Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo

Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo
General information
Status Complete
Type Hotel
Architectural style High-rise
Address Marunouchi Trust Tower Main, 1-8-3 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Coordinates 35°40′57″N 139°46′10″E / 35.682535°N 139.769472°E / 35.682535; 139.769472Coordinates: 35°40′57″N 139°46′10″E / 35.682535°N 139.769472°E / 35.682535; 139.769472
Construction started 2006[1]
Completed 2008[1]
Opening March 2, 2009[2]
Owner Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts
Management Shangri-La Hotels Japan
Technical details
Floor count 11[1]
Design and construction
Architect Yasui Architects[1]
Developer Toda Corporation[1]
Other information
Number of rooms 200
Website
www.shangri-la.com/tokyo/shangrila

The Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo is a five-star luxury hotel[3] located over 13 floors of the Marunouchi Trust Tower Main in Marunouchi, directly above Tokyo Station in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan.

The hotel was selected as the number one luxury hotel in the world in TripAdvisor's Travelers' Choice Award 2012.[4]

History

The Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo, with Tokyo Station in the foreground

The Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo, was opened on March 2, 2009.[2] It was the first property in Japan from Hong Kong-based Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts. The group opened its first property in 1971 in Singapore and currently operates 112 hotels.[5]

The hotel has 200 guestrooms and suites spread over 11 floors of the Mori-built Marunouchi Trust Tower Main.[1] CNN Travel praised the hotel in its pick of "Tokyo's top hotels"[6] for its location close to the Tokyo Imperial Palace and for having elevators that are "the poshest in town, featuring full-on chandeliers and black-mirrored ceilings." According to the guide, Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo has contributed to "this once slightly dull financial district [being] redeveloped over the past decade into an international visitor-friendly shopping and dining hotspot."

The hotel offers a "Meet & Great" service whereby special staff escort guests to and from Tokyo Station's platforms, including the shinkansen. It is also offers excursions to other luxury hotels and resorts around the country, such as in Kyoto and Hakone.[7]

Design and construction

The hotel's central stairway

The hotel's interior was designed by Hirsch Bedner Associates,[8] based in Santa Monica, California, while Andre Fu of Hong Kong-based AFSO designed the Presidential Suite, Horizon Club Lounge, Piacere, the signature Italian restaurant, and Nadaman, the Japanese kaiseki restaurant.[9]

Features

Art collection

Jinli Shen's Qing ming shang he tu

The hotel contains some 2,000 pieces of art.[6] The collection of art draws its inspiration from the works of poet Bai Juyi (772-846), a Chinese poet of the Tang dynasty.

Notable works include Jinli Shen's Qing ming shang he tu (Along the river during the Qingming Festival) and images of a Qing Dynasty landscape in eggshell ceramic by Chen Jun, an award-winning artist and professor of art at Wuhan University.

Rooms and suites

The hotel has 200 rooms of which six are luxurious suites. The rooms are divided on either side of the hotel, facing either Tokyo Bay and Tokyo Sky Tree (the world's tallest tower), or towards the city and Tokyo Imperial Palace overlooking Tokyo Station. The rooms located in the corners of the hotel are titled Premier Bay View and Premier City View accordingly. The Horizon Club floor rooms follow the same pattern, but also include personal concierge service and access to the Horizon Club Lounge.

