Review: Aman Tokyo (2025 update)

Aman Tokyo is now more than a decade old; practically middle-aged in hotel terms. Some properties mature gracefully; others reach this stage looking like tax write-offs that suffered the first prototype of Botox and should be condemned.  Back in 2019, Lucie and I spent part of our honeymoon here before heading to Laucala. In 2025, we returned — this time with two thoroughly spoiled children. It was our fourth stay, but the first since Bulgari Tokyo came into the picture.

Stepping into that vast lobby still feels like walking into something brand new. It still amazes me.  It’s still not been copied.  Probably because any other hotel would have added another fifty rooms, whilst Aman just decided to shout YOLO.

The rooms remain vast, serene, and offer a sense of place, with these stunning stone baths that look out across the city. But where size once wowed me (that’s what she said), now it just feels like empty space. And not space you want to spend any time in.  Like being forced to visit your grandparents.  The living rooms in the larger suites are still awkward — too much volume, not enough warmth, a microwave instead of a television, and steps that break up the flow and make it seem more decorative than practical. At least the controls are as easy and intuitive as ever, and the bathrooms remain immaculate, though the Toto toilets continue to roar like a farting dragon.

The spa and gym have aged well. Most of the equipment has been replaced with fresh TechnoGym kit, now integrated with Apple Fitness, so everything looks up to date except for the lone PowerPlate in the corner, a relic proving that the place really is over a decade old. The men’s onsen continues to terrify me with the naked-only policy.  The pool is still a showstopper, with light streaming across its long glass walls, and if you time it right, views of Mount Fuji – though Bulgari now edges ahead, as it has the outdoor terrace and hydrotherapy pool Aman never built.

Service here is still Aman at its best.  In fact, anywhere at its best: invisible when you don’t need it, instantaneous when you do. Room cleaning happens almost suspiciously fast, like staff are stationed behind the door. There’s still no need to sign for anything — you say your room number and walk away, a pure luxury that you rarely find anywhere that isn’t all-inclusive.  They are super kind and warm with families too, endlessly patient with my children who echo through the vast lobby like a pack of baboons. The touches for kids — toys, sweets, handwritten notes — are great, and far ahead of what Bulgari offered us.

The service is the absolute highlight of this property.  It’s like being cocooned inside a giant warm blanket.  Lucie forgot her key, walked to reception to get a new one and they didn’t even ask room number. They knew.  They know everything.  And not in a creepy way.  Promise.  Everyone here knows who you are, and looks after you.

Food, though, hasn’t improved that much. The Italian restaurant remains a place of tiny, beautiful plates and even tinier portion sizes, and one visit is more than enough.  Room service was much, much better.  Not only the speed at which they came, which once again was almost creepy, but the extensive offering.  Yes, I know we don’t want to be eating at the hotel in Tokyo, but kids and jetlag don’t always work in your stomach’s favour.  Although we did go out most nights for dinner, and once concierge sent us back to one of the same places they sent us in 2016.  And it was still absolutely epic.

What strikes me most is how my own view of Aman Tokyo has shifted. It hasn’t declined — the hotel is still glorious, the service still flawless, the lobby still unmatched — but Tokyo has gone up a level with the Bulgari. Bulgari feels fresher and more indulgent, while Aman has settled into a slightly more austere like calm. In 2019 I was dazzled by the sheer scale and price-to-room-size ratio; in 2025, that no longer feels enough, not least because it’s now so damn expensive. Aman Tokyo is still wonderful, but it’s no longer the automatic choice.  But if you end up here, you’re hardly going to be upset.

It really comes down to soft product versus hard.  If you want a better hard product, easily the Bulgari.  If you want some of the best city service you’ll ever find, with better food offering (at least with the in-room menu) it’s Aman.  Aman gets the smaller touches right: the airport car with Wi-Fi, drinks, and snacks; the thoughtful amenities for children, from toys and sweets to handwritten notes; fruit and drinks by the pool before you’ve even asked; and turndown gifts marking their ten-year anniversary, complete with luggage tags. Bulgari gave us nothing for the kids.

It’s strange to come somewhere I think so fondly of and find it doesn’t quite do it for me anymore.  And not because it’s changed, or somehow got worse.  In some ways, no, in most ways, nothing has changed.  This is still a wonderful hotel that I can recommend without hesitation.  But the competitors are circling.  And my hope is that makes this amazing hotel look at ways to become even better.

Although, my four-year-old, Isabelle burst into tears when she saw the Toto and said “I want to go back to Fiji”.  Nothing has changed, but everything has.

All pics are from my 2019 review…cos I’m lazy and didn’t take any this time.