World's Best

The Best Hotels in Tokyo

By

Published on September 8, 2021

This year's World's Best Awards survey was open for voting January 11 through May 10, 2021, as destinations around the world were lifting COVID-19 restrictions. Survey rules have always allowed readers to reflect on their travel experiences over a three-year period. We hope that this year's honorees will inspire your own travels as you get back out into the world.

All eyes were on Tokyo this year, as the megacity was host to the delayed 2020 Olympic Games. But T+L readers love to celebrate the Japanese capital for an entirely different reason: the tremendous options when it comes to amazing hotels.

Every year for our World's Best Awards survey, T+L asks readers to weigh in on travel experiences around the globe — to share their opinions on the top hotels, resorts, cities, islands, cruise ships, spas, airlines, and more. Hotels were rated on their facilities, location, service, food, and overall value. Properties were classified as city or resort based on their locations and amenities.

"A special place in busy Tokyo" is how one reader described this year's runner-up, Aman Tokyo. The brand opened its first urban property here in the Otemachi neighborhood in 2014, and its 33rd-floor lobby — with its soaring ceilings, elaborate floral arrangements, and soothing reflecting pools — has been an Instagram sensation ever since. Guest rooms are equally impressive, where Aman's signature minimalist aesthetic is used for maximum effect: a spare palette of wood, stone, and glass creates a backdrop for breathtaking views of the Tokyo skyline.

Lounge at the Park Hyatt Tokyo, voted one of the best hotels in Tokyo — Courtesy of Park Hyatt Tokyo

Over by the Imperial Palace and Hibiya Park, the Imperial Hotel (No. 8) is an "excellent" option, according to one reader. The third iteration of a Meiji-era property, this Tokyo classic exudes an old-world sensibility. It starts with design touches like marble and shimmering chandeliers, and it's further reinforced through experiences like the elaborate tea ceremony that takes place six days a week in one of three ceremonial chambers.

Keep reading to find out about this year's winner, Park Hyatt Tokyo, as well as the others that made this year's list of the best hotels in Tokyo.

1. Park Hyatt Tokyo

View from a suite at the Park Hyatt Tokyo, voted one of the best hotels in Tokyo — Courtesy of Park Hyatt Tokyo

This Shinjuku mainstay earned the top spot with perennially popular features. Its sky-high location, which stretches from the 39th to 52nd floors of a high-rise, provides fantastic views of Tokyo's urban sprawl; the top-floor New York Bar, made famous in the 2003 Sofia Coppola film Lost in Translation, is a big draw, even if Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson aren't lingering there; and the swimming pool on the 47th floor, with its sweeping floor-to-ceiling city and Mount Fuji views, might entice even non-swimmers to take a dip. There's also Kozue, one of the Park Hyatt's eight food-and-beverage options, which serves expertly prepared contemporary Japanese cuisine with a side of — you guessed it — jaw-dropping views of the twinkling city lights.

Score: 96.00
More information: hyatt.com