Toyoko Inn or StarPlaza

I was recommended both of these hotels at Ikebukuro.
Can anyone give me any good advise in terms of its location, room & facilities & overall service.
Thank you

I stayed in Starplaza Ikebukuro in my last visit to Tokyo. I find it fairly good in all ways (including the tariff ^^). It took me about 3-5 minutes walk from JR Ikebukuro station to the hotel. The only down side of it is that it's located in a small and narrow street which make it a bit hard to locate at the very beginning. But it provides easy access to department stores and restaurants, there's even a convenience store right at the corner of the street it's located. Hope it helps.

I've never stayed at either, but judging from the location (which I know)
they are very close to each other, and are located within 5-minute walk from
Ikebukuro Station. Note that those are classified as "business hotels,"
functions over luxury.

Just looking at the photos on their web pages (and assuming that normally
they put their BEST photos on their websites), Toyoko Inn looks like a
typical business hotel, small room with every convenience packed into it,
and Star Plaza seems to be a little less cramped, with bit more windows.

I read some positive reviews about Star Plaza on travel websites in Japanese, concerning good space for the price and friendly staff, but could not find any (positive or negative) about Toyoko Inn.

Anyone stayed at Toyoko Inn at Ikebukuro before?
There seems to be 4-5 responds on StarPlaza but nobody seems to know much about Toyoko Inn at Ikebukuro?
Kindly contribut if you stay there before.

Since you stayed at StarPlaza before, pls advise me in terms of the room/bed size if you have stayed in semi-double
room before and whether is there any fridge, water heater in the room.
StarPlaza is slightly cheaper than Toyoko Inn but the latter provides light breakfast and a double bed.
Pls advise.

i stayed at toyoko inn ikebukuro for 3 times i think, and stayed at both twin room and triple room. both of them were huge in japanese standard. double room was also okay when you consider the rate. their rooms are very decent and clean and you can expect all sorts of things like water heater, hair drier and fridge. i did stay at other tokoyo inns in japan. they are all uniform in design and facilities and i do find it a great advantage as you can expect what you'll get!

and i haven't tried starplaza.

Hi Bau,

Got a couple of questions I was hoping you could answer seeing as you have stayed at the Toyoko a number of times. I've actually got a room booked there but now having second thoughts looking at the Starplaza! My main concerns are: are there windows in the double rooms, is there a shower (the website states bath), what is the approximate room size in sqm and can two ppl move around freely enough? Oh and do you know if they charge a cancellation fee? Would appreciate your response!

Finally found someone that had stayed in Toyoko Inn.

1)Pls tell me more about the light breakfast they serve?

2)How far is the hotel from the JR station? I heard that it is actually farther than what the website claimed.
3)On the route to the hotel, is there any shops or eating place & is the street near Toyoko Inn quiet as we may come back late.
4)Can I avoid the red light district whicch I heard is nearby?
5)Pls give me direction in your own words leading from JR Ikebukuro to the hotel
6)Can the staff speak English and is there any window in the double room?
Thank you

hi,

there are windows in all their rooms but as far as i could remember, there's no view from the window as the building is very close to the adjacent one, which means that you'll have a "black view" through the frosted glass. the shinjuku one does have view.

the size of a double is less than 200 sq feet with the bed taking up most of the space and leaving behind a very narrow "corridor" where you can place your luggage. there is a shower and a bath tub, but expect packed in a very small area.

for cancellation, i think they will charge you if you cancel your booking within three days before your stay. you'd better check with their website. and just a note, do give them a call if you are checking in after 10 pm.

the breakfast is fine, with miso soup, rice and coffee. but you can always choose to sample other great food from other eatries after breakfast stopped being served at 9:30.

from the north exit of the JR station, you have to walk straight and pass several traffic lights for around 8 or 9 minutes to the hotel but i find the distance totally acceptable. the only problem is that there are only stairs at the north exit. the hotel is outside the red light district which you can avoid when walking back to the hotel. it can be quite quiet at nights. but you may find some women standing nearby waiting for business. but they won't disturb you if you stay discreet.

the staff speak just a little bit english but i think basic conversation is okay. there are also many places to eat and several convenience stores which open 24 hours around the hotel.

oh, a very long one, hope you all find it useful!

Hi Bau,
Thanks for the reply.
Indeed your info is very useful.

You mentioned the North exit has no escalator only stairs right? Is the stairway very steep/narrow/, as I will be carrying one medium size luggage bag.

Can you also recommend 1 or 2 good eating place near the hotel.
Thank you

A big thank you from me too! Your response was very helpful!

you are welcome!

the staircase at the north exit has about 20 to 30 steps. actually, you can take the west exit where you can find an escalator, but you have to spend more time walking to the hotel as a result.

i love going to a sushi shop just opposite to the west exit, it's near a mcdonald's with all the sushi for 130 yen a dish (2 pieces). there are many restaurants and cafes around that area, just try any one of them and i bet you won't be disappointed!

Hi Bau,
Your reply is very much appreciated.

I stayed in semi-double rooms with my friend in our last visit to Japan. In respect to the size of the room and the bed, I think Toyoko Inn will provide you a little bit more space and a better environment (at least the room looks brighter). However the Toyoko Inns that I stayed are the "ordinary" ones and the one in Ikebukuro is a "Junior" one, ie Toyoko Inn just renovated another existing hotel in Ikebukuro, and it may be different from its other branches. To give a rough idea of the size of the bed in a semi-double room, I would say it's just slightly larger than the minimum size required for two standard size girls (we're not those skinny girls though, may be a little bit of overweight but definitely not that kind of fatty girls too ^^). Both hotel rooms facilitate with a small fringe and hot water is available but I don't think there is a hot water cylinder in the room. The breakfast provided by the Toyoko Inn is Japanese style but just simple ones like rice ball and miso soup. Hope it helps.

Hi Japan traveller & all,

Pls let me know the plug used at toyoko inn or Starplaza, whether is it 2 pin or 3 pin.
I will need to buy a converter but need to know it is 2 or 3 pin.
Thank you

hi cocoa,

japan uses 2-pin (| |) and is 110V.

Hi Bau,
Thanks for the reply.

Has anyone stayed in both Toyoko Inn Ikebukuro and Ikebukuro Star Plaza before?

I wish to have a better comparison of both places so that I can decide which one to finally choose to stay.

I wish to compare in terms of :
- their location/distance from JR station (which is nearer)
- hotel room size

By the way, is Ikebukuro Star Plaza in the red-light area? Wish to avoid it. Heard that Toyoko Inn at Ikebukuro is outside the red-light area. What abt Star Plaza?

I am travelling with my partner to Tokyu and wanted to saty somewhere in Shinjuku..dont mind japanese style room..my budget is below US$100 per room. Any one has any website of such hotel?

It seems like alot of Singaporean have stayed at Starplaza before.
Tokoyo Inn is more popular with the locals.