Granbell Hotel

Close to Subway and many many restaurants and pubs. Just around the corner across the road amazing sushi. Yes rooms are small but clean.
Cando laundry in hotel.
Good bed. Restaurant and outlets didn’t checked.
Staff is helpfull. And really nice.
Please note check in before 3 pm. Extra $$$
Unfortunately no gym.
I think if you’re single traveler it’s very good.

Not sure what all the complaints are about! Stayed here on our honeymoon and loved the place. Great value (for Japan — sure, the room was about $ 300 a night, but Tokyo is an expensive city). The rooms were really funky and nicely designed, the bathroom products supplied were great (amazing toothbrush — sounds silly but I loved the fresh toothbrushes they supplied), and we got a room on a high floor with a great view of the city. The breakfast is ok-​ish, but what do you expect for a hotel buffet? Easy, quick start to the day with some healthy options.
The front desk staff were very friendly, and cleaning staff great — our room was immaculate!
Within a 5 — 10 minute walk of shinjuku station, and close to tonnes of restaurants and pubs.

I had high high hopes, but sadly this hotel fell pretty short of the mark. We booked a suite to finish of our Asia trip and this hotel was meant to be a standout, instead it was just ok.
Major gripes were some of the staff were just plain rude. Manners seemed to be lacking and bad attitude was the dish being served. That’s when dishes are actually getting served. Room service hours were extremely limited. At such a «plush» hotel you should be able to get chips delivered to your room at 9.31, but no cut off is 9.30! Very strange IMO.
That said it still gets 3 stars. The room was nice, loved the massive bath. It’s was a decent location and has reasonable transport links.
One word of warning is that it is quite near the red light district, this did not impact on our stay, but it’s worth knowing.
All in a decent hotel, but nothing spectacular. Doubt I would go back when I return to Tokyo.

I have very mixed feelings about this place. We splashed out and stayed in a suite (this is not the norm!) while we were here so I probably have a slightly different perspective to others who stayed on the «lower» floors.
So from my view.
Good —
Lovely room good sized room — not massive tho.
Amazing view.
Great maid service.
Private check in on 13^th floor.
Bad —
Average location for sites and transport.
Very mixed staff attitude depending on who you were dealing with and what room they knew you were staying in.
Not very good breakfast.
Limited room service hours.
Leaking shower.
If I come back to Tokyo I would not stay here. I would probably look in the harajuku area, but that’s not to say I had a bad experience here. I just was no as blown away as I should of been for renting a suite.

Is it a love hotel? Is it not? A friend came to visit and booked a night at the Granbell Hotel because 1. the price 2. the location 3. the high ratings/​Michelin Guide award? Granbell Hotel is a less than 10 minute walk from JR Shinjuku station and Seibu Shinjuku Station. It is in an area with lots of izakaya, close to Golden Gai and a ton of great shopping/​restaurants. It is also in Kabukicho or the love hotel/​red light district of Shinjuku (I didn’t know why the taxi driver gave us a smirk when we gave him the address. it made sense when we got there). They even have a «rest rate» or allow reservations for just the day, instead of night– as love hotels do. Once you are inside it is obvious it is not a love hotel for they have a bar and because of the openness of the check-​in process. From outside eyes, it definitely looks like a love hotel.
The room we got was larger than the images online, however reading other reviews it seems like others weren’t so lucky. I had spent the previous two nights at the Grand Hyatt and the linens here were obviously not as nice. However, it was decent. We had a view of the love hotels next door. The room itself was clean and the bathroom was filled with all of the essentials +more. Most of the guests seemed like they were foreigners and all couples. I did not see any kids!
I know the hotel is not supposed to be a love hotel, but I would still not book a room for my family/​kids. The staff was extremely friendly and all spoke English. My friend really appreciated that :) I only give 3 stars because I felt deceived. I felt a little uncomfortable being so close to the red light district! (which is completely safe, btw). The room itself deserves 4 stars.

