The Five Yen of Happiness! The Strings by InterContinental
- I give in – I need a break (Introduction)
- To Heathrow and The BA Galleries North Lounge
- BA902 London Heathrow to Frankfurt Airport in Club Europe
- Bumbling around Frankfurt Airport with random #AVGeek spotting
- Meeting the A350 and the Air Canada Lounge
- Qatar Airways QR068 Frankfurt to Doha
- The joy of Hamad International Airport, and The Oryx Rotana Hotel
- Qatar Airways Flight QR812 Doha to Tokyo Haneda
- The Hotel JAL City Haneda Tokyo
- Shikansen Adventures to Hiroshima!
- Time in Hiroshima (featuring the ANA Crowne Plaza Hiroshima)
- Hirosihima – 70 years on
- A day trip to Itsukushima
- More Shinkansen fun to Kyoto (Featuring Kyoto Tower Hotel)
- A trip up to Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine
- Dinner with The real_jetsetr!
- The JR Central SC Maglev and Rail Museum
- Shinkansen to Tokyo
- The Strings by InterContinental
- Cheap evening – From the Tokyo Metropolitan Building
- The JR East Railway Museum, Saitama
- Shibuya nights
- Akihabara Days
- Gotta Catch them All! A few Pokemon Centres.
- Off to Narita
- Nartia Airport, The JAL Lounge
- Qatar Airways Flight QR807 Tokyo Narita to Doha
- Four and Half Hours in Doha Airport
- Qatar Airways Flight QR067 Doha to Frankfurt
- More time in Frankfurt
- BA8735 Frankfurt to London City Airport (Club Europe)
- Homeward
- Memories
- And about that Five Yen Coin – The Sensoji Temple, Asakusa
With me out of the Shinagawa train station, it was a matter of retracing my steps a few years ago.
(snapped at night. Some things don’t change).
As usual, it was following the signs and into the lower lobby of the hotel.
This must be it!
Logos everywhere
To get to the upper levels where the hotel rooms are located, press the button for the 26th floor.
Floor 26 if you’d be so kind.
Reaching floor 26, I headed out and to the reception area.
Reception.
I was greeted and welcomed to the hotel and offered a cool Oshibori as the formalities were completed. As a IC Ambassador, I was upgraded to the next level of room in terms of size (no suites for this Ambassador) and my free night voucher was accepted, bringing the cost down from £220 a night to £110 a night).
Those IC Ambassador vouchers are worth their weight in gold when used tactically.
With the formalities done, I headed to my room.
Ground floor area.
Going up!
Up to the 27th floor.
A short hike later I was at my room. Let’s have a look at it.
Bed. And that’s one massive bed.
Workstation and TV
Window-side sofa and view. We’ll do more views in a minute.
Bed phone and Radio.
Well in terms of size, this is the largest room I’ve had on this trip – although, let’s be honest compared to the hotel in Kyoto and Haneda.. that isn’t too difficult. The room was well air-conditioned and was a very comfortable place to be.
Awaiting me was my welcome amenity. Sadly, no teddy bears or coffee mugs this time – just some nibbles, fruit and bottled water.
Welcome amenity.
Looking round the room there was all the usual features (including the hot water pot, TV, etc), and an interesting sign…
When an earthquake hits… stay calm!
The bathroom was pretty large (even by IC standards), and was a nice environment to wash or spend a quiet moment of contemplation in.
Bath, shower or BOTH??
There is one important thing to report – it seems the hotel has gone to the corporate brand of amenities. Previously, Elemis amenities were offered. Now, it’s a bit more generic (as spotted at other IC’s around the world).
Whilst these amenities were fine to use – they didn’t stand out compared to the Elemis ones offered a few years ago. Shame.
There is one important thing about the room which I’ve yet to go into any detail about – and that’s the view the room has. Whilst it may take a while to walk to the room, it gives a wonderful vista of Tokyo.
Daytime.
Tokyo Tower.
And during sunset…
And at night…
The bed in the room itself was amazing – to put it bluntly, the nights spent here offered some of the best sleep I had all trip.
Rooms were made up whilst I was out – and little notes were dropped off informing me of the weather conditions the next day in a kanwaii way.
Rather cute.
Internet speeds seemed to be reasonable, with 20mbs up/down, which is always welcome.
The staff at the hotel were friendly and welcoming – always offering to assist when needed (one example was when I was repacking some items in reception – the staff offered to bring a box so I could pack more things in).
It’s the little things that make a difference.
On the day of check out, my bill was settled appropriately, and all the paperwork was completed. The hotel kindly offered to stow my items for the day as I explored Tokyo.
Overall: There are reasons why I like this hotel – the view and the service. The hotel excelled at its service again, whilst making me feel welcome as a guest. The views from the room were excellent – and as for the room – it offered more space than I’ve had for a long time in a hotel room.
The cherry on the top: Paying for one night instead of two. That saved a huge chunk on this trip, and made a great base for my final three days in Tokyo.
Next: What can you do in Tokyo for free? Allow me to show you, with a good free activity – the Tokyo Metropolitan Building.
Welcome to Economy Class and Beyond – Your no-nonsense guide to network news, honest reviews, with in-depth coverage, unique research as well as the humour and madness as I only know how to deliver.
Follow me on Twitter at @EconomyBeyond for the latest updates! You can also follow me on Instagram too!
Also remember that as well as being part of BoardingArea, we’re also part of BoardingArea.eu, delivering frequent flyer news, miles and points to European readers
