Sunshine City Prince Hotel

Rooms and decor

This is a large hotel in the Prince Hotels chain, a well-known Japanese group, and the rooms are clean and well kept. There are several layouts to choose from depending on your group, from doubles up to family rooms. The design leans classic and understated rather than flashy, but that suits the kind of traveller who wants a calm, reliable base after a long day out. Real guest scores sit around 9.0, which is strong for a property this size.

Food and amenities

Because the hotel is built into Sunshine City, you have far more than the in-house restaurants to choose from — although there are several of those too. Step out of your room and you can reach a department store, the rooftop aquarium, the planetarium, the Pokemon Center Mega Tokyo and hundreds of restaurants, all under cover. The service is standardized and the staff handle large numbers of guests in an organized way.

Location and getting there

The big idea here is the location that reshapes your whole trip. Wake up, ride the lift down and you are at the mall; walk a little further and you reach the rooftop aquarium, the planetarium, the Pokemon Center and rows of restaurants. The Sunshine Aquarium and Pokemon Center are about a 3-minute walk, and the Sky Circus viewpoint is around 250 m. On a rainy or bitterly cold day you never have to face the wind. Ikebukuro Station's east exit is about 850 m away, roughly 11 minutes on foot — further than the station-side hotels, but from there trains run across Tokyo and out to the airports.

Things to know before booking

That station walk is the main catch: at about 11 minutes, it is a bit further than other hotels in this list. In high season the hotel gets busy, and you may wait at the lobby desk or for a lift. And the room design is on the classic, understated side, so if you want something flashy this won't be it. For families with small kids or older travellers, though, the convenience of staying inside the complex is worth a great deal.

Our take

Sunshine City Prince Hotel is one of our top picks for families visiting Tokyo, and we recommend it with confidence — especially if there are kids on the trip. They will be happy from the moment they step out of the room, with the aquarium, the Pokemon Center and the mall all a short walk away. Add in clean rooms, dependable Prince Hotels service and rates from around $83 a night, and it makes a very easy base for a Tokyo holiday.