I booked a room at the Garden Tower, and following the advice of other TA reviewers I joined the New Otani Club. Upon check-in I was offered a room at the Main, but it was a smoking room and preferred to keep the original booking. The room was nice enough; the furniture and general decor was too old and in need of refurbishment, but it fulfilled my needs, and I especially liked the view of the Shinjuku skyscrapers from one of the windows.

If you are into bouquet and cosy hotels, stay away, because the New Otani is so big that it feels a bit cold and impersonal. But it has a very convenient location, next to a subway station on the Shibuya line, so it's a quite good option when staying in Tokyo.

I stayed here as part of a business trip, which covered the expenses.

This hotel is located in Akasaka near the Akasaka Mitsuke station. It is one of the older style all encompassing luxury hotels, and so it is a huge complex of two hotel towers with many shops and restaurants and other services (even babysitting), so it is easy to just stay within the hotel the whole time. However, this can be quite expensive, as most of these shops are high-end. The hotel is situated on a beautiful, 400 year old Japanese Garden that is really worth a long visit. The rooms in the upper floors have very nice views of the city or the garden or both. The neighborhood is mostly office buildings, and from what I could tell, not very exciting for exploring.

The service is very good, as with most hotels in Japan, and they will try to help you in any way they can. I did run into some attitude from one staff member, and I think it had to do with being a foreigner. Most of the hotel staff can speak only rudimentary English, so be prepared.

My room was in the Garden Tower. Two things about the rooms really surprised me (in a positive way). First, the rooms are absolutely immaculate, and probably the cleanest I have ever experienced. They are cleaned thoroughly each day. True, the decor in the Garden Tower may seem a little outdated, but I didn't find it to be shabby, and the cleanliness of room made up for it. Second, the rooms are incredibly quiet. I think the hotel was quite busy with numerous guests coming and going during my stay, many as large groups for business events, but I never heard any noise from neighbors or people in the halls at all when I was in my room. It was by far the quietest hotel I've ever experienced.

The space in the room is small for western standards but it's laid out very efficiently, and if you are short it's not so much of an issue. The bed is hard and low--which is great if you like hard beds, but for those who prefer big high fluffy beds this may not be your thing.

The restaurants in the hotel tend to be very expensive and on the posh side. The sushi restaurant Kyubey has a renowned sushi chef, supposedly one of the best in Tokyo and Japan. There are also a few restaurants that are quicker and somewhat cheaper, but you have to find them. I found that the hotel website was the best place to determine where to eat, as they have the menus and also maps that show the location of each of the restaurants (which is helpful because it is easy to get lost in the hotel).

If being stuck in a hotel complex (even a large one) all day is not your thing, and you are up for exploring other neighborhoods of Tokyo by subway, then it is very close to the subway station (Akasaka-Mitsuke). There is a shortcut through the hotel (via the Garden Court entrance) so the walk is not far.

Also based on previous reviews, I signed up to be a New Otani Club member before I left. Since I did this only a week before my trip, my card did not get mailed to me at my home in time. However, I found that they had it at the desk when I checked in. There are some perks to being a NOC member, (like a free newspaper, some free services like laundry, and some discounts at the restaurants), and signing up is free, so it is helpful to become a member.

Some things to note:

-There is no wifi in the rooms. Based on some previous reviews, I brought an internet cable along, but I didn't need it in the end one was provided in the room). Internet use induces a charge to the room (not cheap).

-The toiletries do not include lotion unlike most western hotels.

-Also, there is no iron and ironing board in the room (in case you were planning on ironing your clothes!).

-There's an exercise room in each tower, but it is small (for the machines, only one treadmill, two ellipticals, and two bicycles. For some inexplicable reason, there are also chairs and stools).

My wife and I stayed in a main standard room, and because we received such a good price, I feel as though the value was very good. I think the pictures we found beforehand were an accurate representation of what to expect.

This hotel does look dated at this point, and the style is something I would expect to see in Las Vegas, especially in the lobby and shopping areas. However, the room was noticeably and tastefully refreshed (except for the bathroom) and was comfortable, if just a bit too small for two with luggage. The walls were thin, but I only knew that when I heard our neighbor cough and it sounded like he was in our room. Fortunately the staff did a good job of keeping some rooms empty around us, so it wasn't a problem. The bed was just a bit too hard for my taste, even for a Japanese style. Great bath products, and a hot shower with great pressure.

We had a very good breakfast in one of their restaurants, and though it was expensive, it was excellent and kept us going until dinner. Overall, the service was excellent throughout the hotel.

The gardens are quite beautiful, and there is a cute restaurant in there which we wished we had tried. The location is very close to several subway lines, and once you figure out how to exit through the Garden Tower, you can get to the trains in 5 minutes.

Overall, we enjoyed our stay here, but I think we would try another option next time in Tokyo. Still, this is a great place for exploring the city, especially for those in the older set or if the price is a bargain.

I came to this hotel 10 years ago and I thought it was adorable. Now Im in Tokyo again and decided to stay there again. What a bad idea...

I did my reservation through hotels.com for 3 non-smoking rooms (2 adults, 1 children - 10 years old). They tried to put me into two single bed rooms. I asked where the children were going to sleep and they tried to charge me for extra beds. I didn't accept this and than they moved me to triple rooms - one of them with a horrible smell of cigaret. Tried to complain again but they said it was the only room available.

Next day in the morning wake up, drank my pre-workout supplement and went to the "gym" or "fitness center". Well... they SAY its a fitness center, but believe, it's not. They have a couple of treadmills and elipltical and that's it. No weight lifting equipment at all. Went to other one on the next building and it was the same thing.

We are almost in 2012! Every 3-star hotel have at least a decent fitness center! New Otani Tokyo was suposed to be a 4/5-stars hotel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They have a thing on the 3d floor of the garden tower called "GOLDEN SPA" where you can pay around 80 dolars PER USE and it looks like they have a better gym. I guess I'll never know because I asked to make a quick tour to see what kind of weight lifting equipments they have and they said I could not make a tour. What????? Im not paying 80 dollars without seeing the gym! And come one, is this the world most expensive gym or what?

Regarding the rooms in the garden tower, they look like they hadn't change since the 90's.

Believe me, I'll never come back here again. And I don't recommend this hotel to anyone.