HotelChatter

Once you've made it to the lobby on the 25th floor of the Shiodome Media Tower, you can look straight up through the atrium to the 34th floor skylight. This area is the heart of the building; it's the bar, it's the breakfast area, it's the casual meeting spot and on its sides are the hotel's restaurants, including the Michelin-starred Tateru Yoshino. Thankfully no rooms face into the atrium, so lobby noise never bothers the guests.

Now up to the room! We stayed in a standard 33rd Floor room with a Tokyo Tower view, room 3310. Whereas the TV was small, the windows were huge and the view was un-freaking-believeable. We had the TV on for one second before giving up and sitting with our face pressed up against the window glass, watching as the Shinkansen bullet trains passed by straight down below, and as dusk behind Tokyo Tower turned to dark.

As far as technology in the room, there is free wired internet in the rooms and the only free wireless is in the lobby. A light panel built into the headboard controls more than the lights; there's also radio controls (if only we understand Japanese radio programs). And of course, the toilet has those much-loved bidet features.

Speaking of the bathroom, the hotel is pretty proud of its toiletries, by Canadian organic company Thann. Considering that an 8oz bottle of Thann's regular shampoo costs $20, they've got a right to be thrilled with it.

The room itself is pretty simple, but clean and fresh in design. It's no budget room, but then it's not awash in luxury either. Instead, since it's a member of the Design Hotels, the focus is on a balance of the aesthetic and the comfortable. All we can say is that we really can't remember how we slept in the bed, as beat as we were from the day, but waking up the next morning was pretty easy once we pulled open the curtains to the city already fully in motion.

Rooms here start around $250 a night (so cheap for Tokyo!), although they've been known to go lower depending on the season. Be sure to spring for a Tokyo Tower view for $12 more, however.

Disclosure: HotelChatter stayed as a guest of the Park Hotel for 1 night, but all opinions, photos and video are our own.

[Photos and video: Cynthia Drescher for HotelChatter]