The Ritz-Carlton Tokyo – Hotel Review

With two Michelin-starred restaurants, views as far as Mount Fuji and exceptionally attentive staff, the Ritz-Carlton Tokyo remains, after 15 years of operation, the city’s best embodiment of luxury. Read on for the full review.

The Roppongi five-star hotel is more than deserving of its reputation for elegant extravagance. Guests experience it when sliding into Frette linen-sheathed beds, reclining in marble deep-soaking tubs and plucking produce from the plate of Michelin-cred chefs, all while admiring the skyline-spotting spoils that a hotel occupying the upper levels of the city’s tallest building affords.

Where is The Ritz-Carlton Tokyo?

Towering over the ward of Roppongi, a neighbourhood that houses everything from fine-dining finds, glossy designer stores and late-night revelry.

What’s near The Ritz-Carlton Tokyo?

It depends on your interests. If you’re a fine-dining devotee, the renowned Sukiyabashi Jiro (a food-lover’s infatuation compounded by Netflix’s Jiro Dreams of Sushi) is here, provided you’ve hit the reservation lottery. But so are myriad understated yakitori and ramen spots, serving the hungry late-night crowd (Ippudo, around 400 metres away, is a standout).

Art enthusiasts have plenty of outlets within walking distance: the first stop should be Mori Art Museum, one of the country’s best contemporary art institutions, 15 minutes away on foot.

Room types

Marble bathrooms, featherbeds and Asprey bath amenities are only part of the dream this indulgent hotel sells its guests. The enormous picture windows complete the scene of exclusivity, giving a glorious glimpse of the city’s cluttered skyline that feels utterly private (especially when admired from the soaking tub). The elegant rooms, which have a kind of comfy corporate vibe to them, are palatial when considered in the local context – even the smallest is a generous 80 square metres. The Modern Japanese Suite is a breath of fresh, local air, with tatami mat flooring, shoji doors and Tokyo Bay views.

Restaurants and bars

The hotel managed a major coup when they coaxed Shintaro Miyazaki, whose French eatery Au Gout du Jour was crowned by Michelin, to bring his award-winning work to Azure 45, one of seven on-site eateries. The plates from the French-Japanese eatery which also has a star to its name, are at once intricate and delicate, showcasing local seafood and beef, from prized Japanese Kinki to Wagyu sourced from the south-west.

Hinokizaka, an expansive eatery where a chef-ringed private dining counter (housed inside a transported 200-year-old teahouse) faces yet another incredible city view. Also boasting a star, it offers the choice of kaiseki, sushi, tempura and teppanyaki dining, with each served in a separate area of the restaurant, although if you’re hoping to sample from other areas, the staff are happy to arrange a crossover service.

Travel for work

The Club Lounge is ensconced on the property’s 53rd floor, where the views become all the more distracting. Informal meetings easily lend themselves to the comfy lounging spaces, as do inbox-clearing sprints. There’s no need to relocate for sustenance, either – the lounge has no less than five meal services, ranging from delicate afternoon teas to full breakfasts with a fluffy omelette-making station.

The hotel has an enormous area – well over 3,600 metres, in fact – dedicated to meetings and conferences, with many spaces overlooking peaceful gardens with enormous windows that also flush natural light through the rooms.

Spa, gym and pool

The hotel gives over a stunning 6500 metres to its sprawling, warmly lit wellness area, a place of soothing spaces and corners. The 20-metre indoor lap pool, 24-hour fitness centre – which has treadmills stationed to overlook the city, of course – and spa all reside on the 46th floor (an evening swim is highly recommended, mostly for the views). The Sakura treatment, which uses rose quartz crystal as the medium for deep tissue massage, is a dream.

Sustainability

The Ritz-Carlton brand adheres to a broader brand commitment to sustainable initiatives, such as water-use reduction and focus on local farmers, producers and growers. In practice, guests will notice the use of sustainably sourced seafood at on-site restaurants and the recycling of unused amenities to make fibre-optic cables.

What you need to know

Feeling romantic? The hotel also houses a wedding chapel.

SEE ALSO: The Best Hotels in Tokyo