Four Seasons Otemachi Tokyo
- Room Type: Deluxe King Room
- Typical Nightly Rate: 160,000 JPY
- Price Paid: FSPP Agent rate
- Loyalty Program: FSPP
Intro
Four Seasons has something of a proclivity for operating multiple properties in major cities: London, Los Angeles, New York, Dubai and even Cairo all have two Four Seasons hotels.
Tokyo is much the same, with the Marunouchi property having been in operation since October of 2002 and subsequently joined by the Otemachi property, just down the road, in September of 2021.
In simple terms, the locations are identical and what separates these two properties is that the Otemachi has much more of a focus on room hardware and on amenities such as f&b outlets, the pool and of course panoramic views in all directions.
Below is a brief summary of the key differences between the Four Seasons Tokyo properties:
Four Seasons Otemachi | Four Seasons Marunouchi | |
---|---|---|
Room Count | 190 | 57 |
Views | Panoramic high-rise views of Tokyo in all 4 directions | Low-rise city views or Tokyo Station train tracks |
Swimming Pool | YES | NO |
Bars | Virtu (World’s Top #11 in 2024) | The Bar and Champagne Lounge |
Restaurants | Est*, Pigneto, The Lounge | Sézanne***, Maison Marunouchi |
Booking
Our clients are able to enjoy Four Seasons Preferred Partner (FSPP) benefits when booking any Four Seasons hotel through us.
An example of FSPP benefits, which may be available on your stay:
- Upgrade of one room category, based on availability at time of check-in.
- Full breakfast, for up to two in room guests. Either at the restaurant or via in-room dining.
- $100 Hotel Credit.
- Early check-in/late check-out, subject to availability.
There are numerous additional offers available throughout the year too, including:
- free nights (most commonly every 3rd night free)
- guaranteed upgrades
Your booking will be direct with Four Seasons. However, since we manage the booking on your behalf, we are able to negotiate all the above extras for you.
Additionally, if you find a cheaper rate elsewhere, we can help to get the price matched AND STILL add the FSPP benefits to your booking!
Arrival and check-in at Four Seasons Otemachi
Despite the fact that the two Four Seasons Tokyo properties are roughly a ten minute walk from one another, we took a cab from Four Seasons Marunouchi to Four Seasons Otemachi, since we had plenty of luggage.
Four Seasons Otemachi’s entrance is considerably more nondescript than that of Marunouchi and you could easily miss it when walking past, if you didn’t know exactly where to look.
The hotel is located inside a mixed use office building with a direct pathway to a luxury shopping mall just next door.
There’s also a fantastic food court in the basement floor of the building, where we enjoyed a delicious lunch just after checking in.
Upon entering the motor lobby area, it was clear that this was a much larger and busier property than Four Seasons Marunouchi. The bell staff were all so busy loading and unloading other vehicles that we wheeled our own bags in (something which is almost unheard of in a Japanese luxury hotel).
From here we took the elevator up to the 39th floor, where the main lobby floor of the hotel is located. The moment the door opened we were greeted by staff at the bell desk and walked past a very impressive reflecting pool zen garden, set against the backdrop of a spectacular view of Tokyo.
To those of us who are fortunate enough to be familiar with his hotels, the design of this area is immediately and unmistakably the work of Jean Michel Gathy, the architect behind Four Seasons Bangkok, Amanoi and many others.
There’s something about walking into a JMG hotel that makes you feel instantly at ease…
We walked past The Lounge on the way to the reception desk, a beautiful all-day dining space that gave a real buzz to the hotel throughout the majority of the day (I snapped the picture below first thing in the morning, which was the only time that I ever saw it empty!).
Continuing on from here was one of many seating nooks, featuring the signature JMG oversized furniture and designed to spread guests throughout the entire sky lobby floor, rather than creating an overly busy area huddled around the reception desk.
