Date of stay: May 2023
Room type: 1 X Single Room – Non-Smoking, City view | 11 m²/118 ft² | Non-smoking | 1 double bed, ECO STAY – No Daily Housekeeping (housekeeping every third day)
Price paid: Agoda 89,127JPY ($660) for 6 nights | 14,854 JPY per night ($110). Note AgodaCash amount of $29.90 credits to account 60 days after checkout and is valid for 30 days is an additional bonus not deducted in the price but may be useful to some customers.
Price per square foot: $0.93 | Price per square meter: $10
Breakfast: No
Reasons for picking this hotel: I picked this hotel because I needed to be near my friend who lives in Roppongi. As we would be meeting for various activities in the Roppongi area I needed somewhere close by. It is on quiet street just around the corner from the busy and bustling Roppongi Crossing. This is a no-frills business hotel, and keep in mind there is not even a laundry machine on-site.
Transportation / Access: I flew into Tokyo Haneda at 8PM on a weekday. Traveling solo, I decided the Tokyo monorail + metro would be the best way to the hotel. Tokyo Monorail from Haneda terminal 3 to Hamamatsuchō Station was 7 stops away, 19 minutes, 500JPY. Monorail still a bit crowded at this hour. There was a bit of construction at Hamamatsuchō Station, followed the signs for the North Exit, and then took the elevator to street level. From there, walked to the Daimon station exit B4 to take the elevator down to the station. Roppongi station was 3 stops away, 8 minutes, 180JPY. Arriving at Roppongi I exited at 4A to use the elevator and had a short walk to the APA hotel.
Being a typical Japanese business hotel, I only expected a clean, functional room, and APA hotel delivered. Walking in I was greated by a clean, carpeted room with a comfy double bed. There was a small working desk with mirror. Included amenities on the table were an air-fresher sprayer, a bottle of water (with additional bottles for the rest of the nights). Two Nescafe instant coffee packets, two creamer packets, two instant green tea packets, two paper cups, water boiler, two 100V outlets, LAN port, reading material, phone.
Refrigerator under the desk could be turned on with a switch and was empty, and for guest use.
The bedside table was equipped with a cute origami crane, tissue, two 100V outlets, lighting controls, HVAC controls, clock with alarm function.
Unique with the bed was the “Adjust Fit” pillow, supposedly offering better comfort, I found it a comfortable pillow to sleep on. The TV is quite large and is mounted on the wall at the foot of the bed. Conveniently the Wi-Fi information, and other hotel information is displayed on the screen.
Entry way had two pairs of slippers and one pair of disposable slippers.
The toilet consisted of a Toto bidet style Japanese toilet. Washcloth, comb, disposable razor, shower cap, toothbrush and toothpaste were pre-stocked in the room. Two paper cups were also stocked. Refillable Saraya-brand Face & Hand soap was provided. Bathtub was the economy style Japanese bathroom where the tap was shared with the sink. There was also a shower head available. A sign indicated the water was safe to drink. APA-hotel branded body soap, conditioner, and shampoo were provided in refillable bottles.
A note on the eco-plan: Every day housekeeping provided fresh towels, toiletries, coffee and tea, and paper cups. They would not enter the room. Every third day they would enter the room and do a thorough cleaning including changing the sheets. For someone who only used the room for sleeping this was perfectly acceptable.
Final thoughts
An acceptable Japanese business hotel for people needing to be near the Roppongi area, with convenient access to the Roppongi station, and are ok with a small room and a no-frills hotel.