Review: JW Marriott Hotel Tokyo [Japan]
| Positives | Negatives |
|---|---|
| Beautiful and modern rooms with great views | Price on points is too expensive relative to other options |
| Gorgeous pool; one of the best in Japanese city hotels | Pool appointments feel too rigid |
| Convenient location | Location can feel sterile for the time being |
| Good executive lounge |
JW Marriott Tokyo is the most recent Marriott opening in Tokyo and is the second one in Japan bearing the JW Marriott flag after the one in Nara. I decided to try out for one night before my flight home just around one month after its grand opening Its close proximity to HND was also a plus to my decision.
I expressed in the past that I would skip this hotel due of its very high points pricing, but after seeing a PointSavers promotion that happened before the hotel’s grand opening, I caved and decided to pull the trigger to try it out. After all, this might be the only time where I could find the most reasonable price for this hotel.
JW Marriott Tokyo- Booking
I booked a one-night stay for 80,000 Marriott points thanks to a PointSavers promotion. Normally, the hotel would charge up to 150k points because it’s set as a Category 9 hotel, making it the most expensive hotel in Tokyo points-wise. Unfortunately, without PointSavers, it’d be impossible to book this hotel with an 85K Free Night Certificate even with 15k points topup.
I also had one remaining Nightly Upgrade Award certificate left and used it for this hotel. Junior Suite is the highest category that allows for NUA here, and I applied it only to that room. It was confirmed 5 days before check-in!
JW Marriott Tokyo- Location
JW Marriott Tokyo is located in Takanawa Gateway City, a newly-built business park near Shinagawa with visions of futuristic technology. However, most of it are still under construction, and it’s to be determined if the vision will be realized. Currently, there are just few shops and restaurants nearby inside NEWoMan, a shopping mall that’s part of Takanawa Gateway City.
Conveniently, there’s a train station just in front of the hotel with Takanawa Gateway Station. It serves JR Lines that will get you to places easily in like Ginza, Haneda Airport, and Yokohama to name a few.
While the location is well-connected, I find it a bit sterile, at least for the time being.
JW Marriott Tokyo- Check-in
I arrived to the hotel after checking out from Takanawa Hanakohro around noon. It’s an easy hotel hop as it’s just across the street from the JW Marriott.
The entry is on the second floor of the complex, and there are escalators you can take if you’re coming by foot from the street. If you use a taxi, there will be a driveway on the first floor instead that will take you to the elevator to the hotel as well.
The lobby is on the 29th floor, and you’ll meet the JW griffin after stepping out of the elevator.
The reception desk is to the left of this lobby lounge where a small cafe that sells pastries is set up as well.
I was hoping to get an early check-in, but was told the room wouldn’t be ready. The process was smooth and I’d get the bonus 1000 points and some treats to be sent to my room.They also confirmed the NUA upgrade to the Junior Suite on the 27th floor.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get a 4pm late checkout. Apparently there’s a recent change seen in the Japanese Marriott site regarding how 4pm checkout is no longer guaranteed for Platinum Elite and up, which is concerning. They did let me use the Executive Lounge until 4pm, however.
So then I went to Ginza for some lunch, wandered around, and got back to the hotel at 3pm. It turned out that I was reassigned to the 23rd floor, and at the time, I thought I remembered the floor count wrong and didn’t inquire about it. The staff didn’t say anything either.
JW Marriott Tokyo- Executive Suite Bay View
Each floor for guest room have this corridor with animated background behind the glass cover that look very cool! They’re just after the elevators and you’ll always get through them to get to the rooms’ side of the floor.
My room number was 2304, and to my surprise, I was upgraded further to the Executive Suite! So I didn’t remember the floor count wrong!
Living Room
The Executive Suite starts with a long entryway with dark wood walls surrounding it.
Just to the right of the entry is a wall niche with contrasting color thanks to the lighting. It’s very modern Japanese design.
Along the entrance area, there’s a closet to the left.
And a washroom to the right.
Then comes the living room. With long plush sofa, plush chairs around a stylized coffee table. Plus, a round dining table by the windows and a TV.
Later on, a staff brought a plate of chocolate and note.
