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During our Party of 5 Challenge, at the end of Team Tokyo’s half of the trip we stayed one night at the Hyatt Regency Tokyo Bay. This isn’t necessarily the best Hyatt option in Tokyo, but it’s in a good location if you’re wanting to visit Tokyo Disneyland and other Tokyo Bay-based activities, plus it can be good value.
Hyatt Regency Tokyo Bay Bottom Line Review
Tokyo has almost a dozen different properties you can book with World of Hyatt points. There’s a Park Hyatt, the highly rated category 4 Hyatt Regency Tokyo (not to be confused with the Hyatt Regency Tokyo Bay which this review is about), a Grand Hyatt, Andaz, a couple of SLH properties and more.
For our stay though we booked the Hyatt Regency Tokyo Bay. I’d hoped to book the Hyatt Regency Tokyo as I’d heard such good things about it, but there wasn’t any award availability the night we’d be there. The property in Tokyo Bay on the other hand gave us a chance to showcase an oft-overlooked booking technique – using Cash + Points. In this instance, it was a little different to the Cash + Points options offered by many hotel chains as we paid cash for a standard room and used points to upgrade to a suite – more about that shortly.
In terms of the stay itself, it was a perfectly good, albeit unmemorable, stay. Our suites were a good size, there was a Club Lounge, breakfast was extensive but not blow-you-away-amazing like at the Four Seasons Macau we stayed at during the trip and service was professional and friendly without being impeccable like at the Grand Hyatt Macau.
If you’re looking for a property in Tokyo that can be good value with cash and/or points and is near Tokyo Disneyland, this could be a good option for you. Would I be happy if I ended up staying here again? Absolutely. Would I specifically look to book this hotel on a future stay in Tokyo? Probably not.
- Points Price: The Hyatt Regency Tokyo Bay is a category 4 property which means it costs 12,000, 15,000 or 18,000 points per night for a standard room depending on if it’s at off-peak, standard or peak pricing. Award pricing was off-peak for our night there which means that a standard room would’ve cost 12,000 points, while the standard suite we booked would’ve cost 21,000 points.
- Cash Price: To ensure comfort for the five of us, I wanted to book us two suites with two twin beds, with the 5th person (myself) sleeping on a sofabed. The hotel had 2 Twin Beds Regency Terrace Suites bookable with points for 21,000 points, while the cash cost was ~$625.
- Cash + Suite Upgrade Cost: While redeeming 21,000 points for a room costing ~$625 would’ve been good value for the points, we had a better option. The cash rate for a standard room was fairly low – $165.73 including taxes and fees. We therefore booked the ‘Lp Suite Pts Upgr’ rate which is where you pay for a standard room and redeem x,xxx points to upgrade to a suite. In this case the points copay was only 6,000 points. Paying $165.73 to save 15,000 points was therefore worthwhile as redeeming those 15,000 points would’ve been at a 1.1cpp value in comparison.
- Points Value: As you can see above, you can get good value with award bookings versus the cash rate. However, be sure to check the cash + points options as that can get you better value for your points at times.
- Resort or Destination Fee: Not as such. However, if booking a cash rate they charge what appears to be a 13% fee which is listed as “Service Charge” which is in addition to other taxes and fees.
- Parking: Parking costs ¥1,800 (~$12.50) per night, although this is waived on award stays for Globalists.
- Standard Suite: The standard suites we booked were two 2 Twin Beds Regency Terrace Suites. These had living rooms and bedrooms that were a good size, but not enormous. There was a walk-in closet of sorts which led through to the master bathroom.
One of the suite’s best features was a full second bathroom. There was a half-bath with just a toilet at the entrance to the suite, with a bathroom just off the living room. This was smartly designed as it could be closed off with two perpendicular sliding doors, but which increased the living room’s square footage when open.
I don’t know about the shower in the master bathroom, but the rainfall shower in the second bathroom had incredible water pressure – one of the best hotel showers I’ve ever had.
The other notable feature of the suite was its outdoor terrace. It was nice having this extra space, but its design felt a little weird as there were three large potted shrubs blocking off much of its view when sitting down out there. That said, our suite mostly overlooked other apartments or hotels, so I guess they’re there to help provide a little privacy, although there was a nicer view when standing up out there. - Housekeeping: We only stayed one night and so didn’t have any need for housekeeping. The room was very clean when we arrived though.
- Turndown service: Perhaps this was an option, but I don’t think we received it.
- Internet: This worked very well. So well in fact that we were able to livestream that month’s Ask Us Anything from one of our suites.
- Dining: The Hyatt Regency Tokyo Bay has several dining options:
- The Garden Brasserie & Bar – Breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner are all served here
- Sushi Ema – Lunch and dinner is available here
- Teppanyaki Fukitei – Lunch and dinner is available here too
- Rooftop Bar – Tea time is 2pm-5pm, while bar time is 5pm-10pm. It’s only open from Friday-Sunday, on public holidays and the day before public holidays
- Garden Market – This serves to-go food
- Club Lounge: Breakfast is served in The Garden Brasserie & Bar rather than in the lounge for Globalists and those with Club access. During the day there are light snacks and drinks available; we arrived too late in the evening to see what kind of spread they provide at night.
- Spa: None
- Fitness Room: Yes. This is open 24/7 and has both cardio equipment and weights available
- Pool: No.
- Welcome Amenity: This was the most stingy welcome amenity I’ve ever received. There was what, strictly speaking, could be classed as a fruit bowl considering it was a bowl with fruit in it. However, the “fruit bowl” consisted of seven grapes. I suppose that’s better than nothing, but I’m not sure it’s worth them providing something so sparse as in some ways it’s worse than providing nothing at all.
