Need a recco for a Narita-based hotel for the in-laws for a 24 hr stopover (when they arrive from LAX and before heading onto Beijing.) They arrive around 5 PM and they have a flight out the next night

I thought about sending them into the city. But I hear Narita is a trek to and from Tokyo...and I have a feeling they'll probably want to "recover" that first night/day and the travel time back and forth for a 24hr layover just might not be worth it.

That said, did some research on here and can't find much info on airport hotels. Are all the options as dreadful as they look on TripAdvisor?

i did a report on the tokyu excel narita hotel. good hotel, 6k yen, free shuttle from and to hotel, and into narita town and the aeon mall for dining and shopping.

We've stayed across the street from the Excel a number of times at the Hilton...same perks with shuttles. Rates are about the same...I don't see any ¥6000/night rates for the Tokyu in Japanese or English for any dates between now and March for single or twin/doubles. Lowest I see is ¥9000. Hilton has a prepaid rate of ¥9300 including breakfast. Not prepaid start at ¥11.000. With Hilton, if you are not already Hilton Honors members, join, because you get "spouse stays free" benefit with any level of membership, which saves a lot of money as the charge is about 50% more for two people in a booking as for one. Book for one person, and in the notes field indicate that the party is two people and you are using spouse stays free benefit. No problem.

If they stay in Narita, the temple in downtown Narita is pretty nice. And Boso no Mura is quite fun too, with some hands on crafts they can try for a small (rreally small, really) fee, and lots of relocated old buildings to look around. Taxi there from the Hilton is about ¥2500...there is bus service but it is a bit of a hassle and probably not something they would want to undertake on their first day in Japan.


http://www.chiba-muse.or.jp/MURA/e/index.html The Japanese version of the website is much more comprehensive, but, it's in Japanese. The English version gives a little idea. We enjoyed a day there a lot, staff is really accommodating, and though we did not use the service, there was a sign posted at the entrance to inquire if you wanted to use an English speaking guide there. Most of the staff, though, spoke at least a bit of English, so I don't think a dedicated guide would be necessary.

I also stayed at the Excel Tokyu and was very pleased with my experience. It is usually less expensive if booked from the Pan Pacific hotel web site. I am doing this from memory but as I recall my pre-paid rate including buffet breakfeast was in the order of 80K yen (?), if that makes any sense.

Spending some time in Narita town using the hotel's free shuttle bus is a must !

ooops, make that 8K yen

filmwil- No matter which hotel you choose, Narita is a good choice for the night. It only takes about 5-10 minutes on the bus, and there is lots to see in the town. A good taste of Japan without being overwhelming. I spent a very pleasant day there once (9 am to 6 pm), browsing & snacking down the main street, stopping at the temple, and took a shuttle out to the mall.

Narita (the town) is fine. The problem I have w/staying in Narita hotels is that the shuttle buses can easily take 30-45 minutes to go from the airport to some hotels, and that doesn't even include waiting time for the bus. It can actually be faster to go from NRT to a Nippori or Ueno hotel than to a Narita one.

Quick question- if this is only a stopover won't the airline supply a complimentary hotel room? In most cases you can't select the hotel, you have to get what you are given.