I had a short business trip to a company nearby. In the past, I have stayed at Hotel Indigo in San Diego, and several Holiday Inn Expresses, but this is my first time to stay at an Interncontinental
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Hotel. I kind of knew what to expect, as I had visited this particular hotel in the past when I used to live in Tokyo nearly 25 years ago. Now, as an actual customer, I was very impressed with the level of service at the hotel.
Since this was basically a short stay (1 full day in Tokyo, with arrival and departure day), it is very convenient from HND. I could have taken the monorail to Hamamatsu-cho, and then either walked or transferred to Yurikamome line to Takeshiba, which would just drop me off in front of the hotel, but opted for taxi since I didn't want to sweat in the heat. Luckily, it was obon season, so traffic was relatively light, but even with heavy traffic, I would not think it would take very long to arrive to the hotel. For this time, it was about 15-20 mins.
Upon arrival at the hotel, the staff was already out to grab my bags, and usher me into the lobby to help me get checked in. While waiting in line, someone greeted me, and escorted me to the correct line. Checking-in was a breeze, and I was stoked that I got an automatic upgrade.
When I got into the room, the windows were open, and I had a magnificent view of Tokyo Bay. I had a clear view of the Fuji TV ball, and all of Odaiba! :) A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door, and a nice lady brought my bags in for me. I had spoken with her a few minutes earlier, when she was greeting me at the elevator. We had a nice chat about the Duty Free Johnny Walker I had bought for a friend I was meeting later that evening, and this actually helped set the tone for the rest of my stay. I have never encountered a friendlier staff at a hotel before.
My first order of business was to find a convenience store because I forgot to pack socks, and because I just love going to convenience stores in Japan. Luckily, Family Mart wasn't too far away. I bought way too many snacks and drinks, but more to bring home. :)
The location of the hotel is very convenient for what I was doing. My friend came by, and told me that since it was Obon season, not a lot of restaurants were open. We ended up taking a short taxi ride into Tsukiji and found Sushi Zanmai was open. Later, a bunch of other friends wanted to meet up in Azabu-Juban area, and that was a fairly quick taxi ride away as well.
When I got up in the morning, the hotel breakfast catered more towards Chinese and Western palettes, but it was convenient, reasonably priced, and also featured another magnificent view of Tokyo Bay. After finishing up, I noticed that I was able to walk out onto a deck to take in the sight without a window. In fact, from there, I could walk directly to Takeshiba station without needing to cross the street, since I was on the 3rd floor.
As I was strolling around in the early morning, I just kept walking around, and discovered that after passing the train station, there was a bridge that lead right into the building where my meeting was going to be held. This was certainly too good to be true!
For this trip, for the proximity to the airport and to my meeting, I was able to maximize my time in Tokyo to its fullest. Combined with the excellent staff, clean room, and awesome views, this was by far one of the best business trips ever. In the future, I will be staying here again, as I will need to start visiting my customer more often! :) So happy to have chosen Hotel Intercontinental Tokyo Bay. [Less]
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