Hotel Okura Tokyo Bay

Rooms and decor

Hotel Okura Tokyo Bay is a Disney Official Hotel a 3-minute walk from Bayside Station, and the lobby sets the tone — a Mediterranean space in cream, yellow and brown with a fountain in the middle, Italian Renaissance paintings on the walls and a faint smell of espresso. Okura staff in blue-and-yellow uniforms work in the Japanese omotenashi style, which gives the place a different feel from the more Western Hilton and Sheraton. The big draw is the rooms. A Standard Park View runs 44 sqm at around $263 a night — the largest of any Disney Official Hotel, 8 sqm bigger than the Sheraton and 14 sqm bigger than the Hilton. They are done in Italian-Mediterranean cream, yellow and pale green, with two 120-by-200 cm twin beds plus a sofa-bed that sleeps four, and big windows looking onto the courtyard with the Disney Resort in the distance. The 11 sqm bathroom is real marble, with a large jacuzzi, a rain shower, a double vanity and Cinq Mondes French amenities. You also get a 50-inch TV and free 100 Mbps Wi-Fi.

Food and amenities

Dinner at FONTANA Italian Restaurant is the headline meal — a set dinner at ¥8,500 (about $58) from a chef who trained 8 years in Italy, moving through antipasto, carpaccio, mushroom risotto, wagyu tagliata and tiramisu, each plate near-Michelin in finish. An Italian wine pairing adds ¥4,500 (about $31), and the room is high-ceilinged and chic with soft Italian opera. Breakfast is a buffet at ¥4,500 (about $31) that leans Japanese — ohitashi, miso soup, tamagoyaki, grilled fish and natto — alongside Western plates like eggs benedict, bacon and croissants, and it edges out the Hilton and Sheraton on quality. For swimming there is a 25-metre outdoor pool open July to September and a 20-metre indoor pool open year-round; neither is as big as the Sheraton's or Hilton's, but both are quieter and less crowded.

Location and getting there

The hotel sits a 3-minute walk from Bayside Station, and as a Disney Official Hotel it runs a free Disney Resort Cruiser shuttle around the resort. Being official also means you can buy park tickets here and use Premier Access — though, importantly, there is no Happy 15 Entry, which stays with the Disney Hotels. Book a Park View room and you will look out over the Disney Resort, with some rooms catching the fireworks.

Things to know before booking

Three honest caveats. First, the lack of Happy 15 Entry means no 15-minute head start at the parks, so dedicated rope-droppers may prefer a Disney Hotel. Second, this is not the place for kids facilities — there is no mini golf like the Sheraton's, so families chasing in-hotel activities should look elsewhere. Third, the building opened in 2000, so some areas can look a touch older than the newer Hilton next door. None of that touches the room size, which remains the best in the official group.

Our take

Hotel Okura Tokyo Bay is the largest and most classic of the Disney Official Hotels — 44 sqm rooms, a private 800 sqm Mediterranean courtyard with a fountain and olive trees open 06:00 to 22:00, the near-Michelin FONTANA and proper Okura omotenashi. It scores 8.8/10 across more than 9,000 reviews, with rooms from about $223 a night. It is the pick for luxury-minded couples, families of four who need the space, Italian-food lovers and older travelers who want a quiet, classic atmosphere near the parks.