So many positives about this hotel, including the beautiful Japanese-style modern decor, good breakfast, thoughtful staff, free tea tasting and a convenient location. Overall the hotel is great value.

Unfortunately I have to deduct one star because of the overly hard mattress! I'm really surprised no one else seems to have mentioned this in the previous comments as this was by far the hardest hotel mattress I have ever slept on. I had previously being staying in tradition Japanese inn accomodation with thin futons on the floor for over a week while walking the Nakasendo trail and they were all fine for me. Such a shame as the 1899 hotel is fab but this issue will stop me from returning in the future unfortunately.

I was also disappointed by the use of disposable cups and utensils in the restaurant during breakfast. I ended up bringing along my own glass cup from the room to try and minimise the amount of one-use rubbish.

Excellent location within minutes from several Subway stations to get you all over Tokyo and to the airports, also few blocks away from Ginza, Tokyo Tower, famous temple and seafood market. This hotel is well equipped with a bath tub so you can enjoy a hot bath with the Sakura scented powder. Ladies get a pouch of top quality Japanese face care products. A variety of teas and their respective water are for you to enjoy the authentic Japanese Teas. Very confortable bed and pillows.

It was a real pleasure staying at the Hotel 1899. The room was extremely large by Tokyo standards, with a lovely sitting area and very nice quality toiletries. The hotel is themed around tea and the tea set in the room with daily replenishment of black and green tea and matcha waffles was a nice touch. They even provide bottled water especially for the tea in addition to the bottled drinking water! Some might say that the beds were particularly hard but personally I prefer that to soft mattresses which don’t support your back. I slept very well with no disturbances from the street. Very quiet at night.

The breakfast is served in the cafe downstairs (open only to hotel guests at that time). There was a great selection of continental items such as cereal, fresh fruit, yoghurt and smoked salmon alongside cooked items like rice and minestrone soup which was delicious. As expected, there is a great selection of cold teas to enjoy and even green tea bread!

Tea is served in the upstairs reception area for guests from 3pm-10pm every day. We came back one evening and enjoyed a delicious cup of matcha, made properly with attention to detail. The staff are friendly and kind. The first day we couldn’t check in until 3pm so went out for a walk in our jet lagged state. We ended up stood outside the hotel at 2pm trying to find a restaurant which might be open at that time. One of the staff actually spotted us form the floor above outside hanging around and came down to the street to tell us our room was ready early which we really appreciated.

The hotel is close to Shimbashi which is very lively at night and packed full of restaurants. Also walkable distance to Ginza for great shopping and restaurants. There are several subway lines reachable with a short walk on foot, as well as the Tokyo Tower. For taking the shinkansen it’s a ten minute taxi ride from Tokyo station which was handy with luggage.

I would return here in a heartbeat, it was absolutely faultless and unbelievable value for money.