Restaurants and lounge

Nadaman

The hotel's Italian restaurant is led by Chef Paolo Pelosi, and sometimes welcomes chefs from the world's leading Michelin Star restaurants, such as Chef Marco Stabile of Ora d'Aria in Florence, for collaboration dinners like 'Modern Tuscan Cuisine'.[10] Piacere was decorated with the Best Award of Excellence at the Wine Spectator Grand Awards 2012.[11]

Originally established in 1830, Nadaman originated in Osaka and has served royalty and world leaders.[12] The restaurant 29th floor of Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo, was designed by Hong Kong architect Andre Fu,[13] drawing from nature with bamboo-shaped partitions and ceramic tiles with cherry-blossom motifs. Head chef Takahiko Yoshida follows the kaiseki (multi course) tradition.[12]

With 104 seats on the 28th floor, The Lobby Lounge offers a wide range of food from Asian specialities to continental breakfasts, snacks and coffees and afternoon tea sets. It is centred on a bar counter with a "cascading chandelier".[13]

CHI, The Spa

CHI, The Spa at Shangri-La, offers spa services, including the Kisetsu Ritual and Samurai Treatment.[14] The six spa rooms are entirely private and the largest self-contained spa suites in Tokyo,[15] containing their own showers, bathtub, saunas, surrounded by Tibetan artifacts, writings and furniture.[14]

Awards

In 2009, Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo was listed for the "Best New Business Hotel Award" by Wallpaper magazine [16]

The Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo was voted the number one luxury hotel in the world in TripAdvisor's Travelers' Choice Award 2012.[4] 3,943 properties globally were recognized, based on millions of reviews and opinions from travelers around the world. Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo was the first hotel in Japan to win a Traveler's Choice Award, in the award's tenth year.

Events

The Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo hosts events in its ballroom, including visiting performers such as the Leipzig String Quartet (with proceeds going to the victims of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami), and hosting the Jacksons, Macy Gray and A.I. for an after-party live event for the Michael Jackson Tribute Show in December 2011.[17]

Media reviews

The New York Times described the hotel as "lavish" with a "discreet entrance" that whisks visitors to a lobby "dotted with fresh orchids, cascading chandeliers and plush sofas - to recreate a resortlike feel, high above the city’s chaos."[13]

Hemispheres, the onboard magazine of United Airlines selected the hotel for its "Three Perfect Days: Tokyo" article. The hotel was described as having an "ultramodern exterior" but a "gentleman’s-club opulence," with a view over Tokyo Station of "toylike bullet trains."[18]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Mori Trust City". Mori Trust. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  2. 1 2 Jonathan Cheng (2009-02-25). "Shangri-La Hotel Offers Deal for Tokyo Opening". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  3. ↑ "Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo". TripAdvisor. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  4. 1 2 Julie Cassetina (2012-01-18). "Tripadvisor Announces Worlds Best Hotels with 2012 Traveler's Choice Awards". TripAdvisor. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  5. ↑ "Legendary hospitality around the world". Shangri-La International Hotel Management. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  6. 1 2 Nicole Fall (2010-02-16). "Tokyo's top hotels, for those who can afford them". CNN. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  7. ↑ "Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo Offers New Enchanting and Station "Meet and Greet" Service to Conincide with the Opening of Tokyo Station City". Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts. 2012-09-27. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
  8. ↑ "Portfolio: Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo". Hirsch Bedner Associates. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  9. ↑ "Andre Fu's Bespoke Journey". InDesign Live Asia. 2011-07-20. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  10. ↑ "Piacere at Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo presents modern Tuscan cuisine". Japan Today. 2012-07-25. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  11. ↑ "2012 restaurant award winner". Wine Spectator. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  12. 1 2 Robert Michael Poole (2012-01-31). "Foie Gras in a Tea Cup". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  13. 1 2 3 Hiroko Tabuchi (2012-08-26). "Hotel Review: The Shangri-La Hotel in Tokyo". New York Times. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  14. 1 2 Robert Michael Poole (2012-01-03). "Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo: Samurai Treatment". CNN. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  15. ↑ "Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo". CNN. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  16. ↑ "Best Business Hotels 2009". Wallpaper (magazine). 2009-05-05. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  17. ↑ "Jackson brothers to visit Michael's 'second home'". Japan Times. 2011-12-09. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  18. ↑ Robert Michael Poole (2012-10-01). "Three Perfect Days: Tokyo". Hemispheres. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
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