Hotel Vintage Tokyo Kagurazaka

This is the largest hotel room I've had in Tokyo. I liked having a big seating area by the TV, separate from the beds. The clothes dryer and shower system were great. There was a fridge in the room, and a microwave and other facilities were available on another floor.

The place is handy for food and trains, with lots of good eateries nearby and the station about a five-minute walk away. It was also really clean and clearly well looked after. The beds were the hard part for me: much firmer than a usual hotel bed, almost like shikibuton-style mattresses on box springs. I kept waking up and didn't feel rested. A decent option if you’re fine sleeping on a very firm surface.

We were five in the loft room, and it turned out to be huge, with big couches and loads of room for our three kids to unwind at the end of the day. The neighbourhood had a nice local feel, with restaurants and coffee shops along the main strip, and didn’t feel touristy. Getting around was easy with the station close by. The staff were great, especially Kim at the front desk, who went above and beyond helping with our bag forwarding. We’d be glad to come back.

I found this place a nightmare, and would tell people to avoid it. The curtains face a busy street right in front of the beds, are partly see-through, and won’t close all the way. We complained; a staff member tried to fix them but couldn’t, and there was no other solution. Management said by email that this was how they were meant to be and offered extra cloth to block the sunlight. But my concern was privacy, not sunlight. At times there was nobody at reception when we needed help. Check-in is at 3 pm, checkout at 10 am, and late checkout costs 2300 Yen per hour. That felt really unfair.