Last Updated on | Published: May 7, 2023 |
Japan and Taiwan finally opened their borders without COVID-19 quarantine in October 2022! It’s been 4 years since the last time I visited my family in 2018, mostly because of COVID and partly because of the risk of re-entry to the US for my visa status transition.
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American Express Hilton Surpass Credit Card
The news of the border opening really shined a light because I got 1 Free Night Reward + 130,000 welcome bonus after spending $2000 in 3 months using AMEX Hilton Surpass (annual fee $95) earlier in June 2022. The Surpass Card immediately gives you Gold Hilton Honor Membership with a lot of benefits. Gold members also get a daily complimentary continental breakfast for you and up to 1 registered guest to the same room at Hilton hotels outside the US. Now with the limited time offer, you can earn a 150,000 welcome bonus with my referral link after you spend $3000 within 6 months!
The Free Night Reward was only valid for 1 year from the date you received it. Tokyo Conrad is the most expensive Hilton hotel in Tokyo and plus my AMEX Gold had an offer of $100 credit on Conrad property by the end of 2022. Plus plus, the Japanese Yen was at its bottom thanks to the US aggressively increasing interest rates to fight inflation… If this was not a soul calling, I don’t know what it would be!
Overview of Conrad Tokyo (コンラッド東京)
Location ⭐⭐⭐
Cleanliness ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Service ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Amenities ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Conrad Tokyo is located in a business district and one of the most expensive area of Tokyo, Minato (港区). I give the location only 3 stars because the transportation to Conrad Tokyo is not as convenient. If you go from/to Narita International Airport, you will have to walk and transfer at a couple of stations by train, which is more difficult if you have a lot of baggage or travel with children. The Airport Limousine Bus (エアポートリムジンバス) sevice to Conrad Tokyo has still been suspended due to COVID-19 as of the date of this post.
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Unfortunately, the official Conrad Tokyo website is only in Japanese and the English version links back to the official Hilton Conrad website that is not fully updated with the current events and other details. However, Conrad Tokyo provides a detailed access map with both Japanese and English! Tokyo is composed of the most complicated metro systems in the world. The maps here are oversimplified and easier to make tourists understand. Because Shiodome (汐留) is the nearest station to Conrad Tokyo, I made Shiodome as the destination.
How I got to Conrad Tokyo:
Narita (成田) Airport, Terminal 1 → Skyliner → Keisei Ueno Station (京成上野駅)
→ Walk within the station and follow the sign to Toei Oedo Line (都営大江戸線)
→ Ueno Okachimachi Station (上野御徒町駅)
→ Toei Oedo Line, bound for Ryogoku / Daimon (両国／大門)
→ Shiodome (汐留) → Walk to Conrad Tokyo
Cleanliness & Facilities
Japan is famous for cleanliness, not to mention a 5-star hotel like Conrad Tokyo. The official Conrad Tokyo website shows it has SPA, fitness, a swimming pool, business center with computers and copy machines and Executive Lounge. I did not use any of these facilities, but I believe SPA and Executive Lounge require extra fees. If you are a Diamond Hilton Honor Member, you can access the Executive Lounge for free.
Service & Amenities
Conrad Tokyo is a low-key high-end hotel. It took me a while to find the right exit of Shiodome Station. When I finally arrived at Conrad Tokyo in the evening, a good-looking man welcomed me at the 1F main entrance and took my baggage. Although he wore a mask, I felt he looks like a famous Japanese idol Yamada Ryosuke (山田涼介). 😀
I was then directed to the elevator at 1F where I saw a beautiful Christmas tree! Front desk is at 28F along with fancy restaurants and Bar & Lounge. I originally booked a King City Room for 2 nights, one with Free Night Reward and the other paid with the Amex Gold offer of $100 credit over $500 on certain Conrad properties. However, the King City Room was not available when I checked in. I got a Twin Bay View Room to enjoy the view of Hamarikyu Gardens (浜離宮恩賜庭).
