Category:

Destinations

InterContinental Osaka

by Jerry July 11, 2024

When: June 2024

Where: Osaka, Japan

Length of stay: 6 nights

Rooms: 1 Bedroom residence city view / 1 Bedroom suite club lounge access city view

Travel companion: Wife

Status / collaboration: Collaboration with hotel

*In collaboration with InterContinental Osaka

In June 2024 I was in dire need of a proper holiday somewhere far away from home. So when I found award flights with Finnair from Helsinki to Nagoya for a week, we booked the tickets and headed for Japan with only a three day heads-up, which is very unlike me. But I’m so glad we did it. Instead of staying in Nagoya, which hasn’t got any proper luxury hotels, we took a 50 minute shinkansen ride to Osaka, where you can find luxurious properties, like the InterContinental Osaka.

A friend of mine, who I met years ago, when working with another Japanese hotel, was able to accommodate us at her hotel on a very short notice, so huge thanks to Yuka-san, who made this possible. Full disclosure to my readers, we got two complimentary nights in a non club level room and for the rest of our stay we paid a slightly discounted price in a club level room from our own pocket. You can trust that I’m always honest with my reviews, so that you can get a proper picture of what to really expect, when staying at a hotel like the InterContinental Osaka.

July 11, 2024 0 comment

Destinations Hotels Japan

Shangri-La Tokyo in 2023

by Jerry February 4, 2024

When: November 2023

Where: Tokyo, Japan

Length of stay: 10 nights

Room booked: Horizon Club Deluxe King

Room got: Horizon Club Premier Room

Price per night: 158 900 JPY

Travel companion: Wife

Status / collaboration: Collaboration with hotel

*In collaboration with Shangri-La Tokyo

Until 2019 we used to visit Japan each year with my wife, but then the pandemic happened and closed the borders of many countries, including Japan. A few months before all of this in November of 2019 we had the chance to work together with Shangri-La Tokyo and do a blog collaboration with them. This hotel turned out to be one of our favourite hotels in the world, so for four years we dreamt of going back there. I’m glad to say that finally in November 2023 that day came and we got to spend 10 wonderful nights in Shangri-La Tokyo.

This blog review has been done in collaboration with the hotel. We paid full price for a Horizon Club -level room, but received an upgrade as part of the collaboration. As always, the review is an honest opinion of our experience without sugarcoating things, which should be pretty apparent as we paid full price. I also believe that our experience with customer service etc. wasn’t affected by the fact that it was a collaboration and we were treated as any other customer. I base this on my observations between other guests and the staff.

As this was our second time in Shangri-La Tokyo, instead of just a normal blog review, I felt the need to focus more on the changes that have happened during these four years, especially after the pandemic. If you want a more comprehensive review and feel like something is missing here, I hope you’ll find what you are looking for from the previous hotel review here.

February 4, 2024 1 comment

Destinations Great Britain Hotels

Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London

by Jerry October 2, 2022

*In collaboration with Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park

When: April 2022

Where: London, United Kingdom

Length of stay: 3 nights

Room booked: Superior Room

Room got: Hyde Park Room

Price per night: 655 GBP

Travel companion: Wife

Status / collaboration: AMEX Platinum booking / Collaboration with hotel

In the spring of 2022 I felt I was in need of some proper big city vibes. I just love the hustle and bustle of places like Tokyo, Paris and London, so I decided to book flights to the latter for a little pre-Easter celebration with my wife. One of the most important things was that the hotel had to be very luxurious with great atmosphere and excellent staff. I had been dreaming about going to the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park for years, so it was time to do something about it.

When I found a good offer from Amex with a complimentary third night, I knew I just had to grab it. Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park is situated in the luxurious neighbourhood of Knightsbridge in London, on the southern edge of the vast Hyde Park, so if you are the kind of person who likes to shop at Harrod’s and all kinds of high-end brand stores or just stroll around, this is the perfect location for you. We stayed at the hotel with our own money, but got a room upgrade as part of our collaboration.