By the long sofa is where the pantry and minibar are. There’s Nespresso machine, electric kettle, free water, and expensive alcohol.
The drinks inside the minibar are chargeable.
The view of my suite comes with the train tracks and Tokyo Bay at a distance, including a clear view of the Rainbow Bridge. Though on the opposite side of the building, you may get the more urban view where there’s more building density.
I’ve read that train noises can be heard from this side, but I personally did not notice it considering that I’m on the lowest floor. Your mileage may vary.
Behind the living room TV is the hall towards the bedroom at the end with the bathroom in the middle to the left and the toilet room to the right.
Bathroom
The bathroom is very spacious. The sinks are in both sides of the wall of the bathroom. The sink has a seamless basin that is pretty unique to see. I also liked the jade glass they have here.
The circular-looking thing by the tissue box is a portable Bluetooth speaker that can also function as a lamp. It has a kintsugi sculpture design where you split it open to activate. It’s pretty cool, but apparently costs $350!? It doesn’t deliver the best sound, but I’m just happy to get an in-room Bluetooth speaker after not having any in Waldorf Astoria Osaka.
Under the sink is where you can find complete set of toiletries.
Then, the wet room is at the corner end of the bathroom with curved walls. The bathtub and showers are both in the same room.
Well, it’s not only the walls that are curved here. Though the bathtub design allows you to lay in two different positions: parallel to the window or facing the window. Despite how it looks, you don’t need to break your vertebrae to use it, but tall people might struggle on this one.
Still, it was very nice to take a bath with this amazing view!
Besides the tub is some bath salts, bar soap, and shower cap.
Across the bathroom is another toilet room with bright walls compared to the one by the main entrance.
Bedroom
Then, at the end of the suite, is the bedroom area.
The far-right of the bedroom area is the walk-in closet where lights will automatically turn on when you walk in to it. It’s also where you can store your luggage.
They have specialized sets of pyjamas that are very soft and feel high quality! They feel like the ones I had in Ritz-Carlton Fukuoka. There’s also nemakis that you can wear too!
The bedroom size is decently large. The king bed is firm, but still comfortable. During evening turndown, they may leave you a pillow mist bottle to help you sleep better, or at least give pleasant aroma.
By the bed are switches to control lights and curtains. There’s 3-prong, USB-A, and USB-C sockets too!
There’s also another Bluetooth speaker but is not portable like the Teno.
By the window, there’s a sofa that cover wall-to-wall. There’s a space on the left without the backrest so you could enjoy a frontal view. There’s also machines that appear to be air purifier that I didn’t play around with.
They also leave some platform at the back of the sofa that can be perfect for train watching.
Overall, I loved this suite! It’s modern and they really do well on using curves on the furniture like the low tables and sinks to give the room more character. When it comes to points hotels in Tokyo, JW Marriott has one of the best hard products.
JW Marriott Tokyo- Executive Lounge
Marriott Platinum Elite and up gets complimentary access to the executive lounge. There are 4 different offerings: breakfast, afternoon tea, evening hors d’oeuvres, and cordials & desert at night.
I was able to see all of them except for the hors d’oeuvres since I had dinner plans in the city.
The executive lounge is located on the 28th floor.
The lounge possibly uses a quarter of the floor’s edges and offer plenty of seats paired with the great view of Tokyo Bay.
Breakfast
Food and drinks offerings are placed on counter islands and will change depending on the time. Though the coffee machine is available all day.
Drinks in general can be grabbed on the many fridges this lounge has.
Breakfast buffet hot items are located at near end of the lounge. There were fried noodles, stir-fried vegetables, and boiled eggs. There’s also rice station where you could make your own gyudon bowl or have various Japanese toppings like mentaiko and bonito flakes. But, I’m not sure if the buffet menu changes or not.
Behind the hot buffet is the salad & fruit bar.
On the fridge you can grab things like sashimi, natto, fruits, parfaits, and yogurt.
There’s also some more Japanese breakfast items and various cereal.
There are also pastries and bread station.
You may also order small dishes and drinks from the a la carte menu including egg, Japanese dishes, coffee, and tea. You can order as much as you’d like as well which is nice.
