Hotel The Celestine Tokyo Shiba

I read the most recent reviews of this property before we booked it. It was pretty much like others have said. Hotel has an exceptional lobby. Breakfast was excellent too - you can get the hot meals, Japanese soups and condiments, continental meals, a selection of pastries. We got a twin room which was well-decorated but as others pointed out there wasn't much room to hang clothes or to store things so we pretty much used the table that ran along the side of the room, and the couch that ran along the window sill to store things. It wasn't a big deal though. We had two beds though so we had lots of sleeping space. The TV channels are all Japanese except part way through the day one of the CNN channels comes on in English. Wifi is free though and fast and so you can watch movies on your phone. The room is really clean. The staff do an excellent job. Even all the supplies they give you in the bathroom are so generous, there is everything from comb, brush, toothbrush, makeup remover, body scrub, bath salts etc. You also get 2 free bottles of water everyday without fail. The beds are very comfortable. We used the gym and it opens at 6am. It's only a small gym and only has a few things. We had to get there early to get on the equipment we liked. The lounge area at level 14 is great - there is a lady there who tidies up and refills the juice, and water etc. If you forgot something, there is a 7 Eleven inside the building, it is opposite the breakfast restaurant. And then across the road from the 7 Eleven but at the corner is a Lawson's shop. The Tokyo Tower is within walking distance to this hotel. Just walk along the road on the side where the main drop off entrance is. You will come to a park and a temple then you can walk through it to get to the Tower. What I found really helpful is the Sightseeing button on the TV onscreen menu. It shows you which train station to go to as there are like 3 or maybe more train stations in close vicinity.

Everything was great. There was nothing not to like. The staff are extremely helpful. If you want to know something just ask them. I was at reception everyday asking how to get here and there. What was the best way. How much would it cost approx. They can also book anything you want, we booked the Mt Fuji/Hakone tour with Japan Gray Line from the reception. Then we couldn't make it on the day and they were able to postpone it till the next day at our request. They also rang us an airport taxi and it was a Mercedes Benz - sweet ride. Even they helped us get the shortest route to Yokohama - which was taxi to Shinagawa station then bullet train to Yokohama (11mins train ride) - amazing. Language is not too much of a barrier - most people I stopped on the street asking for directions understood what I was asking and happily pointed me in the right direction. Japanese people are so lovely. What a very gracious and humble people. Not really sure about tipping in Japan - but it didn't seem like tipping was a big thing. I really like countries that are like that, as we come from a place where tipping is not mandatory.

Let's be real, this hotel experience is perfection

The staff is incomparable (then again, Japanese people have standards no one else in the world has), they were so on the ball about everything, from questions about the city, to housekeeping and in room massages, that this hotel in the US would cost 550 a night, and I only paid around 200. Japan is on another level. The comparison between Japan and the United States, is that there is no comparison.

Everything was perfect.