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Coordinates: 35°40′57″N 139°46′10″E / 35.682535°N 139.769472°E / 35.682535; 139.769472
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The hotel currently offers several unique features for a Tokyo hotel, such as a "Meet & Great" service whereby special staff escort guests to and from [[Tokyo Station]]'s platforms, including the [[shinkansen]]. It is also offers excursions to other luxury hotels and resorts around the country, such as in Kyoto and Hakone.<ref name="press">{{cite news | url=http://www.shangri-la.com/tokyo/shangrila/press-room/press-releases/enchanting-excursions/ | title=Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo Offers New Enchanting and Station "Meet and Greet" Service to Conincide with the Opening of Tokyo Station City | publisher=[[Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts]]| date=2012-09-27 |accessdate=2013-03-01}}</ref>
The hotel currently offers several unique features for a Tokyo hotel, such as a "Meet & Great" service whereby special staff escort guests to and from [[Tokyo Station]]'s platforms, including the [[shinkansen]]. It is also offers excursions to other luxury hotels and resorts around the country, such as in Kyoto and Hakone.<ref name="press">{{cite news | url=http://www.shangri-la.com/tokyo/shangrila/press-room/press-releases/enchanting-excursions/ | title=Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo Offers New Enchanting and Station "Meet and Greet" Service to Conincide with the Opening of Tokyo Station City | publisher=[[Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts]]| date=2012-09-27 |accessdate=2013-03-01}}</ref>

== Hotel Administration ==

Mr. Enzo Enriquez - Chairman and CEO, Executive Office
date=2013-09-04 |accessdate=2013-09-04}}</ref>


== Theme ==
== Theme ==

Revision as of 13:21, 4 September 2013

Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo
Map
General information
StatusCompleted
TypeHotel
Architectural styleHigh-rise
AddressMarunouchi Trust Tower Main, 1-8-3 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Coordinates35°40′57″N 139°46′10″E / 35.682535°N 139.769472°E / 35.682535; 139.769472
Construction started2006[1]
Completed2008[1]
OpeningMarch 2nd, 2009[2]
OwnerShangri-La Hotels and Resorts
ManagementShangri-La Hotels Japan
Technical details
Floor count11[1]
Design and construction
Architect(s)Yasui Architects[1]
DeveloperToda Corporation[1]
Other information
Number of rooms200
Website
Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo

Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo is a five-star luxury hotel[3] located over 13 floors of the Marunouchi Trust Tower Main in Marunouchi, directly above Tokyo Station, Japan.

The hotel was selected as the No. 1 Luxury Hotel in the World in TripAdvisor's Travelers' Choice Award 2012.[4]

History

The Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo, overlooks Tokyo Station in the foreground

The Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo, was opened on March 2, 2009, showcasing its proximity to Ginza.[2] It was the first property in Japan from Hong Kong based Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts. The group opened its first property in 1971 in Singapore and currently operates 78 hotels.[5]

The hotel has 200 guestrooms and suites spread over 11 floors of the prestigious Mori-built Marunouchi Trust Tower Main.[1] CNN Travel praised the hotel in its pick of "Tokyo's top hotels"[6] for its location close to the Tokyo Imperial Palace and for having elevators that are "the poshest in town, featuring full-on chandeliers and black-mirrored ceilings." According to the guide, Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo has contributed to "this once slightly dull financial district [being] redeveloped over the past decade into an international visitor-friendly shopping and dining hotspot."

The hotel currently offers several unique features for a Tokyo hotel, such as a "Meet & Great" service whereby special staff escort guests to and from Tokyo Station's platforms, including the shinkansen. It is also offers excursions to other luxury hotels and resorts around the country, such as in Kyoto and Hakone.[7]

Theme

The hotel's design and atmosphere is based on its namesake mystical valley featured in James Hilton's 1933 novel, Lost Horizon.[8] In the book, lead character Hugh Conway, a veteran member of the British diplomatic service, finds inner peace, love, and a sense of purpose in Shangri-La, whose inhabitants enjoy unheard-of longevity. Among the book's themes is an allusion to the possibility of another cataclysmic world war brewing. It is said to have been inspired at least in part by accounts of travels in Tibetan borderlands, published in National Geographic by the explorer and botanist Joseph Rock. The remote communities he visited, such as Muli, show many similarities to the fictional Shangri-La. One such town, Zhongdian, has now officially renamed itself Shangri La (Chinese: Xianggelila) because of its claim to be the inspiration for the novel.