Of course, no Four Seasons hotel would be complete without an ornate and elaborate floral display. During our visit it was sakura themed, in anticipation of the spring blossoms.
Check in here took place directly at the desk and felt a little less polished than at the Marunouchi property. It felt apparent that there are far more rooms here and generally the lobby floor was very busy, with people milling around and dining at the various restaurants.
This definitely feels like a ‘place to be seen’ in Tokyo, moreso in fact than any other Tokyo property that I’ve visited.
After completing check-in formalities, we were escorted to our room by the front desk agent, who also took the time to point out various hotel facilities along the way. Upon exiting the lifts on our floor I was taken aback by how spacious and bright the hallways felt.
Make no mistake, hallways this spacious in a city like Tokyo are nothing short of showboating. In a city notorious for undersized hotel rooms, not only does this hotel offer rooms starting from an extravagant 49m², it also offers guests plenty of additional space to move around without feeling like they are in a tunnel or a maze.
FS Otemachi Deluxe Room
We were assigned a Deluxe Room, which is the standard Four Seasons Preferred Partner upgrade that our clients can expect when booking an entry level Superior Room.
Dressing Area
Immediately upon entering the room, to our right, was an expansive minibar and dressing area. Sliding doors allowed for each of these sections to be closed off from one another.
Inside the minibar was a Nespresso machine with standard capsules as well as complimentary bottled water and a cast iron Japanese tea set.
The paid minibar selection included various international premium brands like Ruinart, San Pellegrino and Fever Tree as well as a variety of local Japanese gins.
Placed upon the minibar was a welcome amenity of exceptionally high-quality strawberries together with a bottle of Royal Blue Tea, just like on JAL First Class. In addition to this, we were presented with a bottle of Veuve Clicquot, during turndown, on the first evening of our stay!
Moving along to the dressing area, I was happy to see some storage space above the hanging rail, as well as three large drawers. I love how Japanese luxury hotels always provide guests with PJs, although I must admit I never actually use them since I like to be as cool as possible when I sleep!
Much though I appreciated having a separate dressing area in a non-suite room category, it has to be said that it was a bit of a tight squeeze though. The countertop was only large enough to accommodate a single carry-on bag, with a luggage stand providing additional space for a single checked bag.
We decided to just unpack what we needed and then close up the cases and place them in the storage above.
FS Otemachi Deluxe Bedroom
Unsurprisingly, the bedroom reminded me very much of the rooms at FS Bangkok (which I absolutely love). As soon as I laid eyes on the room I felt immediately at home.
In terms of the overall design, it’s clear that this property is part of the vanguard that is pushing Tokyo’s venerable hotels to finally modernise. It’s surely no coincidence that Park Hyatt Tokyo announced its closure for a complete refurbishment not long after Four Seasons Otemachi opened its doors.
Both sides of the bed featured oversized side tables with closed drawers for additional storage. As with all modern FS hotels, there was total symmetry with regards to access to power sockets and room controls.
The latest iteration of Four Seasons’ room controls is also extremely intuitive and simple to use.
One side of the bed also had access to a Bose bluetooth speaker, whilst the other housed the room’s tablet controller.
At the far end of the bedroom was a sitting area featuring a small table as well as a chaise longue.
The chaise looks like it could very easily accommodate young children as a bed, without the additional clutter of bringing a rollaway into the room.
The view from our room was rather obscured by clouds upon our arrival but the weather cleared the following morning, revealing spectacular views of the Imperial Palace gardens.
Indeed, the sky was so clear that we could even make out Mt Fuji in the distance!
Although the table really isn’t a proper work desk, I still managed to get some work done, having just enough space to open up both of my screens. The lack of universal power felt like a glaring oversight though for a new hotel.
I also had to connect an HDMI cable directly to the TV as the HDMI port wasn’t working and neither was the cast-in functionality (this was fixed the following morning when I mentioned the issue to staff).