October 2, 2022 0 comment

Destinations Great Britain Hotels

Afternoon Tea at the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London

by Jerry April 15, 2022

*In collaboration with Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London

When: 3rd of April 2022

Where: Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London – The Rosebery

Price: 63 GBP / person

*Image courtesy of Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park

It’s been a long time since I last wrote anything on this blog, because travel has been a bit difficult (*cough, cough), but fortunately now is the time to break this long hiatus and get back to business. I booked an extempore-vacation to London for me and my wife and chose the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park as our base of operations, because I really wanted to pamper us. The actual hotel review will come later, but I wanted to start with our Afternoon Tea -experience, because Easter is right around the corner and the theme of the pastries is currently perfect for this time of year. At this point I’d like to point out that Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park was kind enough to offer the whole Afternoon Tea as complimentary, but as any of my previous readers will know, I always write about my honest opinions. But without further ado, let’s get cracking.

April 15, 2022 0 comment

Destinations Hotels Japan

Palace Hotel Tokyo – Worthy of Royalty

by Jerry January 3, 2020

In collaboration with Palace Hotel Tokyo

When: November 2019

Where: Tokyo, Japan

Length of stay: 3 nights

Room booked: Club Deluxe Room With Balcony

Room got: Executive Suite

Price per night: 76 900 JPY

Travel companions: Wife

Status / collaboration: AMEX Platinum booking / Collaboration with hotel

There are just a couple of legendary, old hotels in Japan and one of the most prominent has got to be the Palace Hotel Tokyo. Even though the hotel has been around for almost 60 years the previous building was razed to make room for the current building that was reopened in 2012.

While planning for this trip, I asked my American Express platinum concierge to help me choose the best hotels and the Palace Hotel Tokyo was one she highly recommended. It is situated in the Marunoichi area literally next to the Imperial Palace, which is the very center of Tokyo. Also one of Tokyo’s main transportation hubs, the Tokyo Station, is just a few blocks away, so the location is perfect.

January 3, 2020 0 comment

Destinations Hotels Japan

Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo – A piece of heaven

by Jerry December 14, 2019

When: November 2019

Where: Tokyo, Japan

Length of stay: 4 nights

Room booked: Horizon Club Deluxe Imperial Garden View Room

Room got: Horizon Club Premier Room

Price per night: 98 000 JPY

Travel companion: Wife

Status / collaboration: AMEX Platinum booking / Collaboration with hotel

In collaboration with Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo

Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo is the first building on the left behind Tokyo Station

For years I had wanted to visit a Shangri-La property, but until Autumn of 2019 I hadn’t gotten around to it. I even had their second highest customer level (Jade) because of Amex Platinum without even stepping foot into one of their properties. Finally on my 30^th birthday trip it was time to see if Shangri-La really lives up to its name.

Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo can be found in the Marunouchi area of Tokyo right next to the Tokyo Station, which is the main transportation hub of the city, so the location is absolutely perfect. Even though we’ve been to Tokyo six times before this trip, we hadn’t really spent that much time this side of town, so it was a nice change of pace and an opportunity for us to see how the area fits our style.

December 14, 2019 0 comment

Destinations Hotels Japan

The Okura Tokyo – International Luxury With a Japanese Twist

by Jerry November 26, 2019

In collaboration with The Okura Tokyo

When: October/November 2019

Where: Tokyo, Japan

Length of stay: 4 nights

Room booked: Club Room

Room got: Club Corner

Price per night: 100 000 JPY – prices in Tokyo were unusually high, because of different events

Travel companions: Wife

Status / collaboration: AMEX Platinum booking / Collaboration with hotel

The Okura Tokyo, one of the oldest luxury hotels in Japan is now, in a way, one of the newest, because they just finished a 3 year reconstruction of the entire hotel, so even though it has a long history behind it, this is a brand new property. When it comes to recently opened hotels, there is always a risk that some things are still finding their place. Maybe it was because of all the experience they’ve had from the previous hotel or perhaps it was Japanese efficiency, but a month after re-opening the whole property was already running smoothly.