I really can’t fault this hotel and think it was a great deal for the price. I would stay here again for sure.
Location: The location was kind of weird hence the four stars (it is near the red light district), but a positive is that it is not too far from the subway (it took us ten minutes to get there).
Amenities: There are tons of supplies offered in the room including toothbrushes, slippers, tooth paste, razors, and even Japanese style pajamas. We called room service a few times and they were very prompt. The décor was modern and we enjoyed it.
A lot of people complained the rooms are small and they are. There is no closet space and things are honestly a bit tight. But this is Tokyo, so if you want a big room you will have to either stay further out of the city or pay for more space. I feel like this hotel was great value.

We stayed here for a week, and would definitely stay again! For the price the accommodation was extremely comfortable. All in-​room amenities were refiled daily at no charge, including bottled water, coffee & toothbrushes! When we first walked in we were a little surprised at really how small it was, but it was all we needed for a Tokyo base. Loved the tub, bed was comfortable and we rested well. Location was great, near many eki entrances, but also surrounded by many love hotels, and host/​ess bars/​clubs so a bit on the seedy side for Tokyo.

I really can’t fault this hotel for the location, rooms and price. The location is great, being a short walk from Shinjuku station. The hotel décor is pretty cool and it is finished to a really high spec. The rooms are lovely, very fancy for the price I thought. I read a lot of reviews complaining about the size of the rooms. They are small, but this is Tokyo and they were by no means cramped.
The roof top bar is a pretty cool setting at night for a few drinks overlooking the Tokyo skyline. However, this is where I mark the Granbell down. The bar service was not good. The staff were friendly, but once you got your first drink good look getting a second. I would stick to the beer as well, the cocktails were not the best. It is a shame, because the setting is perfect.

We booked the luxury triple with loft and terrace for 4 days while we were in Japan. It came out to around $ 280 after tax through
which seems to advertise the rooms earlier than the hotel’s website. The front desk staff were nice and efficient, the vending machines on the first floor were reasonably priced and well stocked. Our room wasn’t massive but had enough space for 3. There are no closets so you’ll either need to use the loft of have them laying around. The loft bed was some padded carpet with a think pad put down, not the most comfortable sleep I’ve had. The bathroom was a decent size and the shower was great, there was a frosted window in the bathroom so you don’t have to worry about seeing anything you shouldn’t. While we didn’t really use the patio it was quite nice and would be great if you want to bring a large group of friends back to your room. The location was pretty decent and about a 10 minute walk to the JR Shinjuku station. It is across the street from a bunch of love hotels and our Japanese friends who walked us back to our hotel were a little skeeved out but the Granbell is most certainly not a hotel of that type. We didn’t visit the restaurant or bar here but instead went to the 7 – 11 which was less than 3 minutes away. I would definitely consider staying here again the next time I visit, it was a great hotel for the price.

I’m giving this place a 3 overall for the following reasons:
1) Room given to us was not the same as the photos that are posted on the website or on Trip Advisor. The room we got was sooooo small. I know not to expect much given that it’s Tokyo, Japan. But, the photos were really deceiving. Even the ones they have posted on the elevator walls and on the TV ads! False advertisement.
2) Rooms were clean and bathroom was clean. Again, the bathroom was tiny.
3) Location was great because we were able to easily walk to the train stations. We were able to get around and back quickly.
4) The staff is exceptionally good, nice and helpful. They set the standard for the rest of the hotel staff we encountered throughout the rest of out trip to Osaka and Kyoto! Looking back, they are a good staff.
I can’t comment on the food or amenities because we didn’t use any of it. We were too busy roaming around and exploring Tokyo!
I would stay here again for sure, even though I gave it a 3. It’s a cute boutique hotel that’s clean and a good location, at a decent price. I am giving it a 3 mostly because of the false advertisement on how small the room was. I also didn’t like how close the bed was to the bathroom window/​wall. I thought that was kinda weird but having traveled throughout Asia this seems to be normal to have a glass window facing the bed. They have blinds and covers you can pull down.