Our family of 4 recently spent 6 nights at the Tachikawa hotel. Because of the size of the rooms, we had to get 2 rooms. Fortunately, the two rooms were adjacent (not adjoining) and were on a non-smoking floor. We were very pleased with the hotel in all aspects. For Tokyo, the rooms were spacious with two single beds, a desk, and chair and small table. The hotel was much larger than I expected and quite elegant. The hotel staff was very friendly and accomadating. Only one of us speaks passable Japanese, but there was usually someone at the front who could speak some English if necessary. They request that you leave the keys at the desk on your way out and by the middle of the stay, they would often have the keys ready to hand to us by the time we walked up to the front. The hotel was very quiet which was a nice change from most hotels in the US. The location was fantastic as it is a short walk to shopping, the train and monorail station, and the enormous and beautiful Showa park. There are several restaurants within the hotel, but with all the choices nearby including several large department stores we never ate there. The price I thought was reasonable for a weak dollar and the outskirts of Tokyo.

My first time in Tachikawa and the hotel was recommended to me by a local. Overall, clean, comfortable, with a friendly, accomodating staff. The food was OK, but not bad. Paid about US$150 for a single room.

I first experienced this hotel in orgiastic ecstasy back in '85 (it's a former Love Hotel gone legit) -- the velour walls are still the same, but over-all it's nicer and just as obnoxiously loud when the airport shuttle bus parks outside and pumps diesel fumes thoroughly throughout the hotel.

God help you if you need anything 'extra' -- if it's not written down, mandated, etched in stone, anything out of the ordinary (like an iron, extension cord, peace & quiet), it ain't gonna happen...but it will take nearly 45 minutes to figure out! Even if you speak better Japanese than they do.

If you're doing business at nearby Yokota AB, it's just a quick spin up the Ome Line to get to Fussa.

I'd advise you not to order normal things for food, like eggs over hard, crispy bacon...'cause you will be dispointed without a whole lotta recourse (which will take approx. 45 minutes...again).

Be very careful when you checkout; they tried to charge me for a snack package that was obviously ripped when it was stocked (it was still full of shrimp chips or whatever they were).

There are beer machines available, but if you have a hankering, there's a Lawson store nearby and a 7-11 a few blocks up...much, much cheaper.

A great place to eat nearby is the Will complex at the station, and there's also a chain of restaurants named "Shoya" near the station that are great fun, with cheap food and cool people, especially if you are traveling alone. You will make many friend's at Shoya, and it is within stumbling distance of the hotel.

All in all, as long as you watch-out for any extras, you'll make it...albeit expensively.

-osgo

I travel quite a bit all over Asia, but the Palace Hotel Tachikawa is not exactly my favorite. The rooms are small, and the beds not terribly comfortable. The food at the Western restaurant, including the complimentary breakfast, is quite poor.

I should emphasize that I have not had any bad experiences at this hotel, and the staff are fairly friendly. However, the Palace Hotel is nunimpressive compared to experiences I have had across Asia.