The Villa Fontaine is an easy hotel for a short stay in one of Tokyo's busiest spots, with fast accessibility to the rest of the inner city.

The hotel itself is no-frills - no onsite restaurant, no room service, a very basic breakfast that you eat in your room. There's no sense of the hotel pampering you. On the other hand, why would you want to be cocooned indoors with the wild variety of food and drink, sightseeing and entertainment just streets away?

Based on previous reviews we chose a superior room, and it delivered - large (QS) bed by Tokyo standards and comfortable (important for my 6'2" partner); a really good bathroom in the traditional Japanese configuration (wash/shower followed by a deep bath for relaxing). There's coffee-and-tea facilities, and a small bar fridge. TV is local, but you can buy access to a good selection of movies with a pay-as-you-go service. The rooms are quiet, with little to no interference from neighbours or outside.

The high-speed LAN is great if you have a laptop (we did) and it really is free (no half-hourly logins, or other conditional access).

The hotel is located smack in the middle of the red-light district, surrounded by love-hotels and bars, but we never felt our safety to be compromised. JR train and subway stations abound within just a few convenient minutes' walk. It meant we could easily adjourn there after a day's sightseeing, to freshen up before heading out for the evening.

Immediately near the hotel (1-3 streets) are an abundance of typical Tokyo eateries - ramen, yakitori, katsu restaurants and others, as well as a burgeoning Korean quarter to the south, so be adventurous. If the immediate area is a bit too seedy for you to hang out in, walk a few blocks north and west - you'll find high-end shopping options including Isetan, and excellent restaurants and bars close by.

The hotel staff were friendly and efficient, and spoke more than enough English to help you with basic needs including location maps, arranging taxis, etc..

As multiple-time visitors to Japan and Tokyo, overall, it was a good experience for us.

My husband really wanted to stay in Shinjuku pon or last trip to Tokyo, and we found this place at a decent rate so booked it. It was a 8 minute walk from Shinjuku station through lots of hustle and bustle. Staff was friendly and helpful ( note they don't take cards, which should not have shocked me.) Room was funky and very clean, TV was nice and big, and the Bathroom I could have actually taken up residence in... I have traveled many places in Japan, and I must say for Tokyo this was a big bathroom. We had a shower area and a huge deep bathtub that I definitely luxuriated in. As well the toilet was a good 3 steps from the bathroom door, as opposed to being at the door which does happen in many hotels. Shinjuku is a nice place to stay as well if you want easy access to the city and Shibuya. It is also a perfectly safe area. It is also very quiet for being in the middle of Shinjuku, but it is a couple of streets away from the busiest areas. there are also thousands of bars, clubs, restaurants, and the like all around you, so if you are going for nightlife than this is the place for you (although a good portion of the entertainment is more pointed toward Japanese people,specifically Japanese men). Overall cool place to stay, and easily accessible.

Service - service is efficient and friendly but do not expect the staff to go over and above their duty to you. Do not expect the staff to lay out the red carpet for you and wait on you 24 hours a day. However, if you are like my friends and I, we don't really want to be pampered by the staff and we would sooner prefer to have efficient and prompt service which is exactly what we got here.

Room - like all tokyo hotel rooms, the ones in this hotel are small. Very little space to do anything except jump into bed. However they do make very efficient use of the space available and most of yr necessary items can be found in the rooms. It even has a mini bar fridge! Plus it also has access to internet broadband.

Location - I think this is the best feature of the hotel..right in the middle of Shinjuku. Within walking distance to everything! And you get to see all sides of life in Shinjuku just by walking around the vicinity of the hotel. A lot of different eating options. A lot of shopping options.

Likes - location. Broadband internet available. clean rooms.
Dislikes - small room but this is to be expected in Tokyo.

My fiance and I stayed in this hotel for just over a week and it rounded off our trip perfectly.
Despite the fact that it is located in Tokyo's red light district, if you didnt know it you would think it was like any other street in Tokyo.
The hotel itself was a little hard to find and we found ourselves navigating through the maze of alley ways and side streets (a more detailed map could be provided) but as soon as you enter the reception all is forgotten.
The reception desk area is well lit and clean, there are vending machines for guests, and the staff are extremely polite and speak reasonable english.
The rooms are fantastic. Beautifully designed and are full of all the comforts of home. Our room (1007) was on the top floor and we had a fantastic view over Shinjuku. As soon as you closed the window, all the sound from the street was shut out which made sleep come very easily.
All in all, a fantastic place with a subway station just around the corner for easy access around the city.