The Tokyo Prince Hotel was one of the first several Prince Hotels to be established. It has been nearly sixty years since it opened in 1964, in time for the first Tokyo Olympics. Like many early Prince Hotels, it occupies a site once owned by Japanese nobility, who sold land en masse due to high taxation post-war. Together with the Hotel New Otani, it remains one of the few 60s-era hotels to still stand in Tokyo following the controversial demolishing of Hotel Okura’s main wing.

Booking Tokyo Prince Hotel

I booked the Tokyo Prince Hotel for a nightly rate of JPY 23,500 (£141), which I thought is a very good price considering that many three-star hotels in Tokyo had rates even higher than that. To make things better, this rate was for an Upper Floor Deluxe Room, which is one level above the standard floor rooms. I booked this stay with Traveloka, an Indonesian online travel agency that had the best prices for my stay.

Location

The Tokyo Prince is located in Tokyo’s Shiba Park area, that’s built around the historic Buddhist temple of Zojo-ji, next door. Right in front of the hotel is Onarimon Station of the Mita Line, convenient for trips to Hibiya Park and Tokyo Station (via Otemachi Sta.). There are also a few other subway stations nearby, including Daimon Sta. of the Asakusa Line (for Haneda Airport) and Kamiyacho Sta. of the Hibiya Line (for Roppongi). Behind the hotel is Tokyo Tower, giving guests (with rooms facing the back) a romantic view of the tower lighting up. All around, very strategic location!

Arrival and Check-in

I got to the Tokyo Prince via the Asakusa Line, alighting at Daimon Station, which is a roughly 10-minute walk away. There were no less than five people standing watch at the porte cochère. However, I found it interesting that nobody came to assist, seeing me walking all the way from the roadside to the lobby with my large suitcase. No one said anything or even batted an eyelid as I went in, which felt quite surreal. Oh well.

Unlike my experience at Yokohama Royal Park Hotel, nobody stopped me from approaching the check-in desks even though I came early at 10.00 (no surprise I guess?). I went straight to the next available empty desk and was greeted warmly by the friendly agent. After confirming my reservation, she gladly checked me in and even told me that my room was ready. Wow, getting a room early in Japan? Outside my pandemic stay at Imperial Hotel Tokyo in 2020, I’ve never once gotten a room early in Japan. How surreal!

Once checked in, I managed to take a better look at the lobby, as I walked to the lifts. Even built on a 60-year-old foundation, the lobby looked very nice and upscale. The designers definitely played with empty space very well, evoking a spacious and expansive lobby despite the low ceilings. Just by the entrance is a stunning ikebana arrangement, featuring flower scraps for sustainability. Interestingly, there were also many people sitting in the lobby just to chat throughout the day.

I then headed to the lift lobby, which has a beautiful and colourful mosaic mural. This mural even invited the attention of many people passing by.

Upper Floor Deluxe Room

I was assigned a Deluxe Twin Room on the 9th floor, which is the lowest of the Upper Floor rooms. For reference, the Tokyo Prince only has 11 floors – a stark contrast to the many surrounding skyscrapers in the area. Upon exiting the lifts, there is interestingly a vending machine selling drinks. Both the lift lobby and the corridor are wide and spacious, as you’d tend to find at older hotels.

Immediately inside is a small foyer separated from the rest of the room with a louvered door. On the left-hand wall is the small closet, which nicely has an iron and an ironing board in it.

This opens to a roughly 30 sqm room, which oddly felt a lot more spacious than the one at the Yokohama Royal Park. Having been recently renovated, the room looked very plush and fresh, which I really liked. I was also assigned a front-facing room, getting nice views of the skyscrapers of Hamamatsucho and a glimpse of the neighbouring Zojo-ji.

Whilst the view looked quite nice and impressive, I was surprised to observe how expansive the hotel’s outdoor parking lot is. It honestly would look incredible had this been repurposed into a garden like the ancient ones at Hotel New Otani or Hotel Chinzanso. Regardless, the view was a very Tokyo-like one at that!

Bedroom

Given the red theme of the bedroom, I can’t help but be reminded of a Clarins store out of all places. Disregarding that sentiment, the room features a nice armchair by the window, in addition to a desk that doubles as a vanity table. Across from the beds is a television with a storage console for the yukata underneath it.

Next to the desk/vanity table, is the coffee-machine-equipped minibar. Specifically, they have a Nescafé Dolce Gusto machine, which I definitely wasn’t expecting! Having picked up the habit of drinking coffee in Vietnam, this was truly a godsend. 😉

Regardless, the coffee factor wasn’t as important at this hotel, since I slept really well during my stay. The mattress here wasn’t too firm, whilst the bedding is plush and cozy – complementing the cold airconditioning! This was perhaps the best bed I’ve slept on this trip.

Bathroom

Unlike the modern-looking bedroom, the bathroom looked quite ancient. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if they kept the original design from the 60s since it definitely looked that way. However, I didn’t mind at all given how clean and well-maintained it was; I guess it even started to look charming after a while too! 😀

The bathroom features a small sink, a bathtub, and a bidet-equipped toilet seat. Similar to the arrangement at the Sapporo Prince Hotel, the bath amenities came in large refillable dispensers. Here, the bath amenities were Ella Blaché-branded, which I thought were quite nice.

Amenities

Prince Shopping Arcade

The hotel has its own shopping arcade, located one storey down from the lobby. This area is accessible by the stairs across from the reception desks or by the lifts. Right by the stairs is a Lawson convenience store (open until 23.00), which truly is convenient if you ask me! Curiously, this Lawson sells Prince Hotel Tokyo-branded souvenirs, including biscuits, Hayashi Rice, and curry.

Other than that, I didn’t see much of an arcade since there are probably fewer than ten stores down there. It definitely didn’t help that most stores were shut when I checked out the arcade. A currency exchange machine is available, however, which might come in handy (since Japan remains very cash-oriented).

Shuttle Bus

Despite being surrounded by subway stations, the hotel also offers a complimentary shuttle service to Hamamatsucho Station. This service is convenient for those holding a JR Pass, since Hamamatsucho is on the JR Yamanote Line. From there, it is an easy connection to Shinagawa Station for the Narita Express. On weekdays, the bus departs every hour from 09.00 to 19.00, whereas on weekends it is increased to up to twice an hour from 08.00 to 22.00. The journey takes 20 minutes and stops at the sister Prince Park Tower Hotel.

Service

I thought that the staff members at this hotel were generally pleasant and agreeable. For one, I really appreciated being able to check in early, so that was very thoughtful. Aside from that however, I noticed that the staff at the Tokyo Prince are more reactive than proactive when it comes to service. For instance, I noticed that nobody really greeted any guests in the lobby, nor did they proactively offer to assist with anything. Not that that is a bad thing, but I thought that was an interesting observation.

Overall

Overall, I had a great stay at the Tokyo Prince Hotel. Whilst I didn’t find the service to be excellent, I would happily see myself staying here again due to its comfortable rooms and very nice location in Shiba Koen. More so is the case if I could get a similar great price as I did for this stay!

Read more from this trip here!