A Luxury Hotel Worthy of the Name! If I could give the Westin Tokyo 10 stars, I would. It provided everything we could expect from a luxury hotel and more. Every member of the hotel staff was welcoming, friendly and helpful. While this review should start out talking about the room, the food, the drinks, or the amenities, I need to start with the people at the Concierge desk. My wife wears contact lenses but switches to glasses on longer flights; she can’t see past the end of her nose without them. She only wears her contacts during the day and switches to glasses in the later parts of the evening and in the morning. Her glasses broke when the Singapore Airlines flight attendant changed her bed back into a seat, not knowing that the glasses were in the bed. The flight attendants managed to patch the glasses but my wife needed either new glasses or the existing lenses put in new frames. Kotono Matsumiya, the Concierge Supervisor, and her team went to work. Ms. Matsumiya, after hours of futile phone calls, found an optical ship that might be able to help. She explained the situation to the shop, then wrote out a description of what my wife needed in Japanese, gave us the address, again in Japanese to give to the taxi driver, and off we want. Between Ms. Matsumiya’s call, notes, and the magic of Apple’s live translation software, the optical shop was able to install my wife’s lenses in new frames in less than 24 hours. This was not the only help we received from the Concierge desk. Every time we needed to go someplace in a taxi, a member of the Concierge staff would write the address in Japanese for us to give to the taxi driver. When we wanted to take the Bullet Train to Kyoto, we received instruction on the best station to catch the train and where to get tickets once we got to the station., as well as getting bento boxes or other food to eat on the train, just like the locals. We arrived for a week in Japan without a plan or a clue, and they provided both. We are eternally grateful to them. OK, now I will get to the hotel. Because of our Marriott status, we received an upgraded room on a high floor. It was large, comfortable, well appointed but came with something disturbing for vacationers, a scale in the bathroom! The bathroom also had a Toto bidet toilet with a heated seat; a surprise if you don’t expect it. Bidet toilets are ubiquitous in Japan, even in public restrooms. Sit down and enjoy it, but if the thought of a warm seat offends your sensibilities, there is an “off” switch. The hotel restaurant offers a buffet breakfast with eggs and other items made to order. The offerings extend from Western to Eastern favorites. Everything on offer was fresh and delicious. The same with the buffet dinner, which we enjoyed on several nights. “Amazing” would be an apt word. If this is a commentary on the food, even though the hotel appeared to be a “tourist” hotel, most of the diners in the evening were Japanese. Perhaps the local version of “eat where the truckers eat”. The hotel has a top floor bar with spectacular view of Tokyo. Good drinks and bar snacks too. We took most of our breakfasts in the Lounge because even though the selections were not as varied, the lounge was less phrenetic and the views were spectacular. The Westin Tokyo is a fantastic hotel in all respects, and if you are visiting Japan for the first time and don’t have a clue, the Concierge staff will make certain your trip will be an adventure. #PR #TikTokGo