- Service: We didn’t have too many interactions with staff beyond checking in and out and arriving at breakfast. They were all professional and friendly, but service didn’t stand out like it had at the Grand Hyatt Macau.
- Location: As the name of the property suggests, the Hyatt Regency Tokyo Bay is located in Tokyo Bay. That puts it a fairly good distance from central Tokyo considering how large the city is, but does put it close to other attractions in Tokyo Bay such as Tokyo Disneyland. Tokyo Disneyland is too far for most people to want to walk (it takes about an hour), but it’s only a ~20 minute drive or 25-40 minutes by bus.
To get from Tokyo Haneda airport we took the Haneda-Airport Limousine Bus to the Mitsui Garden Hotel Prana Tokyo Bay stop which was only a block or two from our hotel. This cost 1,100 Yen (~$7.75) per person which was much cheaper than an Uber was due to be (I think that was pricing at ~$120). - Elite Benefits: We booked one suite on my account and one on Greg’s as we both have Globalist status. Seeing as we’d booked straight into a suite, we didn’t get an upgrade. Breakfast was complimentary thanks to our status and the third person in one of our rooms was included (I think) rather than having to pay for a separate breakfast for them. Our status also provided Club Lounge access, so some of us worked in there before heading off to TeamLabs.
- Would I stay again? Potentially. It was a nice enough stay without anything being wrong with it, but there also wasn’t anything that stood out as making me specifically want to stay at this hotel again.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Value – Can be good value booking with points as well as with cash and upgrading with points.
- Breakfast – There was a good spread, plus if you like getting marshmallows in your omelet, this is the place for you!
- Suite – Having two full bathrooms in a one bedroom suite is excellent as it means the person sleeping on the couch doesn’t have to disturb people in the bedroom in order to use the bathroom.
Cons
- Welcome amenity – I know, first world problems and all that, but providing a welcome amenity of seven grapes just doesn’t seem worth it.
- Location – To be fair, this could be a pro or a con depending on what you want to do in Tokyo. If you want to visit Central Tokyo though, the hotel is a bit of a distance from there.
Image Gallery
Standard Suite
Living Room
Bedroom
Master Bathroom
Second Bathroom
Hyatt Regency Tokyo Bay Club Lounge
Breakfast in The Garden Brasserie & Bar
Amenities
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I count 7 grapes. I don’t appreciate the misinformation.
Hahaha! You’re right – not sure why I said there were nine.
Hi Stephen, I stayed in very likely this exact room. So we’re family now! Seriously though, my sentiments are virtually the same as yours: it is a very respectable and perfectly fine hotel. The breakfast is a big perk, we loved it! The room was good but not spectacular. The hotel was very busy and filled to capacity. I can see why others might not like it because it is so busy and congested and as a result likely is showing its age more quickly than it should … and it is weird and annoying that it doesn’t have a pool or hot tub. And also weirdly formal: like, it feels like a business hotel in Central China or Tulsa Oklahoma. It doesn’t feel like a hotel that sits adjacent to Disney Tokyo. But overall, a very … okay … hotel.
The HR Tokyo (Shinjuku area) has deteriorated and is no longer a good choice. I believe that it is leaving Hyatt altogether. And the PH is getting ready to close for a renovation, too.
is the tokyo bay one way better than the other regency in tokyo? they are about the same in points, but $ rate is about 3 times higher for the bay one. weird
From everything else I’d heard before the other Regency is meant to be better than the Tokyo Bay one, but Matthewsf below suggests that might not necessarily be the case right now. Are you looking at specific dates or just in general? If looking at specific dates, perhaps there’s something happening in Tokyo Bay or at Disneyland during that time which is driving up prices.
Stephen-stayed at the Hyatt Regency Tokyo this past April, and as a Globalist, I was VERY disappointed, and in hindsight, regret not staying at the nearby Hilton. While the location is great and the staff very friendly, the hotel itself is stuck in Covid-era cutbacks as far as amenities and services. I had/observed so many issues that I had to complain to corps. regional executive team about all the issues I encountered. While it was a ‘good value’ as a Cat. 4 hotel where I used certs, it fell way below expectations as far as delivering a satisfactory stay.
That’s a shame – I’d only heard good things about that other property.
Not a good sign when they don’t even provide green tea in the room. Only hotel I’ve ever stayed at in Japan, of any level/price point, that didn’t have it. Last thing I wanted was a bag of Earl Grey and English Breakfast. 🙂
Similar feeling. Stayed at HR Shinjuku past sakura season. Very disappointed other than location and points needed. Typical big conference hotel feeling. No upgrade or late checkout was offered as a globalist, room was small and dated. Bad breakfast. Even service is lacking. Stays at PH Tokyo, Andaz Tokyo, HC Ginza all made me feel much better than HR Shinjuku.
Nice review, but I’m confused by your points plus cash math. Did you mean to say that it would be 21,000 points for a $625 suite (roughly 3 cents/point)? Then, you spent $165 cash for the room and 6,000 points to upgrade to the suite (that’s clear). I get where you say you saved 15,000 points at 1.1 cents/point ($165 divided by 15,000). But why do that division (165/15,000) at all? It seems you should subtract $165 from $625 (=$460), and then divide that by the 6,000 points (7.7 cents/point) which got you the suite.
I guess I was looking at it from the perspective of how it can be good to look at all your options. A lot of people would look at the cash rate and the points rate and leave it at that when seeing the good cpp value. That would miss that 15k points of that would be being redeemed at a poor value compared to the 6k points. You’re certainly not wrong though that the 6k points were redeemed at very good value.
The sign on the last picture looks like the smoking sign.
Of course, that’s what it was – I knew there was a reason I’d taken that photo!