This is a basic business hotel in the Ueno area of Tokyo. It is conveniently located by Uguisudani Station, which is on both the Yamanote Line and Keihin Tōhoku lines operated by JR. The Yamanote Line is the famous circle line that hits most major neighbourhoods of interest so being a few blocks away from a station on the line is ideal if you only have a short period of time in Tokyo.

We stayed at the Candeo Uenokoen for 6 nights in July 2011, during a time when Tokyo was facing legislated electricity reductions. The communal areas had reduced air conditioning but we were able to run our own AC in the room at night with no problem.

We found an amazing rate online for this hotel (about $70/night), which made staying there even cheaper than sleeping in a capsule hotel or hostel. For the bargain basement price, the room was excellent. The room was certainly small by North American standards but it is to be expected for a hotel in its category in Tokyo. We stayed at a number of hotels in Japan during the same trip and found many rooms to be of similar size at a much higher price. Even with two medium suitcases, we could move around the room without difficulty. It should be noted, however, that there is no closet or dresser. You have to be prepared to live out of your suitcase. There are only a few hangers on small coat rack by the door in the more basic rooms.

We had a standard double room, which had a real double bed (and not a semi-double, which you sometimes see in Japan). One side of the bed is against the wall; the open side has a small night stand and is adjacent to the desk area. Internet access was provided in the room at no extra cost. The room also had a TV and a mini-fridge, which had its own power switch. The fridge was a nice bonus for keeping drinks or breakfast for the next day.

We did not partake in the hotel's breakfast as it was not included in our discounted rate. There are plenty of breakfast options in the neighbourhood, especially if you turn left as you exit the hotel and head towards the North Exit of the JR Station. There is also a grocery store beneath the hotel as well as many convenient stores in the immediate area.

The hotel is also within walking distance to Ueno Park (after which it is named), which is great if you are interested in any of the important museums located within the park.

There are a number of budget and love hotels in the immediate area, but Candeo seems to be one of the nicer more business-oriented establishments. We found the hotel itself as well as the neighbourhood to be clean, safe and comfortable.

It is true that the front desk staff's English is limited. Nonetheless, we had no problems communicating with the friendly receptionists. In particular, when we required assistance with reserving bus tickets to/from another city in Japan, the front desk staff kindly called the bus company and made our reservations without hesitation.

Since nobody goes to Tokyo to spend time in a hotel room, the size of the room should not deter the budget conscious traveller who wants a convenient base from which to explore the city.

Stayed here just before the big Sendai earthquake (there was a 7.2 quake as we left on March 9, two days before the 9.0). My concerns and best wishes go out to everyone at the hotel and all the nice people we met in Japan.

On to the review: I got a fantastic rate on one of the major travel websites for $70 per night (~$80 with tax) for a 5 night stay for a double bed room. I was a little nervous because after I booked I noticed the Hotels.com website said that bathroom facilities were shared and the official hotel website doesn't have much in English. I figured if this was the case, someone on TripAdvisor would have mentioned the lack of en suite facilities. As it turned out, each room does have it's own bathroom (with combination shower/tub) so I was worried for nothing.

The hotel is new (opened in 2010 I think). The rooms are small, but I've stayed in smaller (the Ibis near Paris Orly Airport stands out). No closet and only room to hang about 4 garments behind the door. But there are drawers and a suitcase stand you can put near the fron door (you may have to move it around depending on whether you are accessing the bathrroom of the main door). You can also store a suitcase under the desk. There is a large step up into the bathroom (elevated for plumbing I guess).

No one spoke English at front desk when I checked in and they had me sign a check-in sheet showing a charge of 5,900 Yen per night (I had prepaid the room). Fortunately, I was not charged upon checkout (and someone did speak English when we checked out).

Seemed like a decent working class neighborhood, but when you are in a foreign country it's not always easy to tell what is what. There was one establishment you pass on the corner walking to/from the train station that seemed a bit sketchy (maybe just a bar, or maybe something else).

If coming from Narita and taking the Kensei Skyliner line, transfer at Nippori (first stop in Tokyo) instead of Ueno (1 stop either way to Uguisudani station for the hotel). Saves a few minutes on the train and Nippori is a smaller station (and therefore easier to navigate). From Nippori, if you get on near the front of the train, you will be closer to the hotel exit when you get to Uguisudani. (Use either Keihin-Tohoku Line or Yamanote Line. I never had a problem, but there may be express trains at certain times of day that don't stop at Uguisudani.) At Uguisudani head to the south exit (the Candeo Hotel is clearly visible) and cross the pedestrian walkway on the bridge and down the stairs. You will walk along an access road for about 70 meters (sometimes there are cars or delivery trucks, but it is not a busy road). Turn left at the main road and walk about 80 meters to the hotel. Reception is on 2F (second floor).

If you get the JR East Pass (20,000 yen for 5 days), take the Narita Express (NEX) to Tokyo station and then transfer to Uguisudani. Traveling in this direction, you will be closer to the hotel exit when you get to Uguisudani if you get on near the rear of the train.

You can walk to Ueno park and the Tokyo National Museum easily from the hotel. However, we normally took the train to Ueno station to have breakfast. (Ate breakfast at the "Wired Cafe" in Ueno Station a couple of mornings. 500 yen for bacon and eggs with toast and beverage or pancakes with yogurt and fresh blueberries and bananas). Also, Ueno station is more convenient to the southern part of the park and the trains are so frequent that it is probably faster as well.

I stayed in Candeo Hotel in December 2010 for 2 nights.
Candeo Hotel is located 5 minutes away from Uguisudani station (which is one stop from Ueno station with the Yamanote Line) and 1 km far from north side of Ueno Park.
I was with my son (24 years old) and I got an economic double room on the 11th floor in the opposite side of the main street. There was not any noise.
The room is quite big for Japanese standards. We had only one suite case so it was possible to leave it open the floor. The Room is equipped with a nice bathroom, a good bed, desk, 32 inch TV with free video on demand, telephone and free internet via lan cable.
Sometimes lan cable was quite slow. In the lobby (and probably in the floors next to the lobby) there is also free wireless lan.
Since the booking did not include breakfast, I did not try the food.
The attitude of the staff was good and very nice, it just wasnt too helpful, since they barely spoke english.

As I did not find any helpful english reviews for this hotel and booked it more or less just because of the good location and the good price, I decided to write this little review.

I stayed in Candeo Hotel in November 2010 for 8 nights. I booked the hotel last minute 4 days before arriving in Tokyo. I got the room for an unbelievably low rate (around 35 Euro per night) which is comparable to what you pay for a good youth hostel with shared bathroom in Tokyo.

Candeo Hotel is located 3 minutes away from Uguisudani station (which is one stop from Ueno station with the Yamanote Line). From Ueno, you can easily access all neighborhoods of Tokyo.

Although I got the smallest room (I think 15 or 17 square meters), the room is quite big for Japanese standards. The Room is equipped with a nice bathroom, a good bed, desk, 32 inch TV with free video on demand, telephone and free internet via lan cable. In the lobby (and probably in the floors next to the lobby) there is also free wireless lan. However, being on the 9th floor, I did not have a wifi connection there.

Since the booking did not include breakfast, I did not try the food.

The attitude of the staff was really good and very nice, it just wasnt too helpful, since they barely spoke english.

As the location is directly behind Uguisudani station, it can get a little bit noisy at times.
If you have a light sleep, you should keep this in mind. For me, it did not really bother me much.

Overall, the hotel was really good to stay in, especially for the great bargain rate.
The hotel can easily be compared to a good 3-star hotel in germany.