While I have been to Japan about 7 times, Sam had never been. So when we booked our trip to Japan in late 2022, I was so excited for her to see Tokyo and Kyoto. I had recently decided to switch loyalty from Marriott to Hyatt, and that meant rethinking hotels I might have used the last few times I was there. In the past when in Tokyo, I’ve stayed in Shinagawa because it was convenient for work. As this was purely vacation, there wasn’t a need to think about that. So, after having read numerous reviews, we booked the first 4 days of our stay in Tokyo at the Andaz Toranomon Hills. Interestingly enough, while on the Hibiya and Ginza subway lines, which I’m certain I’ve taken in the past, I couldn’t say I’d ever heard “Toranomon Hills” before this trip.
This hotel opened all the way back in 2014 but was completely off my radar. The area of Toranomon Hills is actually just a complex of skyscrapers in the Toranomon district of Minato, Tokyo. If you are only vaguely familiar with the areas of Tokyo, you can think of Toranomon as being south, maybe a bit southwest, of Tokyo station and roughly just south of the Imperial Palace. We booked our stay with points for this trip which I think is a great way to redeem points (in our case we transferred points from Chase). For four nights, we spent 100k points. I don’t recall exactly what the cost of rooms was when we booked but I’m certain at the time using points came out to being a much better deal.
Upon arriving at Haneda airport around 1:30 in the afternoon, it took us about 45 minutes and a few trains to get to the hotel. Upon arriving at the train station near the hotel (more on this later), we took the underground tunnel to the building and then took an elevator to the 51st floor, where the main lobby and check in area are located. We were, thankfully, able to check right into our room. Our check in experience, while perfectly fine, seemed to miss the perks of a welcome drink that others have reported. That said, we were quickly checked in and taken up to the room. We had a lovely view of Tokyo Tower from our room.
The Andaz does offer a breakfast buffet which I’m sure is great, but I generally opt to visit the local konbinis for breakfast. My general experience with breakfast at many of the hotels in Japan is that while their breakfast buffets can be quite extensive, including things like custom made-to-order eggs as well as cuisine from several different ethnicity’s, it’s hard to beat paying less than five dollars (US) for a few onigiri (rice balls with filling), a bottle of green tea, and a can of cold coffee. The Andaz serves breakfast as well as lunch and dinner at “The Tavern” on the same floor as check-in. Additionally, the hotel has “the SUSHI” which provides an omakase experience as well as “Rooftop Bar.” We only took advantage of the Rooftop Bar while we were there. It seemed a bit too sceney for us including subpar service, overpriced drinks, table charges (even for hotel guests) and views which weren’t worth the price of admission.
One standout feature of the Andaz is the gym. Located on one of the building’s high floors, the views from the spacious fitness room are great. More importantly, the amount of fitness equipment is impressive for a hotel. Plenty of treadmills and other cardio equipment along with weight lifting equipment including a rack and bench for doing barbell work. The fitness area also has a pool for lap swimming as well as a spa. We only took advantage of the gym but it was very well done for a hotel facility.
As far as using the Andaz as a base to get around Tokyo, it’s not terrible. After taking the elevator to the ground level floor of the building (remember the lobby and rooms are all near the top of the building), you can then walk to a set of elevators/staircase that will take you to an underground tunnel, which will take you to the Ginza and Hibiya lines. These are both metro or subway lines in Tokyo. Tokyo has many different train lines that run through different areas of the city. There are quite a few places you can get to on these trains but there are also quite a few places you’ll need to connect with other trains. That’s just how Tokyo is. It’s worth noting that Shimbashi Station is a 16 minute walk (outside and uncovered) which gets you to the Yamanote (Green), Tokaido (Orange), and Yokosuka (Blue) lines which are all JR trains.
In general, I’d say the Andaz is a great hotel and I’d consider staying again. The facility felt new, the staff was friendly and helpful, and the location, while not walking distance to many things itself, was a short walk from several train lines.
Note that as of early winter 2024, there is also a Hotel Toranomon Hills which is part of Hyatt’s Unbound Collection. These hotels are just a short walk from each other. We stayed at the Hotel Toranomon Hills on most recent stay (June 2024) and will write about that in the future.
Links #