After the check-in and as soon as I approached the Hotel Elevator, I smelled the unique and beautiful scent from the aroma diffuser nearby. Please excuse me for my limited vocabulary to describe the scent. I love it so much that I even asked the staff where I could buy the aroma oil. I was told that it was not sold anywhere and every Conrad hotel has its original scent. As I’m writing this, I found the Conrad Tokyo aroma is called “Experience” and you can actually buy it from the front desk. Damn I did not know this!
The hallway was elegant and low-key with wooden design. After I entered my room, I saw the Conrad signature duck and bear on the bed. Not sure why duck and bear though. Honestly, I think the duck is ugly so I even put a poll on my instagram story on whether I should bring it home. 😂 I’ve heard Conrad bears change colors every month. It looks like December is red and white.
The Bay view at night was incredible and you could sit or lay down comfortably by the window just to enjoy the view. The cleaning staff politely asked me if I needed anything and gave me a little box of chocolate which was printed with Conrad Tokyo in puzzles! What a surprise!
What I loved the most is the bathtub and the curtains! I did not realize the button for “speaker” on the wall until I enjoyed my hot bath while watching TV. Yes, you can hear the sound of TV right from the bathroom! The shades for the bathroom and the curtains for the window are auto-adjustable, which give you privacy if you are traveling with a friend and if you are a sleeper like me who needs complete darkness.
Due to COVID-19, a lot of hotels in Japan now only offer shampoo, conditioner and shower gel in big bottles to share with all customers. Byredo is the brand at Conrad Tokyo. I was surprised that the cleaning staff did not refill with a pack of bath salt for the second night so I ended up buying one from the convenience store.
As I’m writing the review, I found Conrad Tokyo has a Omotenashi （おもてなし）webpage about their service. For parents traveling with babies or kids, they provide from baby bed and kids’ pajamas (3 sizes) to heating/sanitizing baby bottles, and more such as smart phone chargers, humidifiers and air purifiers. There’s also a fancy capsule coffee machine in the room. I don’t drink coffee so I did not use it. I’m not sure if it’s free either.
What I regret the most is I did not know they offer a variety of pillows and aroma oil sets! The bed was good but the pillow was too hard for me. I should’ve asked for a soft one. There are also anti-allergy pillows. I’m also wondering if the aroma oil sets include its original scent “Experience”. I could’ve slept better to recover from the jet lag with these essentials!
Breakfast at Cerise
With Amex Hilton Surpass credit card, you have Gold membership of Hilton Honor right away, which usually offers you complimentary breakfast (and one guest) outside the US. Gold membership may not be worthwhile in the US, but it’s definitely worth it in Japan where food and service are much better!
Hotel breakfast is usually a buffet. I stayed 2 nights in Conrad Tokyo. Unlike Hilton Tokyo, it looks like they changed some of the dishes everyday. I really enjoyed the small Japanese dishes. Conrad Tokyo offers a wide variety of food from fruits, salad, taco, smoked salmon to hot dishes. What makes Conrad Tokyo different is you can order 1 dish from their menu that will be freshly made for you after you order it. I ordered a lobster omelet and pistachio cream & berry sauce pancake on each day. I would recommend the lobster omelet!
Actually on the second day, the server mistakenly gave me a bill for the breakfast which costs 5000 yen per adult. I was very surprised and told the server that I was a Gold member by showing my Hilton Honor app. But it seemed the server did not speak English. I should’ve practiced my Japanese but I was too surprised to think. 😂 English just came out of my mouth naturally. The manager later came and apologized so greatly that I still can remember her facial expression at that time.
Expense & Savings
Yen exchange rate is really the key. When I booked it, the price was only ~$550 per night due to the low yen exchange rate. However, I ended up paying $748 for a night because the rate rose when I checked out.
When you plan to stay also has a huge impact on the prices. I remember the prices over a weekend in mid December in 2022 were over $1000! Even though I had a Free Night Reward, I wanted to stay 2 nights so I chose weekdays which were cheaper. With the AMEX limited time offer of $100 credit on Conrad and the Free Night, basically I spent $324 per night on Conrad Tokyo!
$324 still sounds a lot, to be honest. But looking at how much I saved to get to enjoy the 5 star hotel (Free Night + 2 breakfasts per person = ~$1000). The experience was still worth it.