I feel like Tokyo is on the cutting edge of glass-walled bathrooms and FS Otemachi is no exception. Ever since first seeing the glass-walled bathrooms at Conrad Tokyo back in 2014, I’ve always associated this feature with modern Tokyo hotels and I love how this was integrated into the design here, with a screen door for added privacy.
FS Otemachi Deluxe Bathroom
Speaking of the bathroom, this was extremely generously proportioned, occupying nearly half the footprint of the room. There was a top of line Toto Neorest located in a separate room, as one would expect in a hotel of this calibre.
The bathroom itself was awash with natural light, with plenty of additional illumination provided by the bright light integrated into the mirror wall above the twin vanities.
There was also an abundance of counter space thanks to the reasonably sized sinks and the addition of actual towel rails (something of a rarity in new hotels, for some reason).
Toiletries were by Frederic Malle, a personal favourite of mine.
There was also the usual drawer filled with additional bathroom amenities, as is always the case in Four Seasons properties.
On day two when the clouds cleared, the view from the shower in the morning was amazing. I love the Japanese method of enclosing the bath and shower in a single glass room too, allowing you to first shower off with soap and then soak in a completely clear and clean tub of water.
The showerhead was suitably large and impressive, providing excellent pressure.
Of course, a full set of Frederic Malle toiletries was on hand too.
FS Otemachi Housekeeping
Housekeeping throughout our stay was excellent. When they attempted to clean our room when the DND light was on, they slipped a note under the door encouraging us to call them back, at our convenience.
Our clothes were neatly folded every time the room was cleaned and toiletries were meticulously presented on linen cloths.
I also couldn’t help but laugh when I pressed the button to open the blinds on our first morning and saw that a message had been left on the glass for us. In addition to the turndown champagne on the first night, we were also left a turndown teddy bear and note on night number two.
FS Otemachi Superior Twin Room
As part of our tour of the hotel with the sales team we had the chance to check out a few different room types, starting with the entry level 49m² Superior Twin Room.
As I mentioned earlier, there’s almost no chance you’ll actually end up in one of these as a client of a Four Seasons Preferred Partner agency like The Luxury Traveller, since upgrades to Deluxe rooms are the norm. Still, I was curious to see how this room type compares.
The first obvious difference is that the minbar and wardrobe are open to the rest of the room, with no separate dressing area on offer.
In the bedroom, things looks relatively similar, although there’s no chaise longue.
I really like how the space is put to use though, with one bedside table being extended all the way to the window and useable as a desk so that two people can work on their laptops at the same time, across the two different tables.
The bathrooms however, are a lot more compact than in the Deluxe rooms, with no glass walls and no views.
Personally, I still think this is one of the very best entry level rooms in any Tokyo hotel though, even if it’s not quite as spectacular as the Deluxe category.
FS Otemachi Imperial Suite
Given the very high occupancy during our stay, we were unable to view any of the standard suite categories, but thankfully we were in for a treat as we were still able to tour the truly stunning Imperial Suite.
At the heart of the Imperial suite is a spectacular lounge, set on a corner of the building, with 180° panoramic views.
The next part of this open plan layout is a dining room, dominated by a large circular dining table with space for 10 guests.
A fully equipped kitchen faces directly onto the dining room, with easy staff access from a dedicated door to the hallway.
Continuing on from the dining room is the suite’s secondary bedroom, configured with a King bed.
What I found most interesting about this room is that its bathroom is basically a carbon copy of the bathrooms in the Premier Rooms at Four Seasons Bangkok, with sliding corner panels affording the bathtub a view of the outside.
Heading back into the common areas of the Imperial Suite there is a study/ media room for those wishing to work or watch TV in a cosier environment.
Continuing on from here is the suite’s foyer, which serves as the point of demarcation between the Master Bedroom and the rest of the suite.
Next up was a minibar room, which served to add an extra layer of separation between the Master bedroom and the rest of the suite.
