Quick questn : Keio plaza opinion

It's a high-rise hotel in amongst the other Nishi-Shinjuku high rises. Not particularly convenient, 5 min west of Shinjuku station but better than Ikebukuro. Shinjuku is a major transportation hub.

There is an area map here:
http://www.keioplaza.com/map/index.html
and then click on the Location Map to see the relative location of Shinjuku in Tokyo.

It's a very large commercial hotel. Reminded me of the Hyatt in Chicago. The rooms are very large by Tokyo standards, service was very good and location is great. It has no charm or "atmosphere" but I think it's a very good value. I would recommend it.

Lots of reasonable restaurants nearby. Great transportation. A block from the bar that was in Lost in Translation.

I am confused. MrWunfl states its not very convienent. is this because its away from most of the tourist attraction e.g imperial palace, ginza etc?? What is a good location i.e centrally based hotel for a similar price? Is the Dai Ichi any good ?

It is in a great location if you are going to the Tokyo Municipal Government offices. Not particularly convenient considering the descriptions I've read here about the Ryokan Shigetsu where it sounded like you could go out the front door and be in a tourist-interesting area in a couple of minutes.

I haven't stayed there. I have stayed at the Hilton and my impression of the Nishi Shinjuku area is that it is just a cluster of office buildings. The Keio Plaza is closer to Shinjuku station than the Hilton. Website says 5 minute walk.

The relatively large room and good value that glorialf cites are reasons to stay there.

You asked about travelling around Tokyo. Shinjuku station is a transport hub. You can see that there are a couple of JR lines that you can use from Shinjuku station to get around Tokyo, though that applies to other locations (and you can use a JR Pass on those lines).

Shinjuku is convenient for travelling out around Tokyo. There is a fairly frequent Narita Express from Shinjuku. There is a JR line from Shinjuku out to Hachioji, Shiojiri (gateway to Kiso Valley), and Matsumoto.

Also there is an Odakyu Rail station at Shinjuku where you can buy a Hakone Free Pass and you can take their train from Shinjuku through Odawara to Hakone-Yumoto.

There is a Keio rail station at Shinjuku. The Keio train was convenient for going to Fuchu (Tokyo Race Course (horse racing).

Just back from the Keio Plaza Hotel (3/6-3/10) and it is a good base for exploring Tokyo. Post Office right across the street(ATM ACCESS). There is a station entrance around the corner from the back door of the hotel making the Ginza just a 9 minute subway ride away. Shinjuku Station is a major subway and train hub so lots of connections available to anywhere in Japan. The surrounding neighborhood is full of shushi bars and little Japanese Noodle (295) houses that make eating out so much cheaper. Lots of major shopping in the immediate neighborhood. I will be doing a complete trip report later but you will enjoy staying at the Keio Plaza hotel (you have to go just to check out their electronic toilet seats. Before you go you should go on to their website and join the Executive Club. You can get free breakfasts and other dicounts while staying at their hotel. Enjoy your stay it a great one for a first Tokyo visit>

So des. I stand corrected and apologize for the confusion.

I stayed at the Keio Plaza a couple of times. It used to be part of the Intercontinental chain. Relatively large rooms for Tokyo.

Sorry i have never joined executive anything .. so i can do this via the web and get upgrades / free breakfast immediately???!!! Do I have to let my TA know ? or do i just mention it when i check in ?

Nate: Go to the Keio Plaza Hotel website http://www.keioplaza.com/index.html
You can check out what the Executive Club International membership provides by clicking on to the EIC section. When you join they will give you a membership number that you can give to your TA to give to the hotel or email it directly to the hotel yourself.

This is so cool. Will get onto it asap.
Can you recommend any good sushi / noodles places near Keio Plaza?
Thank you all for your tips! greatly appreciated as always.

There is a large comlex across the street and at a diagonal from the hotel that has a couple of floors of good and cheap restaurants. Can't remember the name but anyone at the hotel will be able to tell you. There are a LOT of restaurants in the area as well as something like 15 restaurants in the hotel itself -- many of which are fairly reasonable as well. We ate very well and very cheaply.

Nate:
Outside the back door of the hotel past the post office across the street is a maze of streets with small noodle shops and sushi bars as well as small convenience stores and department/electronic stores/Pachinko parlors, etc. We ate there on these streets for many of our meals. One of our favorites was a place we called 295. That was the only thing that we could read in English off their sign which is of course all in Japanese. It is a noodle house upstairs on the second floor with the best Japanese noodle soups I can remember having. They don't have English menu's but they do have picture menu's which shows pictures of what they serve. Just point to what you want, nod and point for one order or two and it will be there at your table within a few minutes. Most of the soup items are 295 yen(US 2.90) thus the name 295. They also have combinations of the soupw/noodles and a bowl rice with teriyaki beef or chicken all for 525 yen. Add to this a side of Gyoza (180 Yen) and you've got a cheap, filling meal for less than 8.00 US. Hope this helps!
Peter