The location of the hotel is quite convenient for the tourist in Tokyo, though it's geared toward the business traveller. It is located a block away from the Shibakoen metro stop, two blocks to the Mita metro stop, and just a 5 minute further walk to the Tamachi JR (Yamanote) line. The convenience of these three transit options can pretty much get you anywhere within the metro area easily. If arriving from the airport via Narita Express, reserve your seat to get off at Shinagawa, then back-track one stop to Tamachi on the elevated JR Yamanote line (much easier than transfering at the larger, and more confusing, Tokyo station).

The lower half of the building is occoupied by offices so the ground floor is divided into an office entrance lobby and the hotel entrance lobby. For a smallish hotel, the lobby is quite large, with two story windows, a coffee/chocolate shop, and a fully attentive staff available 24/7.

Hotel rooms are located on floors 14-17. 95% of the rooms face the outside, but 8-10 rooms per floor face an interior courtyard. Rooms facing north and south are much larger, but face other buildings and offer obstructed views. Rooms facing east and west are incredibly small, but provide nice city views.

I've been to the hotel twice (2006 and 2011). The first time we had a larger south facing room that was comfortable, but had limited skyline views. Last week we had a west facing room. It is probably one of the tiniest hotel rooms you'll find anywhere, but we were rewarded with two rare mornings where the ever-present haze lifted and we could see Mount Fuji in the distance behind the skyline.

Fortunately, they've done everything they could to maximize the tiny space. We had a queen size bed with two wall mounted end tables (barely enough room for an alarm clock and glass of water), a wall mounted desk/mini-bar/TV stand combination, a small, two-person seat that barely fit between the end table and windows, and a small coffee table that could fit a laptop and magazine side-by-side.

Near the entry door is a built-in closet/dresser that is so narrow that the hanging rod goes toward you instead of parallel to the wall. We had to double (and triple) up clothes on hangers in layer (pants first, then two shirts on top of them). There are similarly narrow drawers next to it (one wastefully taken up by mini-bar candies and snacks).

Although the walkable area of the bathroom was tiny, it did provide lots of counter space and a spacious bath tub. This room provided nice features like a steam-proof section of mirror over the sink and a Toto toilet (the typical Japanese kind with bidet functions and heated seats).

The decorations are contemporary and clean in the rooms and in the common areas.

There is no gym or pool, but the 14th floor does offer a lounge with complimentary water, coffee, and tea all day long, and some outdoor seating in the courtyard. Don't expect views, though...it's an interior courtyard with 4+ floors of hotel rooms completely surrounding it. We did find it a pleasant space to sit at night, though. Even more surprising, we saw stars despite being in one of the brightest and most crowded cities on earth.

The Celestine also has a first floor restaurant called Grand Cross that offers breakfast for about 2,000 yen (currently the equivalent of about $26.00 US). Some room mates include the breakfast and you'll get meal tickets for each morning.

As with the hotel lobby staff, the crew here is very attentive. I must admit I find the food options hilarious. In an attempt to accomodate all nationalities, the buffet stations have the standard eggs, bacon, yogurt, fruit, cereal and toast...but also spaghetti, broccolli, hot dogs, tater tots and a few Japanase items (rice, miso soup, tofu). I remind you...these are items served from 7am - 9:30am for breakfast!

I found $26 a bit steep so I made the most out of breakfast by going closer to 9:30, eating heartily, then having a smaller lunch later on.

The office side of the ground floor also has a restaurant (Itlaian) and, I believe a small Japanese restaurant and a Tully's Coffee Shop.

Again, the staff here are incredibly attentive and friendly. At all times, you will find at least 4 or 5 people in the lobby...often rushing to push the button on the elevator for you. They'll gladly loan you an umbrella if it's looking like rain (which is common in Tokyo).

One funny side story...my husband is allergic to feather pillows so on our third morning he went to the lobby to request a non-feather pillow. That evening we returned to the room to find two new pillows that were hard as a rock. It felt like clay....you'd get the pillow into position then it would never move.

Being the curious type, I inspected further by removing the pillow case and unzipping the pillow. What we found was straw. Not the stuff horses eat, but drinking straws cut into thousands of 1/4 inch pieces.

Anyway, this was my second time at the Celestine and I'd definitely stay there again. My husband has probably been there dozens of times on various business trips, too. Neither of us has had a bad experience. The small east and west facing rooms are definitely more comfortable for one person versus two people, but our west-facing view this time was quite spectacular by day and night (we could see Shinjuku and Mount Fuji). But if you're used to western standard room sizes, you may be more comfortable facing south...especially if you'll be staying for more than a few nights.