Hotel Sunroute Ariake Getting it Right in Tokyo, Japan

Nobody is ever going to write about how luxurious the Hotel Sunroute Ariake is. It's not, and it's not meant to be.

Whoever designed the rooms at the Hotel Sunroute Ariake, do however deserve a large pat on the back, as they are very cleverly designed considering how little space they had to work with.

The hotel is located right next door to the Panasonic Center in Tokyo's Koto district, and just a 5-minute walk from Tokyo Big Sight Convention Center, one of the city's largest MICE venues.

Haneda Airport is less than 30 minutes away by monorail with one change to the Rinkai line, and buses from the airport are available until late afternoon. The closest train station is the Kokusai-tenjijo, which is a 6-minute walk away.

In addition to the offices and film studios, there are also a few shopping centres, quite a lot of restaurants and lots of convenience stores such as Lawsons and 7-11 within a short walk from the Hotel Sunroute Ariake. The hotel even has its very own Lawsons on the first floor!

Being in such an important MICE destination, the hotel is designed to be comfortable, affordable and functional for not only busy executives who need to be in this location for work, but also for leisure travellers looking for quality accommodation at more affordable rates than somewhere in the heart of the city.

They say that it's all about the small details, and that's precisely what makes the Hotel Sunroute Ariake stand out. So what are those small details?

The rooms are extremely well sound-proofed. This is achieved through solid construction, good walls and ceilings and in no small part through special carpeting in the rooms and corridors, as well as heavy quality doors which are fitted perfectly. The 'do not disturb' signs and 'make up the room' signs are magnetic, and as such should last a long time, look good, and don't need any fiddling or require electricity to operate. There is even a third magnetic sign, the 'eco cleaning' sign which informs housekeeping that you do not wish to have your towels, bed linens, night gown or amenities changed. It also indicates you do not need your room or bathroom cleaned. Even if you put the 'eco cleaning' sign on your door, the housekeeping team will still empty the rubbish bin every day, and they will do a full clean of your room after 4 days of consecutive stay. Brilliant.

The bathroom is also very well thought out. The floor is slightly sloped and non-slip. The toilet has a built-in electronic bidet system, and there is a nice deep Japanese-style bath tub with hand held shower and some extremely hot and refreshingly cold water. The walls are made of a synthetic material for fast easy cleaning, and the shower gel, shampoo and conditioner come in very large dispensers that will last you weeks (and won't be taken by guests). A good hairdryer and large mirror complete the small space.

In the small bedroom area, the bed is snug against one wall with the headrest against the bathroom wall divider so guests can look out at the Tokyo sky through the window. The bed is not as ultra soft as you often get these days in luxury hotels, but it is soft enough (more on the firm side, like most of us have at home), extremely comfortable and has two pillows for single guests. One of the pillows is a Japanese style bean pillow (which I will try to find more information on as I want to buy one and take it home!), and the other is a feather pillow by brand Yamajin. Both deliver a very comfortable and refreshing night's sleep. Next to the bed is a battery operated torch for emergencies which is easy to find and turns on automatically when you pick it up.

Lighting in the room is controlled by a button control panel, Room - Night - Foot, a perfect distance above the pillows, and there is also an alarm clock and telephone to the side of the bed which is slightly elevated so that you can't accidentally knock it during the night.

The desk which runs along the wall with the window in it, has a built-in empty fridge and tea and coffee making facilities in the cupboard next to it. There is also a desk lamp, TV, individually controlled and wonderfully silent air-conditioning, LAN socket (WiFi is free too) and electric plug sockets built into the top of the desk and at the bottom of the cupboard housing the fridge, as well as a hook for clothes which folds back into the wall when not in use.

The room also features a small area for guests to hang some clothes, a foldable table and foldaway luggage rack.

There is nothing luxurious about these rooms, but as mentioned at the beginning of the article, that is not what the hotel is about. It's about getting it right and making the most out of the small spaces the designers had to work with. And there they have succeeded, as the rooms give you everything a modern traveller wants - good working bathroom with solid water pressure and decent hot and cold temperatures, nice bed, great air-conditioning, and a suitably comfortable place to work and look out of the window.

The only thing the rooms do not have, which they should, is an electronic safe. And while the hotel has safes in the reception area that you can use free of charge, this simple omission - an easy to fix problem - could put some guests off staying there.

I wanted to interview the General Manager of the Hotel Sunroute Ariake to ask him more about the property and especially the designers, but unfortunately my Japanese is not good enough (gomenasai), and he does not speak English (a very common and somewhat disappointing problem in modern-day Japan).

Japan Tourism Update - HD Video Interview

Exclusive HD video interview with Mr. Hiroshi Sawabe, Executive Director of the Office of International Tourism, at JATA (Japan Association of Travel Agents.

See more: HD Videos and also: Pictures from Soma and Shinchi, Fukushima, Japan. 

See other recent news regarding: JATA, Tokyo, Japan, Hotel Sunroute Ariake, Oakwood, Ariake