The Okura is located in the Minato-ku area of Tokyo, south of the Palace garden and east of Roppongi.

November 26, 2019 0 comment

Destinations Hotels Japan

Dining above the clouds – The Ritz-Carlton, Tokyo

by Jerry July 22, 2018

In collaboration with The Ritz-Carlton, Tokyo

In a previous blog post I wrote about the rooms, service and Club Lounge of The Ritz-Carlton, Tokyo, but because I had so much to tell about this wonderful hotel, I wanted to write another post regarding the food and general areas. Like the previous post, this has also been done in collaboration with The Ritz-Carlton, Tokyo.

FOOD AND RESTAURANTS

The Ritz-Carlton, Tokyo offers multiple dining venues from a Michelin-starred French restaurant to the La Boutique –pastryshop, so you won’t run out of options here. A lot has happened on the restaurant side of the hotel within half a year, because two of the main restaurants were renovated and the aforementioned La Boutique was added into the mix.

July 22, 2018 0 comment

Destinations Hotels Japan

Sky-high luxury – A review of The Ritz-Carlton, Tokyo

by Jerry June 1, 2018

In collaboration with Ritz-Carlton, Tokyo

On a clear day you can see Mt. Fuji from the windows of the Club lounge

When: April 2018

Where: Tokyo, Japan

Length of stay: 8 nights

Room booked: Club Deluxe

Price per night: The usual price of this room is around 1 000 – 1 200 euros per night (we stayed with a media price)

Travel companion: Wife

Status / collaboration: Ritz-Carlton Gold / Collaboration with hotel

There are hotels and then there are hotels that ascend to the next level, so that they don’t even fit the same scale than the rest of them. The Ritz-Carlton, Tokyo is definitely one of these extraordinary hotels. During our stay there, I got to fulfill three of my goals: stay at this particular hotel, eat the well-known kobe beef and ride in the back of a Rolls-Royce. Check, check and check! But more on that later.

The Ritz-Carlton, Tokyo is situated in the Roppongi district (Minato ward) above the Midtown shopping complex and two subway stations that make it easy to travel within the city. The Ritz-Carlton, Tokyo uses a few of the lower floors and also the highest floors of the Midtown Tower (45th – 53rd floor).

June 1, 2018 1 comment

Austria Destinations Hotels

Grand luxury in Vienna – Palais Hansen Kempinski

by Jerry December 31, 2017

In collaboration with Palais Hansen Kempinski

When: September 2017

Where: Vienna, Austria

Length of stay: 3 nights

Room booked: Deluxe Room

Room got: Ring Suite

Price per night: 430€ (however we got a 3rd night free discount, so in the end the room was 287€)

Travel companions: Wife, parents, grandmother, brother’s family (including a baby)

Status / collaboration: AMEX Platinum booking / Collaboration with hotel

I travelled to the beautiful city of Vienna for the first time in the beginning of September to celebrate my parent’s 60th birthday. Like on our family trip to Berlin last year, I wanted to be our “travel agent”, so that I could make sure we got a hotel that was up to my standards – which also meant everyone else would surely be pleased with it.

Because I’d gotten a very good offer from my Amex concierge regarding our hotel in Paris, I decided to ask some help from them once again. And it really paid off, because we got a “3 nights for the price of 2” -offer from Palais Hansen Kempinski including some hotel credit and room upgrades. This was quite a find, because we had four rooms, so the savings were substantial. I recommend checking what Amex has to offer in your destination, if you have a Platinum or Centurion card, because at times they have great options.

I’d never stayed at any of the Kempinski chain’s luxury hotels, but I’d heard many great things about them, so I was excited to get to experience one of their properties first-hand. The Palais Hansen Kempinski hotel is situated on the northwest side of the Ringstrasse-street that circles around the city center. It was easy to walk from the hotel to the Old Town area, museums and sights, because it only took a maximum of 20 minutes even with a very slow pace like ours. The drive from the airport to the hotel took around 20 – 30 minutes, which was quite fast.

December 31, 2017 0 comment