Review: InterContinental Tokyo Bay, Japan

This review is a bit short because during our three day stay in Tokyo we spent very little time in the hotel and were running around Tokyo pretty much the entire time doing things like a sushi making class and a food tour through the streets of Tokyo. However, I did manage to get some photos of our room and a little bit of the facilities so I thought that I’d share.

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The location

I honestly wasn’t crazy about the location of the hotel. It’s not too far away from the heart of the city, but I wish we would’ve gone with a property that had more restaurants and things happening just outside the door. Each time we walked to and from the train stations, it sort of felt like there just wasn’t a lot happening in the nearby vicinity.

The good thing is that Tokyo’s excellent public transportation system is conveniently located by the hotel. You’ve got three different modes of transportation nearby: Takeshiba Station (monorail), Hamamatsucho Station (train), and Daimon Station (subway). We used all three of them during our stay and found them extremely easy to use.

Tip: If you’re visiting Tokyo for a short time look into getting the pre-paid Pasmo card that works on all public transit and it will make your life so much easier.

The entrance to the hotel has some interesting sliding doors and very friendly staff members waiting there to help you out.

The InterContinental Tokyo Bay boasts a beautiful lobby complete with chandeliers, flooring, and decor. It feels very luxurious as you make your way to the check-in desk.

My only complaint is that there really aren’t many places to sit in the lobby, although there’s a lot of open space. There are several restaurants located inside the hotel on this level, although we didn’t have time to try them out.

In the middle of the lobby is a large Japanese art piece that was pretty fascinating to me.

We used 100,000 IHG points to book this room and due to Brad’s IHG Platinum status which he gets with his IHG Rewards Credit Card, we were upgraded to a deluxe corner view king room on the 17th floor. If we had booked the deluxe corner room without any IHG perks and included breakfast (which we got complimentary) we would’ve paid close to $1,000 or more, so I liked the value our points + status got us.

You can see the corner room highlighted in the layout below.

Personally, I loved the room. It had a nice fresh scent throughout, ultra-soft bed and pillows, and everything was clean and in good order.

I loved almost everything about the decor of the room but the off-center headboard drove me crazy once I noticed it. It was really hard to not let my OCD get the best of me every time I walked by.

The corner room really opens up when you open up the automated curtains and get the sweeping views of the city and Tokyo Bay.

Just outside the room there was a balcony. However, there’s no access to it and it’s only there for emergencies, which is a shame because there was a great view of the river.

We were still on US time so we easily woke up in time to watch the sunrise.

This is the view during the day time. You can clearly see the Tokyo Sky Tree, which is the second tallest free standing structure in the world and a beautiful piece of architecture. The river was also busy with boats throughout the day, including what looked like some kind of party cruise boat that docked nearby.

The bathroom is quite spacious, complete with two sinks, a bathtub, and a shower. Because of the layout of the corner room, I don’t think the other bathrooms on the same floors are this big.

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The curtain opens up to a fantastic view of the bay and Rainbow Bridge. One complaint about the bathroom: it was really muggy in there. We happened to visit Tokyo in September during a heatwave and I don’t think there was a proper AC system because that bathroom was almost like a sauna, and I sort of dreaded going in it.

This was my first time in Japan and thus my first encounter with Japanese toilets.

While I found all of the controls a bit confusing at first, I soon got the hang of it, and I’ve got to say that we could probably use some of those toilets here in the US. (I’ll spare you the play-by-play.)

We made our way to the fitness room to get a work out in. And then they say fitness “room” they mean just that. It’s a room with gym equipment in it and nothing more.

The room at least comes with some nice cardio equipment so it is possible to get a decent work out in. You’ll see yourself on the closed circuit tv in the corner so don’t do anything you wouldn’t want a camera to catch.

You also have some pretty great views of the river while you exercise, so that’s an added plus. We actually finished watching the sunrise from the gym while working out and it was a great way to start the day.

Breakfast is served in a nicely decorated restaurant. They had tons of options for traditional Asian cuisine and some American-style options, too. We were there at opening and about 30 minutes later it really got busy in there, although it was a weekend and I’m pretty sure there were some large events going on at the hotel during that weekend.

We’d eaten so much Japanese food during our stay that I opted to keep it simple and try to piece together my own American breakfast. Overall, it was okay, but nothing to write home about. Had I been a bit more adventurous I probably could have gotten more from the breakfast, but I was convinced that I’d eaten enough raw fish to last me for a while and didn’t want to push my luck too far.

InterContinental Tokyo Bay, Japan FAQ

Final word

Overall, the InterContinental Tokyo Bay is a fine hotel with fantastic rooms and beautiful facilities. This hotel is much larger than I was able to capture in this short review and is home to many restaurants, ballrooms, and other facilities. I wasn’t crazy about the location of the hotel but it wasn’t bad by any means since you have multiple public transit options just minutes away. I’d probably try to stay somewhere else next time just to experience another part of Tokyo, but I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this hotel.