Design and construction

The hotel's central stairway

The hotel’s interior is designed by Hirsch Bedner Associates,[9] based in Santa Monica, California, while Andre Fu of Hong Kong-based AFSO designed the Presidential Suite, Horizon Club Lounge, Piacere, the signature Italian restaurant, and Nadaman, the authentic Japanese kaiseki restaurant.[10]

Shangri-La’s brand DNA is visible through the hotel’s grand staircase, Czech-made chandeliers and bold carpets, which carry a distinct Japanese influence. In addition, flower arrangements by Danish florist Nicolai Bergmann, one of the most celebrated flower artists in Japan for his contemporary floral designs, feature prominently within the hotel.[11]

Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo is the first hotel in the world to feature Bergmann’s works in all areas of the hotel, from public areas and guestrooms to wedding facilities.


Features

Art Collection

Jinli Shen's Qing ming shang he tu

The hotel contains some 2,000 pieces of art.[6] The collection of art draws its inspiration from the works of poet Bai Juyi (772-846), a Chinese poet of the Tang dynasty. The poetry “Song of Pipa” is believed to portray Bai’s experience of being spiritually healed by the melodious sounds of a Chinese lute (pipa). The horizontal and vertical lines prevalent in the hotel's collection symbolize the delicate strings of the pipa, evoking the image of a spiritual oasis.

Notable works include Jinli Shen's Qing ming shang he tu (Along the river during the Qingming Festival) and images of a Qing Dynasty landscape in eggshell ceramic by Chen Jun, an award-winning artist and professor of art at Wuhan University.

Rooms and suites

The hotel has 200 rooms of which six are luxurious suites. The rooms are divided on either side of the hotel, facing either Tokyo Bay and Tokyo Sky Tree (the world's tallest tower), or towards the city and Tokyo Imperial Palace overlooking Tokyo Station. The rooms located in the corners of the hotel are titled Premier Bay View and Premier City View accordingly.

The Horizon Club floor rooms follow the same pattern, but also include personal concierge service and access to the Horizon Club Lounge. The rooms have been described as "spacious and modern, with understated wooden interiors," while the beds, with mattresses by Stearns & Foster "so comfortable that I had my best night’s sleep in months," according to a New York Times review.[12]

Restaurants and Lounge

Nadaman
  • Piacere - Italian

The hotel's signature Italian restaurant is led by Chef Paolo Pelosi, and sometimes welcomes chefs from the world's leading Michelin Star restaurants, such as Chef Marco Stabile of Ora d'Aria in Florence, for collaboration dinners like 'Modern Tuscan Cuisine'.[13] Piacere was decorated with the Best Award of Excellence at the Wine Spectator Grand Awards 2012.[14]

  • Nadaman - Japanese

Originally established in 1830, Nadaman originated in Osaka and has served royalty and world leaders.[15] The restaurant 29th floor of Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo, was designed by Hong Kong architect Andre Fu,[12] drawing from nature with bamboo-shaped partitions and ceramic tiles with cherry-blossom motifs. Head chef Takahiko Yoshida follows the kaiseki (multi course) tradition with his own distinct, such as his foie gras chawanmushi (savory egg custard).[15]

  • The Lobby Lounge

With 104 seats on the 28th floor, The Lobby Lounge offers a wide range of food from Asian specialities to continental breakfasts, fine snacks and coffees and signature afternoon tea sets. It is centred around a bar counter with a "cascading chandelier"[12] made from 890 pieces of crystal gingko leaves, individually strung on stainless steel rods to creating a graceful atmosphere.

