Rarely has the Eternal City met the Land of the Rising Sun quite so enticingly than in the form of the Bvlgari Hotel Tokyo, which has just opened in an exalted location atop the Midtown Yaesu Tower, which is close to the Nihombashi and Marunouchi financial districts and Gina’s shopping and dining haven, and just mere steps away from the Japanese capital’s main railway station.
Milan-based architects Antonio Citterio and Patricia Viel are again responsible for the hotel’s public spaces – the visionary duo has designed all nine Bvlgari hotels so far, counting the Bvlgari Roma that just opened in the company’s motherland this month. We arrive at the Tokyo hotel just weeks following its grand opening to check ourselves in for a two-night stay.
The hotel occupies the 40th to 45th floors of the ultra-skyscraper Tokyo Midtown Yaesu. And while the hotel’s entrance proves a little hard to find at first – it serves a purpose: to give its clientele adequate discretion and privacy as they enter the premises and proceed up to the 40th-floor lobby to check-in. And upon arrival, heavy doors glide open to reveal a lobby so magnificent we audibly gasp.
Bvlgari is proudly Roman, and so is the hotel and its aesthetic – but rather than overtly Italian codes, the hotel oozes with quiet luxury. Think contemporary Italian design with equally legendary Japanese craftsmanship – Venetian glass, Carrara marble, traditional Kyoto fabrics, Zen gardens and woodwork come together to offer something that contrives to be both glamorous and serene.
The Bvlgari branding exists – perfumed in the air and imprinted into the walls with its fan-shaped Diva pattern and as our feet pitter-patter on top of the eight-point marble Stella star that’s tiled into the lobby floors. And, most visibly, bright glass enclaves that display some of Bvlgari’s most distinct designs, like a five-spiral rose-gold and steel Serpenti watch, or a high jewellery necklace.
Out of the 98 rooms and suites available, we find ourselves situated in a spacious Deluxe Room with sweeping views of the city below as far as the eye could see. (We spent one of the nights with our black-out blinds up, succumbing to the lulling twinkle of the city’s lights at night and waking up to the most spectacular sunrises.) Vintage ads and jewellery books deck the room, which also comes with a massive walk-in wardrobe and vanity room kitted out with Bvlgari-branded toiletries.
And if it’s Italian hospitality to ensure you’re well-fed and well-rested, then trust Bvlgari to do this really well. Every night we were there, we were treated to a different assortment of Italian sweets and fresh Japanese fruits, plus a thermos of soothing tea at turn-down service.
There’s no shortage of places to wine and dine in the heart of Tokyo, but within the Bvlgari Hotel, the gourmet can still find one-of-a-kind surprises. Sushi Hōseki, a Japanese concept that started at the Bvlgari Resort Dubai, is also brought over to Tokyo, an exclusive 8-seater restaurant that overlooks a private Japanese rock garden and is helmed by Japanese Kenji Gyoten, who has three Michelin stars from his namesake restaurant Sushi Gyoten.
Niko Romito’s Il Ristorante also sets up home at the Bvlgari Hotel Tokyo, offering authentic Italian fare as well as the most decadent breakfast spreads. The Italian breakfast comes with a large assortment of bread and pastries that are accompanied by Italian imported butter, preserves and olive oils. The Japanese breakfast is, in our opinion, the lighter option, but still comes with a great assortment of pickled and fresh vegetables, simmered and salt-grilled meats, piping hot broth and seasonal fruits to finish.
Most hotels around Tokyo do very well to enable the traveller to discover the city – what Bvlgari does incredibly well in addition to this is how well it entices you to stay put. On an incredibly rainy afternoon, we fully immerse ourselves in the pool within the 1,000-square-metre Bvlgari Spa, including the Bvlgari Hotel’s signature vitality pool that’s adorned with a gold mosaic wall for the ultimate luxury touch. The gym is also state-of-the-art, with enough equipment and space to delight any fitness junkie. Personal training sessions can also be booked beforehand.
And before we know it, it’s time to leave. We wave goodbye to the dolce vita celebrity images and glitzy photoshoots from the ’60s that line the walls and return our key card, only then spotting the beautifully detailed sketch of a bonsai and Mount Fuji amongst Bvlgari’s stars on the cover. The attention to detail, we tell you! We ask to keep a copy and the staff happily oblige. And before we really leave for good, they ply us with a bottle of hand-pressed olive oil, exclusively crafted for the hotel’s opening, and a deliciously sentimental parting gift. We’ll be back, we promise – if not for the night, which costs HKD 15,000 (INR 156,980) on the official website, at least for a night tipple at the rooftop bar.
This story first appeared here.
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