Landing in Paris at around 7am I was heading to my hotel, the Hilton Paris La Défense, via the RER – 2 trains with a interchange at Châtelet – Les Halles for the onward train to La Défense – all up probably 75 minutes. I was hoping that I could check in early to get some shut eye after the flight from Hong Kong and I struck it lucky in that my room became available just as I was checking in around 10am.
Hilton Paris La Défense, Paris, France
After Kyoto I returned to Tokyo and decided to stay at the other InterContinental property near Roppongi.
As soon as you walk into the lobby you know you’re in a classy place. Check-in was super efficient and I got a personal welcome from the manager due to my IHG Ambassador status.
ANA InterContinental Tokyo, Tokyo, 東京都, Japan
After a short stay in Tokyo I took the Shinkansen bullet train to Kyoto to have a look around the former capital.
I decided to stay at the ANA Crowne Plaza in Kyoto which is about 15 minutes north of Kyoto station by the hotel mini-bus.
The hotel is just across the road from Nijo Castle and very close to Nijojomae subway station
ANA Crowne Plaza Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan
Having just arrived in Tokyo and being totally overwhelmed by the mega city of Tokyo, I arrived at my hotel for the first part of my Japan holiday.
I’d planned on how to get to the InterContinental Tokyo Bay from Narita Airport but that all went to pot when I only bought a train ticket to Tokyo Station rather than Shinbashi station where I could have transferred to the train that would have dropped me at Takeshiba Station for a quick walk to the hotel.
Not knowing that I could have topped up my ticket for the extra station and then use my Suica card to get to Takeshiba I opted to use a taxi from Tokyo station.
InterContinental Tokyo Bay, Tokyo, Japan
With the Cricket World Cup and Chinese New Year happening the week I was to travel to Auckland decent, reasonably priced hotels were at a premium and so I ended up at a hotel on Queen Street called the Park Regis. But don’t start thinking that you’ll be staying at anything that looks like the St Regis in New York – far, very far from it.
Park Regis, Auckland, New Zealand