Elite Traveler Summer 2019

elite traveler SUMMER 2019 119

Imperial Suite TOKYO STATION HOTEL

Aptly named because of its convenient location near Tokyo Station, the hotel was first opened in 1915 (just a year after the train station was built) and celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2015. The hotel is hard to miss — it’s a vintage red-brick, period-style building evoking Golden Age glamour, and the interiors reflect its history with vaulted ceilings, preserved period architecture and perfectly polished floors. It’s one of the few remaining luxury hotels in the city with a traditional feel — in 2006 it was registered as one of Japan’s Important Cultural Properties (the equivalent to the West’s landmark status) — and differs greatly from the city’s omnipresent sleek glass skyscrapers. However, updated 21st-century amenities and semi-modern furnishings perfectly tie the old to the new. To experience omotenashi at its finest, book the Imperial Suite. On the third floor of the hotel, this one-bedroom suite has a living area with gorgeous canary yellow chairs and curtains, as well as a den and bathroom. Its higher-than-average ceilings make the suite feel even larger than it is (it’s nearly 2,000 sq ft), as do the floor-to- ceiling windows in the living room and bedroom overlooking Gyoko-dori Avenue, the Imperial Palace and the Marunouchi cityscape. There are nine restaurants, lounges and bars in the hotel (and more fine dining steps from the property) to ensure you’ll never eat at the same place twice. Japanese journeys Beneath the opulence of Tokyo Station Hotel lies the modern Spa Tokione. Come for traditional Japanese treatments (may we suggest the Rin facial), and stay for the natural, carbonated hot spring and the man-made hot spring to relax after your treatment — you will almost forget you’re in the middle of a buzzing city. Rate from $7,060 per night Contact Hitoshi Fujisaki, managing director and general manager, info@tokyostationhotel.jp, +81 352 201 111, tokyostationhotel.jp

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