Shinjuku Prince Hotel in Tokyo

Due to my child's wishes, I took them to Japan for Christmas. After my child booked three nights for us through a foreign website, I ended up extending our stay by one more night, so I have some thoughts, especially for future guests:

1. The hotel's location is indeed excellent, right in Shinjuku. However, due to its prime location, the room rates aren't cheap. I stayed a total of four nights, and the daily rate, including taxes, was generally between 1300-1500 RMB. So, it's not exactly a budget-friendly option. I accepted the price when booking because of the convenience.

2. The most unacceptable part, though, is the hotel's proximity to the subway entrance (see image below). The hotel didn't make this clear beforehand. The entire north-facing wall of the hotel experiences significant railway noise. Roughly 5-7 subway lines converge here, so a train pulls in and out every two minutes or so. This is something to be very aware of, as it can severely impact sleep. Also, Japanese trains generally operate until after 1 AM. After being disturbed, I found I couldn't properly sleep until after 1 AM, and even then, I only got about three hours of sleep before the trains started up again. The next day, I spoke to the hotel, but their general response was that they were fully booked and couldn't move me. So, future guests, please take note.

3. Regarding the hotel lobby's use: after 9 PM, they essentially rope it off, preventing guests from sitting there. The hotel rooms are too small to set up a table for working on a laptop or reading. So, sometimes in the evenings, I needed to check emails and had to go to the lobby to find a place with a table. But the lobby gets roped off at 9 PM, forcing guests to leave. I tried to discuss this with them, but their response was that it's hotel policy and couldn't be changed. I ended up having to go to the McDonald's across the street to work for a bit, which was incredibly noisy but I had no other option.

4. Another specific issue is that unless you have a future booking at this hotel, you can't store your luggage. Since the rooms are so small, a large suitcase is hard to place. I wanted to store my luggage in the lobby during my stay but was denied. On the day of check-out, I wanted to take my child to a museum and hoped to store our luggage, but I was asked for proof of a future booking and was denied again, which was very frustrating.

Overall review: If you have an absolute need to stay in central Shinjuku, you can consider this hotel. However, if that need isn't critical, it would be better to book another hotel. I believe if this kind of hotel were operating in China, it would be completely uncompetitive.