Review: Cerulean Tower Tokyu Hotel

Introduction

Located in Tokyo’s buzzing Shibuya district, the Cerulean Tower Tokyu Hotel occupies the upper levels of one of the only skyscrapers in the area – affording most of the guest rooms stunning views over the city.

With easy access to the subway system (as well as the Narita Express), a wide range of amenities and attentive service, the Cerulean Tower Tokyu Hotel is highly geared towards the business traveller looking to make the most of their stay in Tokyo.

Location & Impressions

From Narita Airport, you can hop on the Narita Express to Shibuya station, which deposits you just a few hundred metres from the hotel within around 90 minutes.

If you’re flying into Haneda, take the Keikyu-Kuko line and change at Shinagawa for services to Shibuya station, or hop in a cab – in either case the journey takes roughly 30 minutes.

There’s also the option to take the airport limo bus from either Narita or Haneda, which will drop you off at the hotel.

On arrival, you’ll notice that the Cerulean Tower is the tallest building in the vicinity. The Cerulean Tower itself houses a number of commercial businesses on the lower levels, while the Tokyu Hotel occupies floors 19 to 37 with a total of 408 guestrooms and suites, many of which have views of Tokyo tower, Tokyo Skytree, and stunning views of Mount Fuji’s peak on clear days. 

Staff at the entrance are able to assist with luggage, and are friendly and efficient during the check-in process.

Room

The Cerulean Tower Tokyu Hotel offers a range of rooms and suites, with rooms ranging in size from 28sqm to almost 50sqm for King Corner rooms, while Suites range from 60sqm to over 200sqm.

The hotel also has an ‘Executive’ floor (which is actually for rooms on floors 32 to 37). These rooms offer access to the Executive Lounge as well as complimentary use of the Fitness Club, which is an optional extra for non-Executive rooms.

For our stay, we're booked into a Deluxe King room on the Executive Floorm, which has high quality finishes throughout. 

With sweeping views over the city and a large floorplan (almost 50sqm), this is one of the larger hotel rooms we’ve stayed at in Tokyo. The bathroom is especially spacious and well equipped, with quality and considered amenities. 

Inside the room, there’s a large full-size wardrobe...

...which also houses the safe.

The king-size bed sits flush to the wall on the left side of the room...

...with a spacious sitting area to the right.

On the bedside table is an alarm clock and a master control panel for the lights and window shades.

A Bose speaker is also provided if you want to pipe in your own tunes. 

A flip-up panel reveals two international electrical outlets (no adapters required), which are close enough to the small circular table that you can keep your devices plugged in while working.

A well stocked minibar has a range of cups and glasses depending on your beverage of choice, a Nespresso machine with pods, and some snacks and mini liquor bottles.

The day’s newspaper in English is also provided, along with information on how to connect to the Wi-Fi.

The bathroom features a large tub...

...and a separate shower, with plenty of space and light.

Inside you'll also find bathrobes...

...and a good range of L’Occitane amenities...

...as well as pyjamas if you haven’t brought your own.

Work

The room itself is sufficient to work in, although the table provided isn’t exactly a working desk.

After breakfast, the Executive Lounge is relatively quiet, and with great views over Tokyo and plenty of refreshments available, it’s a solid base to get some work done.

Refurbished last year, the Executive Lounge is light and airy, with minimalist Japanese décor and friendly staff nearby to assist guests.

A communal bench offers easy access to charging points, and is also handy if you’re working with colleagues or need extra space.

The lobby floor also features a ‘Business Salon’, where you can use an 8-person meeting room or make use of a desktop computer and printer.

As a commercial building on the lower floors, Cerulean Tower has plenty of shops and other services available within, making it handy if there’s anything out of the ordinary that you require.

Eat

The Cerulean Tower Tokyu Hotel has a number of restaurants within the building, including Japanese, Chinese and International options.

As our room was on the Executive Floors, we took advantage of the complimentary breakfast spread in the Executive Lounge.  A self-serve buffet features breads, croissants, pastries, and other continental items. You can also opt for a freshly prepared omelette, as well as salads, steamed vegetables, a variety of hams and sausages.

Afternoon tea and evening cocktails (with hors d’oeuvres) are also available in the Executive Lounge, but if you’re visiting outside of those hours you’re also free to mix your own drinks with various beers, wines and spirits available. Keep in mind that the variety of food doesn't change too much from day to day, so if you're staying for more than a couple of nights it's worth exploring options further afield. 

For something a bit more special, head to the very top of the Cerulean Tower, where you’ll find Bar Bellovisto on the 40^th floor.

This refined cocktail bar offers glittering views of the city from the Cerulean Tower’s highest perch, and also offers a great selection of food as well. I opted for a glass of champagne and a selection of small dishes, including this house-made sausage plate...

...which was perfectly accompanied by live music on the piano.

The Bellovisto bar offers outstanding produce and creative dishes. The bar is very versatile in the way that you could visit for a pre-dinner or post-dinner aperitif and snack, or settle in for the evening and a enjoy a selection of their dishes for dinner.

Relax

Guests on the Executive Floors have complimentary access to the hotel’s fitness centre, which includes a gym, swimming pool and spa + sauna area.

As far as hotel gyms go, the facilities at the Cerulean Tower Tokyu are top-notch, with high-quality fitness equipment, complimentary massage chairs and a range of other facilities that most hotel gyms don't offer. 

Within the tower there is also a full service spa and various beauty services.

Zen Experience

During our stay, the hotel was offering a ‘Zen Experience’, which was a great way to experience the local culture and relax at the same time - this was a wonderfully unique experience that we haven’t encountered at any other hotel, in Japan or elsewhere.

We were greeted by Zen Master Ohta-san, in a secluded and quiet tatami mat room. A brief explanation of Zen gets the ball rolling, but it’s purposefully not too lengthy or in depth – this is in order to not put preconceived notions into your mind about the experience.

One thing to remember – Zen is not meditation. As someone who is not well versed in the practice, my understanding of the philosophy is that it more closely resembles a state of focus and being that incorporates togetherness of body and mind, where you practice awareness, calmness,  and togetherness. While it sounds similar to meditation, it has its own unique philosophy that sets it apart.

We start off by practicing counting backwards from 10, with deep breaths in between each number. During this, your focus is to empty your thoughts, clear the mind and be present in the experience.

Usually you’ll sit cross-legged during the session, but if you’re unable to do this for lengthy periods of time a chair may also be used.

We did three rounds of 10 minutes, which breaks the session up into manageable chunks of time – this really lets you practice the technique and improve as you go.

Afterwards, I shared some tea with Ohta-san, and left feeling calm and relaxed. The tools and techniques you learn during the experience are also something that you can carry over to your day-to-day life, and overall it’s a highly recommended experience. Since Tokyo is such a naturally busy and hectic place, many Japanese people are flocking to Zen in order to bring some balance to their busy, tech-driven lives.

Overall

The Cerulean Tower Tokyu Hotel ticks all our boxes for a great business hotel, thanks to the outstanding facilities and attentive staff. For the best experience, we'd recommend booking a room on one of the Executive Floors to take advantage of the stunning views, complimentary food and beverages in the Executive Lounge, and access to the hotel's fantastic gym and pool amenities.

James Fordham stayed as a guest of Cerulean Tower Tokyu Hotel.

James Fordham

James has been interested in aviation ever since his first flight. When he’s not travelling, he’s still on the road indulging his motoring hobby, or trying a new whisky.