Best suited for: Design lovers, Shibuya-bound vintage shoppers, and travellers with a wellness regimen in mind
Location: Tokyo, Japan
The best feature: The design. Guests are encouraged to flick through records and pick up pretty books as they interact with the stay’s arty bones.
Why book: Be close to Shibuya’s action, yet somewhat sheltered from the overtourism along the idyllic Aoyama lanes that abut the property.
Rooms and suites
On the eastern side of Omotesando Grid Tower lies Soho House Tokyo’s discreet entrance. Just a small plaque obscured by shrubbery, and heavy oak doors that do more than symbolically shut out the noise. Between the reception area’s dim amber lighting and record console framed by swish second-hand stereos, limited-release subs, and crates of used vinyl (which are for sale), the scene looks like its been lifted out of a listening room; all while the tidy trail of too-cool design books (also for sale) that line the lobby’s desks and tables conjure up the vibe of an upscale Jimbocho bookstore. Tucked in the back, two lifts service the 42 rooms on the 11th and 12th floors, as well as the 13th and 14th floor club spaces—all spread across 75,000sqft—the latter levels also connected by an eye-catching spiral staircase.
Each room features a balcony, those to the north are afforded views of the faint red lights that twinkle across of Tokyo’s skyline throughout the night, and those to the south open up to the springtime sakura blossoms of Aoyama cemetery, and Mount Fuji (only from the 12th floor up) on clear days. Book in advance to avail the limited selection of rooms beyond the Cosy category—Medium, Large, and Extra Large. Anything above Cosy comes with a wellness tray of workout equipment below the bed, and Large and Extra Large have the option of interconnecting with a Cosy room. No room category, however, skimps on the elements of style or Dyson hairdryers. Wall tapestries and bed blankets are made of upcycled kimonos, chairs and certain headboards are upholstered with the custom deconstructed pattern of the Japanese symbol of ‘home’; and a few rooms even feature limited-edition artworks by Hiroya Kurata.
SoHo House
Somewhere between the sakiori weaving, parquet Tatami, artisanal Kyoto Kara-nuri lacquer, and Nagoya tile-work, the sheer number design motifs may seem a little over stimulating on paper. But the rooms have been pieced together tastefully, everything working in tandem to make them quite comfortable to kick back in: put on a pair of funky PJs, flick on the Sangean cabinet radio, and raid the ridiculously well-stocked mini bar, which includes 8 bottles of booze, wine, collab beer with Wagyu Mafia, local sodas and kombucha, and a snack drawer that stands no chance after a night on the town.
Like the nibbles, the loos, thankfully, aren’t too British—your jet-spray toilet still greets you with a raised head and a jingle.