Luxury Stay at the Shangri-La Tokyo
To say I was excited to stay in the Shangri-La Tokyo is an understatement.
Previous events in Bali which involved a flooding bathroom, no a/c, and far too many chickens running around, only strengthened my need to get out of there and into somewhere more civilised.
Thankfully all my wishes and many more that I didn’t even know I had (in-room luxury watch shopping service I am looking at you), were met by this wonderful urban paradise.
No I didn’t actually buy a new rolex – next time.
The Shangri-La Tokyo experience started in the “holding pen” as my friend liked to call it. This ‘pen’ was on the ground floor of a skyscraper by Tokyo Station, and was beautifully adorned with chandeliers and dark marble flooring. Here you waited for an elevator with crystal hand-rails to take you up to the lobby on the 28th floor.
Once in the lobby you are greeted by more cascading crystal chandeliers, many of them custom designed in the Czech Republic. I would love to know how they transported them to Tokyo, I can imagine it was bubble wrap galore.
At check-in I was taken to my room to complete the proceedings. I was instantly stunned by the floor length windows and the image of the setting sun over the Tokyo skyline. Of course I delayed the poor concierge for several moments as I couldn’t quite tear my eyes away from the view.
When I finally did turn my attention to the room it was love at first sight! There was so much space. At 50 square meters the rooms in the Shangri-La are some of the largest in Tokyo. Space is seriously the biggest luxury you can have in this city, trust me I know – I had literally just come from a friends place where you couldn’t swing a cat.
The room was decked out with all the latest gadgets. I was so impressed with the usb port BY THE BED! YES! This is what the people need – and by people I mean me. I just can’t stand when the port is far away from the bed. I am a millennial and I sleep with my phone, so when there is no port I am faced with the ever so awkward decision of charging my phone overnight versus keeping it close. I equally liked how it was a usb port rather than a socket, saves having to remember to bring an adaptor.
Though of course the Shangri-La thought of that it, by the desk there is a whole row of sockets plus adaptors ready to meet all your technological needs.
My favourite part of the room was the softest set of pyjamas I had ever worn. I keep meaning to invest in a decent pj set, but whenever I go shopping I get distracted by far more exciting things like dresses and shoes leaving me stuck with my current mismatch of baggy t-shirts and old shorts.
In typical Shangri-La style, bookmarks with excerpts from the Lost Horizon book were left on the duvet fold. In the drawers a copy of James Hiltons novel could be found ready for guests who want to read about the mystical place in the Tibetan mountains that the hotel chain strives to recreate.
“The lamasery, however, had more to offer than a display of Chinoiserie. One of its features, for instance, was a very delightful library, lofty and spacious, and containing a multitude of books so retiringly housed in bays and alcoves that the whole atmosphere was more of wisdom than of learning, of good manners rather than seriousness.”
To celebrate my new lavish surroundings I went upstairs to the Horizon Club just in time for Cocktails & Canapes.
The Horizon Club is open daily from 7am until 10pm and is open to all Horizon Room guests for complimentary breakfast, afternoon tea, and evening canapes, as well as small snacks and beverages throughout the day.
In summary – you will never be too far a way from a glass of champagne and a nibble.
Speaking of nibbles, breakfast at the Shangri-La Tokyo is quite the treat! In a disturbingly close call, I nearly missed it on the first morning! I woke up at 9.50 with a start realising breakfast ended at 10am. I threw on the first thing I saw and ran down to Piacere restaurant with 5 mins to spare.
Tragedy averted! The breakfast menu alone was a feast of all my favourites and on top of that there was a full buffet.
During the course of my stay I had to at least attempt to work off all the excessive food consumption so I hit the health club. I was working hard until I realised I had a hair appointment in half an hour so my fleeting attempt at fitness was cut short. The gym team thankfully gave no hint of how pathetic my workout was and instead rushed to give me a cold towel and water as if I had just run a marathon.
The treadmill was incredibly high tech, you could select a virtual reality to run in such as an arena, and then you could even select a virtual running mate to pace you!
I sadly never got a chance to experience the pool though it looked lovely and reminded me very much of the Shangri-La at the Shards pool on the 52nd floor.
As I have mentioned the room, the food, and the gym, I’m left with perhaps the most defining feature of the Shangri-La Tokyo, and that is the art work.
The hotel has over 2000 works of art which take inspiration from Bay Juyi, a Chinese poet from the Tang dynasty. Bai’s poetry relays a tale of being spiritually healed by the soothing sounds of the Chinese lute (pipa), which is reflected in several pieces of art as patterns of delicate lines symbolic of the strings of the pipa.
There were several works that caught my eye but my favourite had to be the “Long Live Pine Forest”depicting a breed of Chinese pine trees that are believed to be immortal. The work is gilded with moon gold, which is a special substance composed of palladium and gold.
I think that is enough of waffle for one post, but I do want to tell you all about how I survived a 6 course tasting menu using chop sticks so stay tuned for the next post!
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