CHI, The Spa

CHI, The Spa at Shangri-La, offers signature spa services, including some uniquely tailored to Japan such as the Kisetsu Ritual and Samurai Treatment.[8] The six spa rooms are entirely private and the largest self-contained spa suites in Tokyo,[16] containing their own showers, bathtub, saunas, surrounded by Tibetan artefacts, writings and furniture.[8]

Awards

In 2009, Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo was listed for the “Best New Business Hotel Award” by Wallpaper magazine [17]

On January 18, 2012 it was announced that Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo, has been voted the No.1 Luxury Hotel in the World in TripAdvisor's Travelers' Choice Award 2012.[4] 3,943 properties globally were recognized, based on millions of reviews and opinions from travelers around the world. Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo was the first hotel in Japan to win a Traveler’s Choice Award, in the award's tenth year. Reviewers commented that the “service was simply flawless, from the concierge team that met me at Tokyo station and escorted me to the hotel, to the reception team that helped organise my daily business excursions into Tokyo.”

Events

The Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo has become renowned for hosting events in its ballroom, including visiting performers such as the Leipzig String Quartet (with proceeds going to the victims of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami),and hosting the Jacksons, Macy Gray and A.I. for an after party live event for the Michael Jackson Tribute Show in December 2011.[18]

For New Year's Eve 2013, the 27th floor was converted into Tokyo's most opulent – and expensive – countdown party, with martial artists and Ibiza singer Rebeka Brown.[19]

Media Reviews

The New York Times described the hotel as "lavish" with a "discreet entrance" that whisks visitors to a lobby "dotted with fresh orchids, cascading chandeliers and plush sofas - to recreate a resortlike feel, high above the city’s chaos."[12]

Hemispheres, the onboard magazine of United Airlines and the most-honored inflight magazine in the U.S., having won more prestigious awards than any other, selected the hotel for its "Three Perfect Days: Tokyo" article. The hotel was described as having an "ultramodern exterior" but a "gentleman’s-club opulence," with a view over Tokyo Station of "toylike bullet trains."[20]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Mori Trust City". Mori Trust. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  2. ^ a b Jonathan Cheng (2009-02-25). "Shangri-La Hotel Offers Deal for Tokyo Opening". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  3. ^ "Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo". TripAdvisor. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  4. ^ a b Julie Cassetina (2012-01-18). "Tripadvisor Announces Worlds Best Hotels with 2012 Traveler's Choice Awards". TripAdvisor. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  5. ^ "Legendary hospitality around the world". Shangri-La International Hotel Management. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  6. ^ a b Nicole Fall (2010-02-16). "Tokyo's top hotels, for those who can afford them". CNN. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  7. ^ "Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo Offers New Enchanting and Station "Meet and Greet" Service to Conincide with the Opening of Tokyo Station City". Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts. 2012-09-27. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
  8. ^ a b c Robert Michael Poole (2012-01-03). "Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo: Samurai Treatment". CNN. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  9. ^ "Portfolio: Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo". Hirsch Bedner Associates. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  10. ^ "Andre Fu's Bespoke Journey". InDesign Live Asia. 2011-07-20. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  11. ^ Melinda Joe. "Japan's Best Hotels". Travel Channel. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  12. ^ a b c d Hiroko Tabuchi (2012-08-26). "Hotel Review: The Shangri-La Hotel in Tokyo". New York Times. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  13. ^ "Piacere at Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo presents modern Tuscan cuisine". Japan Today. 2012-07-25. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  14. ^ "2012 restaurant award winner". Wine Spectator. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  15. ^ a b Robert Michael Poole (2012-01-31). "Foie Gras in a Tea Cup". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  16. ^ "Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo". CNN. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  17. ^ "Best Business Hotels 2009". Wallpaper (magazine). 2009-05-05. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  18. ^ "Jackson brothers to visit Michael's 'second home'". Japan Times. 2011-12-09. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  19. ^ "Countdown Party @ Shangri-La". Time Out (magazine). Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  20. ^ Robert Michael Poole (2012-10-01). "Three Perfect Days: Tokyo". Hemispheres. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
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