On July 4, 2024, the MICHELIN Guide revealed the first One, Two, and Three Key distinctions for the most outstanding hotels in Japan. Earning One Key (84 properties) or Two Keys (17 properties) is difficult enough, but only six hotels in the country received Three Keys. As it happens, half can be found in Tokyo, and each is set within walking distance of the Imperial Palace.
To us, it’s a fitting coincidence. These spectacular places are themselves hotel royalty, each representing the pinnacle of the five criteria used to judge hotels by our Inspectors. You can learn all about those particular benchmarks, here. But in this series, we thought it fitting to focus on the most photogenic of the five — architecture and interior design.
Below, a look at the spectacular interiors and exteriors of each of our Three Key hotels in Tokyo.
Bulgari Hotel Tokyo
Tokyo, JapanJust over a year old, the Bulgari Hotel Tokyo has the same designers, Patricia Viel and Antonio Citterio, as every Bulgari around the world. Here, they more than meet the high standards they themselves set and which naturally accompany the high-profile name. This is a luxury Italian brand originally known for its jewelry, so the emerald green mosaics at the bottom of the pool shimmer like diamonds — and spaces sport Italian-made décor and Venetian glass.
In fact, If it weren’t for the views of the Japanese capital, you might mistake this hotel for one in Milan. But this is Tokyo, and accents of local craftsmanship echo throughout the spaces — from the wood ceilings to the silk headboards. Portrait photographs portray the rich and famous at the first Bulgari in Rome.
Palace Hotel Tokyo
Tokyo, JapanThe name refers not to the hotel itself, but to the Imperial Palace just across a moat from the hotel facade. Built in 1961, the Palace Hotel Tokyo reopened in 2012 after a complete overhaul that knocked down the previous iteration and remade the building in its entirety. The remodel prioritizes views of the Imperial Palace and Gardens above all else, with every guest room sporting views of the royal estate, and floor-to-ceiling windows in stunning abundance throughout the hotel.
Those are the broad strokes, but it’s the little details that bring the airy feeling of the Imperial Palace and Gardens into the hotel interiors, with a host of natural motifs and a preference for green carpeting to go with touches like the Japanese maple just outside the lobby window. About 1,000 pieces of art decorate the hotel, some specially commissioned just for the space.
Book Palace Hotel Tokyo with The MICHELIN Guide →
Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi
Tokyo, JapanDesigned by Jean-Michel Gathy (known for his longstanding relationship with some of the most distinguished properties in the world), the Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi sets up on the top six floors of a 39-story building — with views of Mount Fuji and the Imperial Palace and Gardens on its resume. In fact, the views to the Imperial Palace are so sublime, Gathy installed a water feature in front of the glass wall on the 36th floor lobby as a buffer, lest it “be considered as discourteous to look straight down into the Imperial Palace.”
Buffeted by views like that, interiors are a tasteful mix of Japanese and global inspirations, with artwork exclusively by Japanese artists. That includes the large textile photographs, by photographer Namiko Kitaura, that take center stage in the neutral, light-filled interiors of guest rooms.
Book Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi with The MICHELIN Guide →
Hero Image: Palace Hotel Tokyo
