In brief
First impression Look at that ceiling! Did you see those ikebana arrangements?
Bathroom and shower The bath is like a little dark, private pool.
The bedroom Ridiculously comfortable bed – and with all the controls beside it, you don’t have to leave.
The crowd Wish I’d brought smarter clothes.
In a nutshell A perfect Japanese combination of zen sensibilities and western comforts.
Set the scene Those who love Aman love it with a madly, ecstatically, deeply devotional reverence. Would it be sacrilegious to say that, in some obscure yet undeniable way, the Aman Tokyo, with its irresistible combination of hard-edged icy calm and soft fibrous warmth, best expresses the magic of a brand that has evolved to become, well, a cult?
What's the story? Built in 2014, this was the Aman Group’s first urban address – its chance to show that it could deliver its unique brand of understated, soothing luxury to the city. The hotel’s designer, the late Australian Kerry Hill, was a master at mixing local styles into contemporary architecture and here he excelled at delivering a thoroughly Japanese hotel – with its washi paper ceilings, tatami matting and serene spaces – into an unremarkable steel-and-glass tower.
What can we expect in our room?
The feeling is that of a ryokan: a sliding shoji screen separates the light-filled sleeping and living area from the basalt-lined bathroom, with its spacious walk-in shower and its deep square tub with views out over the Tokyo skyline. It’s a room in which you could stay all day, nibbling Japanese sweets or drinking fine green teas. The beds – like all the furniture, clean-lined and minimal – are made with the softest, downiest bedding and sheets, with reading lights and chargers set into the pale-wood bedhead, where simple controls for the whole room are based, from the lights to the blackout curtains. The Aman Suites are Tokyo’s largest: the space you’d dream of taking over for a private dinner party.
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How about the food and drink? The main restaurant is Italian with food as delicious as those you’d get in Tuscany, but with some Japanese ingredients: Sagamihara eggs (as orange as you can get, in the spaghetti carbonara) and fresh tilefish, served with aubergine and capers. There’s nothing you can’t have for breakfast: exotic fruit platters, creamy yellow scrambled eggs with Norwegian salmon, or the prettiest bento-box.
Anything to say about the service? The chauffeur pick-up is by black Mercedes – and a driver with white gloves. Check-in is seamless. Waiting staff remember what you like.
What sort of person stays here? Dior-clad, groomed women sipping teas or crystal glasses of Champagne; global visitors, feeling conspicuously underdressed, sipping Japanese Mohitos and mastering chopsticks. No one has earphones on here.
**What's the neighbourhood scene like?**The Otemachi area isn’t very inspiring; it’s like the Wall Street of Tokyo. But it’s incredibly easy to get anywhere from here: it’s a five-minute walk to the Imperial Palace Gardens and half an hour’s drive to the airport, and the buzzing Shibuya district is easily accessible, on the metro.
Anything you'd change? The Italian restaurant isn’t an obvious fit in such a Japanese hotel.
Is it worth it – why? You feel like you’re in a film set: a cross between a modern mausoleum and a Zen temple. If you want to understand what attention to detail means in Japan, this is where you come.
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Address: Aman Tokyo, The Otemachi Tower, 1-5-6 Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0004, Japan
Telephone: +81 03 5224 3333
Website: aman.com
Wi-Fi: Rooms include complimentary Wi-Fi
Price: Doubles from £610
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This hotel is one of our favourite in the world, and included in our Gold List 2019. Discover more of the best hotels in the world 2019 now.