The master bedroom features panoramic views from the floor to ceiling windows, with very little in the way of additional furniture to detract from them.
As you would expect from the hotel’s top suite, the walk-in closet is very spacious indeed, featuring ample storage space for weeks, rather than days’ worth of clothing.
Finally we come to the Master bathroom, which again showcases the hotel’s amazing views of the Imperial Palace gardens.
Food and Drink at Four Seasons Otemachi
Four Seasons Otemachi breakfast at Pigneto
Breakfast at Four Seasons Otemachi is served at Pigneto, the hotel’s Italian restaurant. Personally I found this to be the weakest element of our stay for numerous reasons.
The views and the room decor are undeniably beautiful but it was clear when we approached the counter each morning that staff were overwhelmed by the number of guests that they had to serve.
This shot of the dining room was taken later in the day between services, in order to have the photos filled with guests!
Given that there was a wait for a table anyway, we opted to wait a little longer for a table next to the windows, so we could enjoy the views.
There’s also an outdoor terrace area, which looks very inviting in photos, but we were visiting in late November when the temperatures were not conducive to sitting outdoors. I can imagine this would be an ideal spot to sit in the warmer months though.
After taking our seats, our server took our coffee order and delivered us fruit and yoghurt automatically since apparently this is part of the standard ‘set’ for all guests. The coffee was pretty average but at least it wasn’t Nespresso.
There’s no buffet station during breakfast at FS Otemachi but staff would pass through the dining room periodically with trays of freshly baked pastries.
I’m not a fan of sweet breakfasts (or indeed sweets at any time) but Kamara is and she said that her croissant was nothing special at all, not even remotely close to the same level as the Pierre Hermé croissants at Ritz Carlton Kyoto.
The whole ‘set’ concept is very big in Japan and in this case, I found it led to some odd combinations of dishes being offered.
Pho, with granola and a sausage for example. The pho was the least impressive dish we encountered, bland and watery – definitely not a patch on the amazing examples we had previously enjoyed during breakfasts at Park Hyatt Saigon or Amanoi.
I ordered the Japanese set, which I figured would be a sure-fire hit but again, it was very underwhelming.
Again, I couldn’t help but make comparisons to other far superior Japanese breakfasts like the one offered at Park Hyatt Kyoto for example.
Having said that, I still ordered the Japanese breakfast the next day in the hopes of maybe getting some variety…and it was identical.
FS Otemachi est restaurant (1*Michelin)
We had other dinner plans during our time in Tokyo but took a chance to quickly take a peek inside the property’s 1 Michelin starred restaurant est, during our site inspection of the hotel.
The entrance hall had serious 2001 A Space Odyssey vibes…
The interior of the restaurant looks like it could have been designed by the same person that did the rooms at Cheval Blanc Paris. The overall vibe is almost identical.
….with the exception of this cherry blossom artwork.
FS Otemachi Virtu Bar (World’s Top 50)
Similarly, our plans with friends called us away from the hotel both nights that we were staying at FS Otemachi but having taken a look around Virtu bar on our final morning, I’m tempted to come back here for a drink next time I’m in Tokyo!
Clearly, no expense has been spared in the design of this room and the long central tables give a really great flow to the room.
The selection of whisky and cognac on offer is also absolutely extraordinary.
I can imagine that the views are even better at night as all the buildings pulse with their red lights. I always refer to this nocturnal display as the heartbeat of Tokyo.
This looks like the perfect spot for a quiet date night.
FS Otemachi Facilities
FS Otemachi Gym
Four Seasons tends to consistently have the best gyms in the entire hotel industry and I’m pleased to report that the Tokyo Otemachi property is no exception!
There is an enormous spa reception area where guests using either the pool, gym or spa are first greeted. This space features darker wood, low ambient lighting and thick carpets all of which combine to make the space feel calm, secluded and tranquil.
The sense of separation between the wellness area and the busy lobby is a feat of excellent hotel design.
