Harkening back to a time of gracious living, the Yokohama Royal Park Hotel has been a favorite for business travelers visiting this busy port city. Its location in the Landmark Towers, a convenient 50 minutes from Haneda airport and just steps from Sakuragicho Station, situates the hotel about 20 miles from the heart of downtown Tokyo. Yokohama is now becoming well known by leisure travelers as well, many of whom are using the city as a staging point for a visit to Mt. Fuji, recently named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s one thing to rough it while on your trek, but there’s no reason to miss out on the Zen elegance that the Yokohma Royal Park Hotel provides before and after your trek.
The hotel lobby features beautiful floral displays, many following the principles of Ikebana (the art of Japanese floral arranging). The clean lines of architecture, flowers, and furniture combine to keep the public areas clean and clutter free, creating areas to arrange a quick business conversation or just to relax. Check in service is gracious and expedient, and the English speaking front desk staff quickly had me whisked off to my guestroom.
Continuing with Zen elegance, the guest rooms have rather spartan and austere workspace that is at odds with the more luxurious bedding and upscale barthroom amenities. Room amenities also include CD players, coffee machines, electric kettles, and Japanese styled sleepwear. Spend some time in your room relaxing, or working, and take in a view offered from all 603 rooms of the hotel. I had a view of Yokohama Bay.
Club floors are located on floors 64-66 and include access to a private club lounge.
The hotel has an onsite fitness centerand indoor pool and spa (additional fees applies), and nine restaurants. The hotel offers a traditional tea ceremony, provides both a cultural experience and an opportunity to relax. Tea ceremony prices start at around $18 (price varies, as does exchange rate).
The Yokohama Royal Park Hotel is located in Minato Mirai 21, a developed tourism area that includes an amusement park (that’s the Cosmo 21 Ferris Wheel in photo at top), along with an extensive listing of restaurants, theaters, museums, and other entertainment spots. Nearby sightseeing includes the Yokohama Chinatown (the largest in Japan), BayStars baseball at Yokohama Stadium, plenty of shopping locations, and a Ramen Museum, actually a collection of Ramen restaurants that you can taste the varieties of regional ramen from around the country.
Price checks for June 2015 show rates starting at approximately $240/night based on double occupancy. That rate includes breakfast and is available on the hotel’s website. Checking additional booking sites, such as agoda.com, for that same time frame yielded prices for nearly half that. Look around carefully for deals before booking.
Special tip: Many double rooms come with two single beds (rather than doubles), so keep this in mind when making your reservation. Be sure to follow up at check if this room type is important to you.
