[Tokyo] Review: Four Seasons Hotel at Otemachi

After my lunch at est, I went back to the Four Seasons Otemachi for an overnight stay! The hotel opened in September of last year and spans across the top 6 floors of a new skyscraper building with beautiful views of the Imperial Palace and Tokyo skyline. After we arrived at the entrance on the ground floor, we did a temperature scan with a machine and were escorted up to the 39/F to check in at the lobby. The first thing we saw when the lift doors opened was a magnificent panoramic view of the city reflected by a pool of water. As we walked over to the check-in counter, the decor throughout the hotel continued to impress with its elegant mesh of modern and Japanese aesthetics.

Even though Tokyo is under a state of emergency at the moment due to COVID-19, we felt at eased during our stay with Four Seasons' global Lead with Care program in place. The initiative focuses on enhanced healthy and safety measures including cleanliness, guest safety and comfort, and employee training. For example, we were given a safety kit with masks, hand sanitizer and sanitization wipes in the room while social distancing is in place in many areas of the hotel; the Four Seasons App and Chat also provides contactless interaction with the hotel staff.

ROOM:

While the lobby, restaurants and facilities are all on the 39/F, the hotel rooms are located below from the 34/F to 38/F. We stayed in a spacious Four Seasons Suite - Imperial Garden View with a King bed, a huge walk-in closet, and a full bathroom with a standalone bathtub, separate shower and toilet rooms, and double vanity sinks. Smart controls for the lights and curtains with USB charging stations are located on both side of the bed.

I loved the little East-Meets-West details in the room like this bathroom door which resembles a Japanese shoji screen.

Happiness can be simple - a deep bath, a glass of wine, and a beautiful sunset. How gorgeous is this bathtub with floor-to-ceiling window views!

We lucked out with the weather and was able to have to clear view of Mount Fuji from our room during sunset!

The room had an iPad with access to Four Seasons services such as ordering room service and chatting with the staff. We used it to conveniently order our in-room breakfast for the next morning.

 

The mini bar offers complimentary and paid refreshments while a refrigerator, kettle, and Nespresso machine are available as well.

More hotels are paying attention to sustainability - Four Seasons included.

The room keys are wooden - how cool is that!

FACILITIES:

The gym, swimming pool and spa have the same entrance. As soon as we walked in, we were given a tour to orient ourselves and the staff were quick to attend to our needs. The gym is opened 24 hours where you can work out and gaze at views of the Imperial Palace. The 20-meter indoor swimming pool is heated and the metallic interior of the pool gave off some pretty cool reflections in the sunlight. After swimming, we were also able to relax in the steam room and ofuro (Japanese bath) - the one in the ladies changing room has a full frontal view of the Tokyo Skytree!

Please note that photography is usually not permitted in the pool area (I had to ask permission to do so). Also, all guests are required to wear swim caps in the pool - one will be provided if you don’t have your own.

There is also a very cool library area where guests can sit and read the books on the shelves.

DINING:

The hotel has four F&B concepts onsite - est is the French fine dining restaurant that I had already tried on a previous visit; VIRTU is the bar but was closed during our visit due to the state of emergency; PIGNETO is the all-day Italian restaurant where breakfast is also served; and THE LOUNGE offers lunch and afternoon tea.

During our stay, we had dinner at the Italian restaurant PIGNETO. The restaurant has a broad selection of Italian classics that are great for sharing from antipasti, salads, pizzas, pastas, secondi, and desserts. Highlights of the menu include a Caviar pizza with buffalo mozzarella (where it comes with a tin of caviar for you to put it on yourself!), the Regina pizza with a mozzarella ball and parma ham, handmade Orecchiette and Ravioli pasta, and the Florentina - the massive 1kg T-bone steak with Chianti wine sauce!

The next morning we enjoyed our breakfast in the room with views of the Imperial Garden! Breakfast is also served at PIGNETO with the same menu - you can choose from Continental, American, Japanese and a la carte. Since we are in Japan, we both decided to go for the Japanese breakfast with grilled salmon, steamed rice, miso soup, condiments and fruits.

After checking out, we headed to THE LOUNGE to try the Strawberry Afternoon Tea! Everything is strawberry themed from the savories, sweets and even the scones. For the desserts, there was a Japanese twist with the inclusion of a few wagashi selections. I was told that people really love afternoon tea in Japan - to the point where they start serving it here at 11am in the morning!

While the afternoon tea came with 90 minutes of free flow beverages, we opted to try its premium Japanese tea selection - specifically Gyokuro Goko. The way to enjoy this high quality green tea here is in three brews at different temperatures. Since it is believed that these tea leaves have high nutritional value, we were given soy sauce and sudachi to eat the leaves with afterwards!

After the afternoon tea, it was finally time for us to leave - the hotel actually has a complimentary car drop off service within 3km upon departure which is available to all hotel guests at a first come first served basis, so we took advantage of the service. Thank you Four Seasons Otemachi for the fantastic experience! Everything from the hardware to the software was truly impressive - I highly recommend staying at this brand new hotel. For those who are in Japan at the moment, the hotel is currently offering packages for staycation and workcation.

*By Invitation

Four Seasons Tokyo at Otemachi

1-2-1 Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan

Tel: +81-3-6810-0600

https://www.fourseasons.com/otemachi/

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