reVieWs
REVIEWS
palace hotel tokyo • royal palm marrakech • lydmar hotel • atmosphere kanifushi • the caledonian • nh palazzo barocci • shangri-la’s barr al Jissah resort & spa
PALACE HOTEL TOKYO Tokyo, Japan
Every palace should have a throne, and, fittingly for Japan, the one in my room is pretty high tech. The electronic toilet – which can even blow-dry your, erm, nether regions – left me feeling that European lavatories are distinctly lacking. The bathrooms aside, (the Japanese- made Imabari towels are the softest I’ve ever used), there’s plenty to love about this Tokyo hotel – not least the extraordinary views over the next-door Imperial Palace Gardens and the downtown skyline, which all 278 rooms enjoy. More than half of these have balconies – a rarity in Tokyo – and from mine, high up on the 20th floor, the rushing traffic of the Marunouchi district below feels remote and hypnotic.
A hotel has stood on this spot since 1947, but a complete, three-year, £690 million rebuild completed in 2012 means it might as well be brand new – save for the experienced staff, most of whom returned and are on hand to offer ‘omotenashi’, Japan’s famous
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and exquisite brand of hospitality. Tokyo isn’t short of extremely luxurious international brand hotels, but Palace Hotel offers guests something really individual, combining the very best of Japan with handpicked elements from around the world, including the country’s only Evian spa – all white walls, blonde wood sculpted into futuristic curves and hushed pampering – and Crown, where you can dine on some of the city’s finest French cuisine.
The restaurants – of which there are seven – really are extraordinary,
particularly Wadakura, which feels like stepping into an artwork dedicated to Japanese cuisine. Among a landscape of traditional plastered walls, wooden partitions intricately carved with sakura cherry blossom, and a cascading waterfall running down a stone wall, there’s sushi from a Michelin-starred master, tempura, teppanyaki, shabu-shabu and seasonal kaiseki menus.
In the Palace Lounge, kimono-clad ladies serve hybrid Japanese/Western afternoon teas, and with the informal Grand Kitchen’s terrace right by the Imperial moat, guests really can breakfast like a king.
From £289 per night
en.palacehoteltokyo.com Joanna Booth
aspire september 2014 — 57
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