Wayfarer exclusive: inside the ultra-luxurious Bvlgari Hotel Tokyo
My favourite things of Bvlgari Hotel Tokyo are the outside spaces we offer to our guests. The outside dining spaces at The Bvlgari Lounge, at Il Ristorante – Niko Romito and at The Bvlgari Bar.
Especially the garden at The Bvlgari Bar on the 45th floor is something unique in Japan. When you are enjoying your drinks and foods on the terrace at The Bvlgari Bar on the 45th floor, you forget you are in the middle of Tokyo.
We have nine Bvlgari Hotels and Resorts in the world, and every single Bvlgari Hotel and Resort was designed by ACPV Architects which is based in Milano, Italy.
We offer a contemporary Italian designed ambiance throughout the hotel. You will find some reflections of the classic Italian designs from Rome within the hotel. At the same time, we have a flair of Japanese design as well.
We have collaborated with two world-renowned chefs; Il Ristorante is with Chef Niko Romito and Sushi Hoseki is with Chef Kenji Gyoten from Fukuoka, Japan.
Chef Niko Romito has 3 Michelin Starred restaurant of his own in Italy and seven out of nine Bvlgari Hotels has a collaboration of Chef Niko to serve the classic style Italian foods created by Chef Niko.
Sushi Hoseki has a collaboration with Chef Kenji Gyoten who received 3 Michelin Stars. Michelin Guide no longer rates the restaurants in Fukuoka, Japan so he is no longer rated by Michelin Guide. However, he continues to serve high quality Edo-style sushi in Fukuoka.
We carry some of the design elements from the original Bvlgari boutique such as the arch for our Private Dining Room and at the gallery space on the 40th floor lobby area.
The arch design came from the original Bvlgari boutique. Another design element we have from the original Bvlgari boutique is the “Stella”, the star in the middle of our 40th floor lobby.
Roma is also known as “City of Stars”, and this represents “All roads lead to Rome”.
Bvlgari Hotels and Resorts offers amenities for ‘Little Gems’. We can even set-up a tipi in a guest room with some welcome amenities such as backpack, baby bib, baby towel, staffed Snake (Serpanti) and more to show our hospitality to the children.
I am not ready to claim ourselves as the best yet. We still have a lot of rooms to improve to call ourselves the best. We are trying to achieve ‘Italian friendly hospitality combined with Japanese sensible hospitality’.
We are trying to create an environment which our colleagues would be proud to work.
In addition, we would like to provide a workplace where they can be themselves like we say in our motto, ‘True to self and others’.
We are in the east side of Tokyo which is known as the older side of Tokyo. In this neighbourhood, we can still find some small shops.
They may be selling traditional Japanese sweets, kitchen knives and more. It is fun to wonder around and find these gems in the neighbourhood.
Book a seat in ANA’s brilliant Business Class cabin
ANA (All Nippon Airways) flies to Tokyo from across the globe, including New York, London, Sydney and more global gateways. The author recommends flying in ANA’s Business Class cabin, which features lie-flat seats in a 1-2-1 configuration.
Each seat has direct access to the aisle, a spacious side table with a personal light, a large table that’s ideal for working and dining, storage space under the ottoman for a large item, plus a universal PC power port, USB port and an 18-inch touch-panel LCD wide-screen monitor with a fantastic selection of movies, TV shows and games.
Flights offer ANA’s WiFi service, which will soon become free for all travellers in the Business Class cabin, plus an expansive duty-free offering including premium Japanese Whisky and luxury goods.
Where ANA’s Business Class stands out is food, drinks and hospitality on offer. On the dining front, there is a choice of a western or Japanese meal set and the quality and taste is so impressive, you’ll already feel like you are dining in a top Tokyo restaurant while you’re in the air.
If you go for the Japanese option, you can expect some Zensai (including sushi and morsels), Kobachi (a salmon salad and simmered icefish) and Shusai (simmered beef in wild vegetables), alongside steamed rice, Miso soup and Japanese pickles.
On the Western front, there will be a selection of small appetisers (like citrus marinated shrimps and scallops), followed by a main dish (beef fillet steak with Madiera sauce or steamed golden bream).
Both meal options come with a delightful dessert offering, including strawberry mousse, cheese and fruits.
On the wine front, expect a fantastic selection of top drops from across the globe, spanning France to Australia, New Zealand, Spain and Argentina, alongside a tasty selection of Sake and Shochu.
When it comes to an after-dinner tipple, incredibly, ANA offers the Hibiki Blender’s Choice from the House of Suntory of Japan (a $400 retail whisky) and it’s very, very hard to go past a dram of that.
The service on board ANA is well known as being called ‘five-star’ but that genuinely is what you can expect in the air and the hospitality is one of the many highlights onboard this impressive Business Class cabin that’s nothing short of five stars.
Before you depart from Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, stop by the ANA Lounge where you’ll find views over the airfield, seats for working and relaxing, plus a noodle bar, buffet (don’t skip past a Japanese curry), self-service drinks station (offering sake, shochu and other alcoholic beverages like beers from automated pourers) and a dining area.
For the best prices, get your tickets at https://www.ana.co.jp/