The gym itself features equipment from Life Fitness and Hammer Strength, two brands which I personally find to offer substantially higher quality equipment than the mass market offerings of the ubiquitous Technogym.
I always say that with a Smith machine and a cable crossover you have everything you need in a hotel gym, the rest is just details.
The designer of this gym seems to have gotten the memo, meaning that everything after the far end of the room was an extra bonus!
Dumbbells were denominated in Kg and topped out at 30Kg. No comparison to the gigantic dumbbells at Four Seasons Geneva but still very respectable for a hotel gym.
I was particularly impressed with the number of lower body machines offered, since generally machinery in hotel gyms tends to be limited to a chest press, a pec deck and maybe an overhead press.
Of course, those wishing to come and perform cardiovascular exercise were generously catered to, with the majority of the equipment against the windows being cardio focused: ellipticals, treadmills, stair climbers and even a water rower.
Staff were generally on hand to hand gym towels and chilled oshibori to guests but more were available at a dedicated station, which also offered tea and coffee making facilities.
Your intrepid reporter after an encounter with Hammer Strength’s notorious bicep curl machine.
FS Otemachi Pool
The hotel’s 20m heated pool is bathed in natural light during the day, thanks to the large windows running alongside it.
I understand making the benches by the windows low profile but they are still designed for people to sit upright and block the view, the one in the far corner is also completely inaccessible by land.
There are a few daybeds but there’s really no privacy or separation between the seating areas here. It feels like relaxation at this pool is an afterthought and that the area has been designed for people to only enjoy for short periods of time.
The lack of greenery is also notable and makes the place feel a bit more like a (very modern) municipal leisure centre rather than a relaxing oasis.
Conclusion
Basics Checklist
☑︎ Power sockets near the bed
☑︎ Easy to understand light switches
☑︎ Coffee machine in the room
☑︎ Separate shower and bath
☑︎ Blackout blinds
☑︎ Stable, fast and free Wifi
☑︎ Feather pillows
☑︎ Quiet and powerful aircon
Four Seasons Otemachi is a huge leap forward for Four Seasons in Tokyo.
The older Marunouchi property provides guests with a very high level of service in a small and secluded, club-like setting. However, the rooms are very outdated, the public facilities are almost non-existent and train track views are not to everyone’s taste.
Conversely, Four Seasons Otemachi is a gleaming flagship property offering state-of-the-art rooms and wellness facilities, as well as numerous dining options, all with spectacular panoramic views of the Skytree, Imperial palace and Mount Fuji beyond.
There are certainly areas for improvement: service is not as polished as the older Marunouchi property and the breakfast ‘set’ concept is bizarre, with food that is not at the level of other more established hotels in Tokyo.
However, these are relatively minor details.
Overall, Four Seasons Otemachi not only represents a step into the modern era for Four Seasons in Tokyo, it has also served as the impetus for Four Seasons’ competitors to modernise or face fading into obscurity.
The opening of this hotel is undoubtedly an inflection point in the history of Tokyo’s hospitality scene and I, for one, welcome this new era.
Book Four Seasons Otemachi Tokyo with FSPP Benefits
Our clients are able to enjoy Four Seasons Preferred Partner (FSPP) benefits when booking any Four Seasons hotel through us.
An example of FSPP benefits, which may be available on your stay:
- Upgrade of one room category, based on availability at time of check-in.
- Full breakfast, for up to two in-room guests. Either at the restaurant or via in-room dining.
- $100 Hotel Credit.
- Early check-in/late check-out, subject to availability.
There are numerous additional offers available throughout the year too, including:
- Free nights (most commonly every 3rd night free).
- Guaranteed upgrades.
Your booking will be direct with Four Seasons. However, since we are managing the booking on your behalf, we are able to negotiate all the above extras for you.
NOTE: If you are able to find a cheaper rate elsewhere, we can help to get the price matched AND STILL add the FSPP benefits to your booking!