Shinjuku Granbell Hotel – Luxury Designer Double Mature room

After over a week spent at Citadines Central Shinjuku, we wanted to treat ourselves to a nicer hotel for our final night in Tokyo. Preferably somewhere higher up, with a nice view from the room, maybe with access to an executive lounge and a large bathtub too. After all, this was Hubby’s birthday trip and would be great to finish it on a high note. The Luxury Designer Double Mature room at Shinjuku Granbell Hotel not only ticked all those boxes but also didn’t do much damage to our budget, which was a huge plus (we’ve paid ¥30050 which at the time was just over A$300).

Shinjuku Granbell Hotel – The room

From the very first step through the door, the room feels classy and calm. As we walked in, it was almost time for the golden hour, so the light coming through the windows made the room look even more welcoming.

We had some plans for the rest of the afternoon and evening but we cancelled them all after sitting in the bathtub for a while. -Let’s just quickly go out, buy some sushi, snacks and a bottle of wine, and we can spend the rest of the evening in the bathtub. Having the room just for one night made that new plan sound less crazy than it really was. We grabbed everything we needed from a nearby Family Mart and enjoyed the best feature of the room. That bathtub is extremely comfortable, easily fits 2 people and gives you the best vantage point to watch a sunset over Shinjuku.

The wooden floor in the bedroom area gives the room a pleasant & elegant feel. Although, in my opinion, the small table and chairs didn’t feel right for the space and should be more luxurious. But the bed didn’t disappoint – after the semi-double at our previous hotel, which was no wider than 140cm, we very much enjoyed the king-size bed.

For Tokyo, the size of the room was very generous which I would expect for the price and the room being called luxury. Given enough room to work with, they fitted in a huge TV, spacious rain shower, double sinks, the awesome bathtub, sitting area, a separate toilet and left enough space to walk around comfortably without hitting or kicking anything.

Breakfast, for executive and regular rooms, is served in the restaurant on 12th floor. It’s a very typical buffet style with Japanese and Western options. Unfortunately, it opens at 7 am, which is about 30 minutes too late for those catching early flights from Narita airport. We only grabbed a coffee and few small bites of eggs & veggies, before heading out 10 minutes later.

The executive category rooms are located only on higher floors, 13 – 16 (ours was on level 15) and come with breakfast & access to the lounge.

The Lounge

Guest staying in the executive rooms and suites can use a special Club Lounge on level 13. It offers free soft drinks & snacks all day and happy hour (with wine and beer) in the afternoon. Also, the concierge for those guests is located there so they can check-in and out comfortably. But again, the opening hours should be revised – leaving early for the airport we couldn’t check-out there as it opens at 9 am.