What a nice experience to stay in a beautiful hotel in your own city! Last time we did that was for our wedding almost 10 years ago, when the Mandarin Oriental Tokyo was still brand new and we hold our casual party in the same building. Since then none of the new hotels in Tokyo really attracted me enough to want to stay in a hotel in Tokyo, the two things that attract me the most in urban hotels being the swimming pool and the view. During the summer I often thought about staying at the new Otani or the Okura for their outdoor summer pools, but in the end weather and work never managed to be right. Until the Aman opened last spring… The minute I saw a picture of the black pool and the view I wanted to go. At first it was almost impossible to have a room there without planning long ahead etc… Right after it opened and my parents were visiting we went for a drinkonly, but now that the press boom is all about Amanemu in Ise, the Tokyo hotel has more availability on last minute booking. So we finally did it and I’m very glad we did. The place is impressive, not just the lobby but the rooms too, and the pool of course that we amply used. It has nothing to do with wabisabi, it is Japanese in style but not in dimensions, it’s like a cathedral. I loved the material, in particular the lava stone for the bath room. Simple, efficient and elegant without being pompous. Everything is about the view and that’s exactly what you want. I loved the modularity of the room and bathroom with the giant sliding doors, the steps that creates a partition in this huge space while preserving the view from everywhere. And the sofa by the window to srutinize outside, the streets of Otemachi, the construction sites, Hibiya park… Like looking at a model.
