a beautiful space, and frankly felt more modern than the rest of the hotel. The lounge was spacious, and never got too full.
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo club lounge
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo club lounge buffet
In addition to a main room with dining tables, there were cozy areas towards the front and back of the lounge with couches.
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo club lounge
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo club lounge
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo club lounge
When we first arrived in the lounge we were told afternoon tea was being served. I figured the afternoon tea would just be a small buffet with some muffins, scones, etc. And while they did have that, there was way more to it.
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo club lounge afternoon tea
They brought out a full tray with goodies.
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo club lounge afternoon tea
There was even a harpist performing in the lounge — what a nice touch.
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo club lounge
In the evenings there was a full bar with beer, wine, cocktails, and anything else you could want.
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo club lounge bar
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo club lounge drinks
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo club lounge drinks
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo club lounge drinks
The drink menu read as follows:
The food selection was very good. I wouldn’t say it was a dinner replacement, but in a city like Tokyo you don’t want a dinner replacement anyway, given the amazing restaurant options.
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo club lounge evening spread
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo club lounge evening spread
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo club lounge evening spread
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo club lounge evening spread
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo club lounge evening spread
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo club lounge evening spread
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo club lounge evening spread
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo club lounge evening snacks
In the morning breakfast was also served in the lounge, and consisted of a tasty buffet.
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo executive lounge breakfast
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo executive lounge breakfast
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo executive lounge breakfast
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo executive lounge breakfast
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo executive lounge breakfast
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo executive lounge breakfast
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo executive lounge breakfast
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo executive lounge breakfast
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo executive lounge breakfast
There was an omelet station in addition to the buffet.
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo executive lounge breakfast
In the mornings I also appreciated that club guests can have complimentary coffee delivered to their room.
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo complimentary coffee
The lobby also had complimentary coffee for all guests.
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo lobby coffee
I can’t say enough good things about the people working in the club lounge, as that’s really what makes this place. They seemed to remember the names of just about every guest, and they were just so charming and filled with personality.
Yes, service is generally good in Japan, but what I appreciated is that they went beyond following conventional formulas. They genuinely asked how we were enjoying our stay, how many days we were visiting Japan for, etc.
They were also flexible, rather than rigid. For example, when we asked for iced coffees the answer wasn’t “no, we don’t have that,” but rather it was “sure, we can make that.”
So I have nothing but good things to say about the staff in the lounge, they were truly exceptional, and made the experience.
Obviously lounge access is expensive, though personally I love having access to a lounge. Not because I want to eat all my meals there, but because I’m always working when traveling, and especially when dealing with jetlag, I love to have somewhere to sit to try to stay awake while having a coffee or a drink.
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo gym & pool
The spa, gym, and fitness center were located on the 46th floor.
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo spa & gym
While we never visited the spa, the gym was open 24/7 and we used it a couple of times. The gym was large, had good equipment, and had nice views.
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo gym
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo gym
The hotel also has a very nice lap pool.
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo pool
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo pool
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo service
It’s rare that I’m delighted by service in a city hotel, but this is really where the hotel shined (if I hadn’t made that clear yet). 😉
The people working in the club were exceptional, but the same was true of the concierge, and all the other staff we interacted with. There was just something so refreshing about everyone’s attitude — it felt like everyone was helping because they wanted to help, rather than because that’s just what you do culturally in Japan.
Lastly, the concierge was highly responsive, and got back to us within hours when we emailed before the stay. There’s a restaurant that we first asked Aman Tokyo for a reservation at. The concierge there (who wasn’t as responsive) said that restaurant doesn’t take reservations from Aman Tokyo. The Ritz, meanwhile, secured us a reservation without issue.
I’m not sure the backstory there, but I sure do appreciate it.
Ritz-Carlton Tokyo bottom line
The Ritz-Carlton Tokyo is a well located hotel with exceptional staff and breathtaking views. While club access here is expensive, this club really is special, again, thanks largely to the people.
The Ritz-Carlton is no doubt a bit past its prime and could use a refresh at some point, though I still really, really loved this hotel. A lot of readers had commented that this is their go-to hotel in Tokyo, and now I understand why.
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