Hilton Narita New Tokyo International Airport, Narita

Author's product rating:   

Advantages:	Cheap as chips, great quality
Disadvantages:	Funky bathroom smell

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Well, some of the more observant of you may of noticed that I tend to travel a far bit. In fact, going through my old reviews from 2000 / 01, it appears that I have some review updating to do also! However for now, I'll concentrate on my recent experiences.

I'm what you would call a mileage whore. Before you all go off complaining the Ciao that there is a sex pest in your midst, the term is used widely in the US, and means a person that is brand loyal for the benefits you get off the company you are loyal to. I'm certainly very loyal to the Hilton chain, as you may see....

So, I've spent some time in Korea, and, as I was flying Virgin from Tokyo, spent a night at the Hilton Narita....

From the airport.....
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Well, as with many hotels close the airports, there is a courtesy bus from the airport. Whilst during the morning and evening it's quite regular (4 times an hour), I arrived at Narita at around 3pm, and had a wait of 50 minutes for the bus. Once an hour isn't great for an International airport, so marks lost there. However, all was not lost. Stood there looking miserable, an airport employee came over and asked where I was off to. When I answered, he suggested I take a taxi as it wasn't far. he was right.... It cost £6!

The Lobby...
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Well, the first thing you notice from the road is that the hotel appears circular. It's not, it's more crescent shaped. The staff were very courteous, and offered to carry my bags for me. I was given a receipt for my bag... Upon arrival into the Lobby, it was beautiful compared to the outside which could only be described as 'functional!' There is a huge water feature in the centre of the circular lobby, which is so big, it also goes into the basement level below.

I was ushered to the checkin counter, of which there were several staff eager to help. This certainly beats other hotels where even as a frequent guest you still have to wait for ages. My checkin clerk was helpful and polite, and as the hotel hadn't an executive floor, had put me in a deluxe plus room! I was also given a gym voucher and also a free breakfast voucher. He also gave me a little leaflet with the bus time table, which has been squirrelled away for the next time I'm here.

The lobby also offered some other facilities. There was the regular gift shop (two 'hello Kitty' umbrellas were purchased for the princely sum of £4 for two friends), a couple of other more up-market shops (clothing and expensive gifts), entrance to the parking, a bar (opens at 7pm), a very small cafe / coffee bar, internet terminals and a buffet type restaurant.

The Room.
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Well, first impressions were good. It was light, clean and with a fantastic view of some forest. This view was changed slightly from occasion though when I noticed the hotel was directly at the end and to one side of the runway! However, this wasn't noticeable as it was unbelievable quiet even with a steady stream of 747's and the like flying past! However, the contrast between plane and forest was lovely!

The bed was a nice king size one, with very light feather duvet. It also had two synthetic and two feather pillows also. The Hiltons are great for people with allergies though. Then can changed your bed linen to pure synthetic and swap the pillows if need be. It was certainly comfortable, and I had a great nights sleep.

The rest of the room was modern yet comfortable. There was a big desk with power and wired internet. Because of the room I had, the internet was also free, which was a huge bonus! There was also a huge plasma TV screen there. It also had a slot for a Paid TV card, which could be bought for around £4 which allowed access to a whole host of English speaking films. I do wish I'd have bought this, as there was only one English speaking channel, and it was Discovery japan. There's only so much bridge building and tunnel digging one can take in an evening!

The mini bar was well stocked, and the prices seemed reasonable.

There was certainly enough closet space, which wasn't used as I was only there for the night.

The bathroom, despite it having everything you needed, including a huge 12 inch shower head, scored badly. There was a smell which was a cross between public convenience and mould..... Whilst it wasn't over powering, it was noticeable. There was also the normal japanese toilet. I mention this, as it was one of these that had bidet facilities and the like. However, was amused me was the warning notices that mention with misuse there could be, and I quote, 'Fire and Trouble!'

next to the bed was a small console. The clock display could be turned on and off, the air con was controllable from here (and when on, it kept the room cold (which I love) but at a level which was not noticeable.

Other hotel facilities...
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There is also a swimming pool, chapel and gym (none visited) in the hotel

The restuarants...
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There were several restaurants in the hotel on the second floor. A chinese one (prices reasonable), a japanese one (prices expensive) and the buffet downstairs (prices reasonable). I only ate at the small cafe, and have a snadwich, coffee, cake and fruit juice which came to around £10. Breakfast was at the buffet place, and the food was of a reasonable quality, as you'd expect for a breakfast.

Summary.
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Whilst perhaps I was expecting quite a bit from this hotel, it didn't disappoint. I'd have certainly expecting the price of 11,000 Yen (£40!!!!!) to have resulted in something a lot worse. However, it is a great hotel, only marred by the funky smell in the bathroom.