I recently had a one night stay at the Yokohama Bay Sheraton Hotel and Towers.
I never been here before, but the Sheraton is right next to Yokohama Station and a short drive from Tokyo. I went by car, so it was nice to have the Times parking lot right next to the hotel. It’s an underground parking lot that’s about ¥1900 per night. Once I went up into the lobby area, my first impression was that of an older nostalgic Showa-era design hotel.
They don’t make hotels like this anymore.
It’s almost a snapshot from history with the lavish chandeliers and gold and marble accents everywhere.
Taken in a negative context, it’s a bigger version of a common business hotel that you could find all over Japan.
It was older, but kept in very good shape, as with all other Japanese properties. But it still felt old, especially compared to the Hyatt properties.
Being Marriott, Bon Voy member is meant we could check in at the club lounge on the 26 floor so we decided to move towards the elevators. The old Showa era design decor, continued hear portraying a sense of older Japanese views of what luxury meant. It’s quite intriguing actually.
The elevators remind me of an old Japanese department store.
I don’t have many pictures of the lounge itself because the entrance of small and crowded and I didn’t want people to think I was some blogger but you can check out pictures here.
To their credit, the service was excellent, and check-in was a breeze. The lounge offered free drinks and a variety of appetizers. Some things that stood out or many of the Chinese theme dishes, I suppose that, because Yokohama has a huge Chinatown in a large population of Chinese customers, they had lots of items that Chinese people would like. Actually, come to think of it, there were a lot of Chinese customers in the lounge.
The hotel was nice enough to upgrade our room.
Was, wow, this is big! Which was a very good thing!
However, in essence, you realize that it was two rooms, renovated and combined together. The layout was long and rectangular with the bedroom area on one side and the shower bathroom split on the other. All in all, it was a very spacious area, so no complaints there. We had a nice silhouette view of Mount Fuji in the morning sort of obstructed by some sort of tower but some Fuji is better than no, Fuji.
The bathrobes were plush and the bath was nice.
Because I only stayed one night, obviously the highlight of my trip was breakfast. It could’ve been the lounge and free drinks the night before but really, when you look online, especially with the Japanese reviews, the breakfast here is the best. Retail price is ¥4400 for adults, but I think it’s very worth it. They source many of their ingredients from local Kanagawa Prefecture, and they also had a Hokkaido festival going on. The star item at the buffet would be the Maguro-don. I also enjoyed the Roman, Jon, and the other selections. To be honest, this Buffay may not have as many items as some of the other Hyatt hotels I have gone to, but, the satisfaction level was extremely high. Also, one thing I love about this place is the fresh orange juice squeezer. That is a treat.
My only gripe for the room would have to be the positioning of the toilet. I understand that you could close the sliding doors at either end of the bathroom zone to get full privacy, but this is where the large space becomes a hindrance, and I just thought it would be better to give it its own door, not see-through glass, and give it a look. That would add so much more freedom to how the occupants use the room. But that’s just my two. Cents.
Also, there are little things, not from a hygienic level, that bother me, but you could definitely see the wear and tear over the years.
Considering this place can cost upwards of ¥27,000 a night, I think they could do better.In conclusion, my final thoughts are that this is a decent, solid hotel right by the station and would fit the needs of many people. It is old, but they have kept it in very good condition. My only gripe would be that in my own personal experience, I don’t think the high prices match the experience that the hotel has to offer. However, it is important to note that the location is very good so their cost must be expensive as well.
I think I still prefer the Hyatt Regency in Yokohama.