The baked salmon I had was smooth and nicely cooked, but it could use a bit more salt.
Overall, the breakfast was satisfactory. There’s a decent amount of options in the buffet section and you can order the dishes from the a la carte menu as much as you want should you desire it.
Afternoon Tea
I got to check out the afternoon tea after checking out of my room, and they let me use the executive lounge before I leave for my flight back home.
There are nice selections of sweets and savoury bites that you can freely enjoy!
There were some interesting snacks offered too like mentaiko and wasabi chips.
Cordials & Dessert
I indulged in some desserts after having dinner outside. They’re all tasty and I enjoyed them with some hibiscus tea by Jing. The Rainbow Bridge lights up at night and it’s simply magnificent!
JW Marriott Tokyo- Pool
The pool is located on the 29th floor where the spa is. To get access, you need to set up an appointment which I find to be too stringent. Other hotels don’t require it and seemed to have no issues with the demand. Thankfully it’s free for guests unlike some hotels that do charge swimming pool use for their guests!
Though the goal of setting appointment is to prevent overcrowding, I felt like I ran across more people than usual than on the pools that don’t require it! It might just be bad luck on my part.
You’ll get access to the locker room for your belongings, and there’s a swimsuit dryer machine as well. There are steam and sauna rooms inside the locker room, but I couldn’t get a picture since there were people inside.
Outside of that, the pool is very gorgeous! The faux-stone walls, lanterns, and the tall windows make for luxurious atmosphere! Apparently, if the weather is clear, you can even see Mt. Fuji in the background. Sadly, I didn’t get the chance to see it since it was raining a bit when I checked out the pool during the day.
It becomes better at night! The lighting and the skyscraper lights in the background sets up a really great mood. Oh, and there’s also the Tokyo Tower clearly seen in the background. Simply lovely!
Just by the pool, there’s a round jacuzzi that could possibly fit 10 people in with respectable space between each other. The jet pressure was great, though not as comically strong like the one in Ritz-Carlton Tokyo!
The swimming pool is probably the highlight facility of this hotel. The setting and backdrop is just very beautiful, and is the best one I’ve experienced in a city hotel across Japan!
JW Marriott Tokyo- Gym
The gym is open 24/7 and is on the same floor as the spa.
It’s a long hallway with rows of cardio and strength training machines, and you can workout with a nice view.
There’s also a dedicated yoga room. This hotel also offer yoga sessions in the morning for guests as well, but I coudn’t check it out.
Conclusion
JW Marriott Tokyo is a beautiful addition to the city. The rooms have distinguished modern Japanese design and the swimming pool was simply stunning! The surprise last minute upgrade to the Executive Suite on top of the already confirmed NUA was also very appreciated!
Though I experienced a “give and take” experience during my stay. I was refused a 4pm checkout, but was allowed to use the lounge until then. The pool was gorgeous, but hampered by the inconvenience of needing appointments. The location is well-connected, but I can see myself getting bored with it during a longer stay since most of the things in the vicinity still feel barebone.
Now to address the elephant in the room… this hotel is overpriced on points. This is the most expensive Marriott hotel (on points) in Tokyo, and under normal circumstances, is priced in the same tier as HOTEL THE MITSUI and the Ritz-Carlton, Kyoto. Even Ritz-Carlton Nikko just a few hours away from Tokyo charges less than the JW Marriott.
Outside of Japan, it’s on the same tier of the likes of Al Maha and various resorts in the Maldives! So, the opportunity cost is something heavy to consider since it’s hard to earn Marriott points outside of real stays.
I simply got lucky with the 80k points booking. If it was normally priced around that, then I’d have a different tune, and I would think that’d be a fair price for it.
Comparing it to past Marriott hotels I’ve tried like The Prince Gallery and Mesm Tokyo which cost less in points, I felt similar level of satisfaction across all of them including the JW Marriott. I’m glad that I’m not paying at the range of 120k-150k points that the JW tends to charge for the same level of experience and satisfaction. Hopefully, price adjustments will come to this hotel that offer better value in the future.
I want to really like this hotel as I’m a fan of its design, but I can’t fully do it with the current pricing!