Mandarin Oriental
Location: In Nihonbashi, the financial district of Tokyo, next to the largest Mitsukoshi department store and the Bank of Japan.
It overlooks the Imperial Palace and Gardens on one side and the bay of Japan on the other. Literally on top of the Mitsukoshimae tube station.
Character: A smart, modern hotel that opened in 2005 and is still quite swish. The highlight here is the view, which — day and night — is spectacular in all directions.
The decor and furnishings are comfortable but contemporary and mostly on the right side of kitsch.
The design is inspired by Tokyo's textile heritage and classic kimonos; the hotel was designed by the famous Japanese textile designer, Reiko Sudo.
The finish is fabulous, with lots of wood and natural textures.
Plenty of specially commissioned art and sculpture adorns the walls and surfaces.
The bronze “sweeping monks'' in the place where the jazz band plays particularly took my fancy. The lighting and bespoke lamp designs are wonderful.
Rooms: The rooms are on the 30th to 36th floors, so the huge picture windows provide spectacular views of Tokyo (and Mount Fuji if your room faces west).
The rooms come with yoga mats, gadgets galore, LCD televisions in the bathrooms and beautiful Japanese nightwear, if required, in lacquered boxes at the end of the supremely comfortable beds.
The bathrooms look as if they are entirely carved from marble and are unusually spacious, with a lavatory with a permanently warmed seat.
Nice touches include vials of Lohas oil you pour into a little dish to scent your room at night.
Food: Each restaurant has a distinctive feel, with space cleverly divided to create a different ambience.
The Oriental Lounge is the top pick, with fine afternoon tea; I loved the little sweetmeats.
Of the other seven restaurants, Sense (modern Cantonese) has a Michelin star, as does the Tapas Molecular Bar, where rather bizarre chemistry meets cooking.
The restaurants' general approach is on the “nouvelle'' side, portion-wise.
Favourites: Watching the lights of Tokyo at dusk; the 180-degree view from the rose-petal bath in the spa on the 37th floor; and finding Kiya and Co, one of the best knife shops in the world across the road (www.kiya-hamono.co.jp).
Not so keen: Even by big-city standards, the prices across the board are eye-watering. I may be carping but the hotel's ambient temperature really feels on the oppressive side of hot.
Essentials: Visit www.mandarinoriental.com for details.
Go there . . . Tokyo . . . From the UAE
From Dubai
Korean Air flies Daily via Seoul. Fare fom Dh4,945
Cathay Pacific flies daily via Hong Kong. Fare From Dh6,885
— Information courtesy: The Holiday Lounge by Dnata. Ph: 04 4380454
Budget rooms
There's no getting away from it: hotel prices in Tokyo are high — though in the Mandarin and Four Seasons you get value for money.
However, Ishin Hotels Group has attempted to create well-designed hotels that are chic and affordable, in a handful of places in Tokyo.
Everything is clean, simple and free of frills, with no room service.
But there is free internet access, local phone calls and, remarkably, the sense that you are staying somewhere rather fashionable.
The most convenient of the hotels is the B Akasaka, which is a little hard to find but quiet and well-placed for exploring the city.
The rooms are small but comfortable and make clever use of the limited space. Prices start from £55 (Dh305). Visit www.ishinhotels.com for more information.
Four Seasons Marunouchi
Location: One of the city's most convenient: almost right next to Tokyo station, in the up-and-coming financial area of Marunouchi, a stone's throw from the Ginza shopping district. You enter by a rather unobtrusive side entrance off Sotobori-dori.
Character: A departure for Four Seasons, which has created an intimate luxury boutique-style hotel.
With just 57 rooms it's the smallest hotel in the chain. Informal and quiet, it feels womb-like, more akin to a club than a hotel.
Warm, contemporary minimalism is the design key, drawing on silver-birch bark for the wall textures, broken up by large ebony wall panels.
There is also an extensive collection of attractive ethnic art.
Rooms: Well laid out and comfortable. Even the smallest ones are spacious by Tokyo standards. All rooms have floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall windows but the views are unspectacular.
The decor uses a lot of light wood and leather set off against the neutral palette of the soft furnishings. The bathrooms are austere super-modern cells of cream marble.
Food: The Ekki Bar and Grill on the seventh floor is absolutely superb.
Breakfast is a relative weakness but lunch and dinner are excellent, with hard-to-categorise international cuisine.
The view of the Tokyo skyline at night through the panoramic windows is breathtaking. Standout dishes include those with grilled meats.
The fresh fish, with added Japanese flavours that never overpower the key ingredient, is also good.
The increasingly popular afternoon tea is particularly imaginative: gold and silver popcorn, tiny burgers, langoustine tortilla wraps, chocolate smoothies, tiny cinnamon doughnuts and other delicious morsels.
Favourites: The onsen, or bathhouse, built of riven slate, with its hot mineral waters, is the perfect place to melt away the cares of the day. I also found watching the bullet train pulling into Tokyo station rather thrilling.
Not so keen: Strange and pretentious ragged string screens in the restaurant that look as if they were knocked off by a 5-year-old.
Essentials: Doubles from £370 (Dh 2,058) but look out for website deals. Visit www.fourseasons.com
