Westin Nagoya Castle

[jhm]

I stayed there twice - both times on a cheap JPY 11,000 (less than £50) single room rate and as a SPG PLT, was upgraded the first time to a double room on the executive floor and the second time to an executive suite (both times with a castle view and executive lounge access).

The location is in the middle of nowhere (unlike, say, the Hilton Nagoya where I also stayed which is right in the middle of downtown) but they have an hourly compliementary shuttle bus to the JR station. Like most Japanese hotels I've stayed in, the staff were amazingly polite, helpful and friendly.

View of the castle (almost completely destroyed in WWII and reconstructed; and famous for the golden dolphins on the roof)







Executive suite





And for phaleesy, a room service early morning breakfast of kishimen noodles (a Nagoya speciality; similar to hor fun) and a BLT sandwich (which was just perfect - thick cut juicy bacon and tomatoes full of flavour)





I didn't have the time to check out the onsen at Nagoya airport (Central Japan International Airport (nicknamed Centrair)) which allows you to view the planes taking off and landing whilst soaking in the bath! The airport is 35km away from the city and linked by trains (the most rapid of which takes about 30 minutes). The security queue was horrendous but for reasons unknown, an airport staff spotted me immediately and escorted me through the staff/crew security line. There's an unexceptional *A lounge.

[kluau88]

I'm not sure about now, but maybe jhm can update this thread, but the suites used to be supplied with rather large bottles of Molton Brown amenities I don't mean the the travel size but the 3.3 oz bottles and lots of them! Looking at some pictures there were six different 3.3 oz bottles and here was what they had in addition to the 2.6 oz. MB Vegetable Oil Soap.

- Total Make-Up Cleanser
- Refreshing Face Wash
- Indian Cress Instant Conditioner
- Ziao Jao Healthy Hairwash
- Invigorating Suma Ginseng Bath & Shower
- Gentle Exfoliating Toner

All in all this place was an excellent value for under 11,000 Yen.

[SQFAN]

so jhm, was it worth the visit to Nagoya besides issues with your bag? BTW, di you get it in the end?

Re the room service: you ordered those dishes, right?

[jhm]

I'm not sure about now, but maybe jhm can update this thread, but the suites used to be supplied with rather large bottles of Molton Brown amenities I don't mean the the travel size but the 3.3 oz bottles and lots of them! Looking at some pictures there were six different 3.3 oz bottles and here was what they had in addition to the 2.6 oz. MB Vegetable Oil Soap.

- Total Make-Up Cleanser
- Refreshing Face Wash
- Indian Cress Instant Conditioner
- Ziao Jao Healthy Hairwash
- Invigorating Suma Ginseng Bath & Shower
- Gentle Exfoliating Toner

All in all this place was an excellent value for under 11,000 Yen.

The executive floor room had MB amenities but I can't remember them being big sized. The executive suite on the other hand had Bvlgari amenities (30 ml bottles) - 2 of each of the following (Eau Parfumee - au the vert):

Bath and Shower Gel
Shampoo
Hair Conditioner
Body Lotion
Soap



plus some other bottles (not Bvlgari) which I didn't take - Japanese hotels seem to have weird items like hair tonics which I haven't come across elsewhere!

[jhm]

so jhm, was it worth the visit to Nagoya besides issues with your bag? BTW, di you get it in the end?

Nagoya is pleasant enough but doesn't match up of course to Osaka, Tokyo, Hiroshima etc in terms of history, attractions, general buzz etc. Most people pass through (the station is apparently the biggest in Japan) but don't stopover. However, Nagoya is a convenient place to base yourself as Osaka, Kyoto etc aren't that far away and Nagoya is certainly good enough if people simply want to experience Japan, eat Japanese food etc - or even for a Do!

I arrived in Nagoya on Monday and my lost luggage eventually caught up with me in Hong Kong on Saturday. The Nagoya airport people (run by ANA I think) were certainly efficient - someone was able to tell me after quickly checking that my bags had been sent to Hong Kong on a CX flight - but I had to phone LH in HKG to chase them.

Re the room service: you ordered those dishes, right?

As opposed to them just magically appearing in my room ? They weren't SPG PLT amenities if that's what you're thinking!

[dsim]

yeap.. was at NGO to depart on SQ671 back to SIN last Dec. The immigration queue to departure lounge is super long!!

Not to mention the JAL staff doing check-in for my SQ flight forgot to return one of our passports after check-in and missed out printing one of our boarding pass. duh!

I thought ANA is in the same Star Alliance of SQ? Why JAL staff doing SQ check-in? Or this is dependent on the airport, not the choice for airlines to choose?

[HUGE AL]

Nagoya is pleasant enough but doesn't match up of course to Osaka, Tokyo, Hiroshima etc in terms of history, attractions, general buzz etc. Most people pass through (the station is apparently the biggest in Japan) but don't stopover. However, Nagoya is a convenient place to base yourself as Osaka, Kyoto etc aren't that far away and Nagoya is certainly good enough if people simply want to experience Japan, eat Japanese food etc - or even for a Do!

Yeah, I freakin' love the city. Hope you got some chicken wings, unagi, and katsu!

Looks like the Westin is a pretty nice place. I usually stay at the Marriott since it's EXTREMELY easy to get around with the train station downstairs and the one to the airport across the little road...but it's not as nice as your rooms...and I have absolutely no status at Marriott.

[QSG]

yeap.. was at NGO to depart on SQ671 back to SIN last Dec. The immigration queue to departure lounge is super long!!

Not to mention the JAL staff doing check-in for my SQ flight forgot to return one of our passports after check-in and missed out printing one of our boarding pass. duh!

I thought ANA is in the same Star Alliance of SQ? Why JAL staff doing SQ check-in? Or this is dependent on the airport, not the choice for airlines to choose?

As in December 2007 or 2006. NH codeshares from
Fukuoka and they do check in and supply lounge services for SQ. For TG in Fukuoka it is the other way around, with JL doing the checkin.....one can still use the NH lounge though(as no likes the JL lounge). The code sharing and route authorities are part of bilateral negotiations between the respective government bodies. JL was once a government department......