Roppongi Hills welcomes visitors, but it also has four high-end
residential complexes designed to accommodate 2,000 year-round
occupants. A good number of those residents are sure to be the
employees of large businesses like
Goldman Sachs that have offices
in Roppongi Hills. But for business travelers and luxury-minded
tourists, Roppongi Hills has the Grand Hyatt
Tokyo, one of Japan's
most resplendent high-end hotels. In a city notorious for tiny
living quarters and cramped hotel rooms, the Grand Hyatt stands
dramatically apart. It is a place of soaring ceilings and a vast
open lobby, a hotel that buzzes with activity while still managing
to feel soothing and serene.
"Because everything in Tokyo tends to be so micro, our desire was
to create a contrast," says architect Tony Chi. "It isn't common in
Japan to encounter 145-foot-high ceilings in vast open places. Our
thinking was, let's create awesome public spaces that are in line
with Mr. Mori's vision to create a vibrant, modern place."
Its 390 rooms and suites are graced with finely appointed five-star
detail: 300-thread-count sheets, flat-screen TVs, limestone baths,
and rain showers. But the elegance doesn't end there. It extends
throughout the hotel.
The Grand Hyatt has eight restaurants, and they offer a variety of
cuisines, from contemporary Italian to Northern European to
traditional Japanese. And there is a spa, of course. It's called
Nagomi, meaning "harmony," and is imbued with the Japanese sense
of simple grace and refinement.
The hotel is linked by walkways to the Tokyo subway system, and
it's just a short ride from attractions such as the famed Ginza
district, the Kasumigaseki government area, and the Tsukiji fish
market, a must-see for anyone looking for a unique slice of Tokyo
life.