GRANBELL HOTEL SHIBUYA

For the price, we really enjoyed our stay here and would return. Important to be realistic about room sizes as this is one of the most popular areas of Tokyo and all Tokyo hotel rooms are tiny by Western standards. We stayed 5 nights in late April, a busy time due to Golden Week, and booked an upgraded ‘superior’ room with king size bed, this was well worth it and I highly recommend paying extra for it as we had room for luggage, and a great bathroom space with full size bathtub as well as a shower with great water pressure. The location is incredible for exploring. The nearest train station exit is New South Exit. Our room was on the sixth floor. We were warned on check in about construction noise yet never heard a peep, it was one of the quietest hotels I’ve stayed in. Slept so well. The rooms are dated and could do with some maintenance and a deep clean or carpets, but sheets and towels and bathrooms were very clean and that’s what matters most to us. They even give you pyjamas and great toiletries. Free coffee in the foyer was nice too. We were so happy to have a great sleep after lots of walking!

Amazing hotel! While it was a bit run-down in the entrance and could use a coat of paint, the room I was in was comfortable with a nice bathroom. Located directly outside of Shibuya station near the Sakura Stage, tucked away down a side road, there are convenience stores within a 1 minute walk in every direction. Only issue is that there is no self-service laundry and the closest laundromat is about 500m-1KM away. The laundry service is quite expensive. Otherwise, a good short-term stay hotel. I would book again!

The hotel is quite clean, and all the staff are friendly, welcoming, and always ready to assist. I was really impressed with their service and helpful recommendations. They can communicate in English well, which made the stay even more convenient. The location is excellent—very close to Shibuya Station, making it easy to get around. There are many restaurants nearby, as well as several convenience stores around the hotel. The hotel is also popular with international travelers. However, there are a few downsides. The standard rooms are extremely small, leaving little to no space for luggage. Additionally, the bathroom has a clear glass wall with no curtain, which might not be ideal if you’re traveling with friends. Aside from that, everything was great, and I would likely stay here again in the future.

Stayed at this hotel for 9 days and all in all it was alright. Their single-room was even smaller than I had prepared for, you can possibly run out of space very easily as there is not even a wardrobe. Next time I would definitely go for a bigger room. The room was mostly clean, besides some really nasty spots on the carpet. Their staff has been really nice and helpful though, room got cleaned every day. The location of this hotel is of course what you pay most for. A maximum 8 minutes walk away from Scramble Square and you have a 7-eleven, FamilyMart, Lawson and even a MiniStop within walkable distance (max 3-5 min). There's also a nice supermarket and even a drugstore like 2 minutes away. Location of the hotel really couldn't have been better. I would probably come again but choose a bigger room next time.

The location next to Shibuya Station is very convenient. But that’s about the best thing I can say. We booked a double bed room. Very small but also poor quality. Missing light switches, chipped and damage joinery, cracked ceiling plaster. The bathroom is generously sized, but the shower tiling and grout needs fixing. Overall the room feels like old and like it is due for a renovation. The double bed was okay, but the pillows are flat and lifeless. We only got one pillow each and no luxury like cushions or extra pillows. There are better choices in this area for the same price.

Room was perfect. Only negative was - Didn't know breakfast had to be preordered (should be stated at check-in), no cafes open before 11 that side of the station. The station itself is v hard to navigate so finding the hotel will take a while but that will be with any hotel in this area.

Location was excellent! Staff were able to hold our luggage after check out so my partner and I could grab lunch before leaving Tokyo, which was very kind. Our room was small but did the job for 2 people.

Location is fantastic. Service was always on point. Room was small but as expected. Would stay again just for the perfect location to get to shibuya crossing in 5 minutes but away from all the craziness. Cute neighbourhood on the "other side" of shibuya station.

Room: Superior King Non-Smoking Grand total for 2 nights: $480 (USD) Southwest Points: 4000 Overall decent accommodations. Would I stay here again? Uhh... maybe. It is very conveniently located near Shibuya station, which is great if your going to or from Narita Airport and want to ride the NEX train. Hotel staff was nice and also spoke English.

3.5 stars Opted to pay a little more for comfort and chose the Premiere Double room (approx 260 square feet) with a king sized bed for a five night stay in Shibuya. King bed all the way on one side of the edge with a coffee table and couch for two. The sink, shower and toilet (bidet) are all located in separate rooms on the opposite side of the bed which made it convenient. The shower was a big walk in shower WITH a tub inside! Daily pajama set and slippers provided by the hotel. Hotel location is very ideal - quick walk to the Shibuya Station, convenience stores located close by (7-11, Lawsons, and Family Mart), no more than a 10 minute walk to Shibuya station. There is a slight incline to the hotel but it really wasn't too bad (only about 1-2 minutes of walking uphill before you reach the hotel). Only downfall of Shibuya Granbell was the cleanliness. Stained carpeting and some dusty areas in the room. Beware: breakfast is only complimentary if included in your room rate!

Why 3 stars? Because it did the job, but the room was tiny and stuffy. --- --- --- Good news: if you want to travel to Tokyo, there are countless cheap hotels available. Bad news: you've probably been inside of a walk-in closet larger than these rooms. Our room was 137 square feet, which included the bathroom. To put that in perspective, there's a good chance your bedroom at home is somewhere in the range of about 13x10. Now imagine adding a bathroom into your room. Not adjacent to your room, but inside of it. That was our experience at the Shibuya Granbell. But we knew the room was small going into it. It actually didn't bother us much - we were so exhausted once we got into the room at night that we fell asleep pretty immediately. But what bothered me was the stuffiness of the room. We were provided a small, portable air conditioner, which consisted of a bunch of buttons with Japanese writing on them. I would just push each button and then hope that it would cool off the room. One button in particular seemed to work, but it would only cool for a few minutes and then turn back off. It was fine to get to sleep, but once I was asleep for a while, I would wake up sweating. Honestly, if we had central air, I would definitely upgrade to 4-stars. The bathroom was actually pretty neat. It was separated from the bed via glass. If you wanted privacy, you could pull the shade down. The shower and the sink produced scalding hot water - great for shaving and for a steamy shower, but definitely something to be careful with. My favorite part of the entire room was the mirror in the bathroom. Despite taking a 10,000 degree shower, the mirror remained completely unfogged, despite everything else looking like the inside of a steam room. I need an anti-fogging mirror in my house, ASAP! The location of this hotel was incredible. We were only a short ride from the Shibuya station, which allowed us to quickly hop from neighborhood to neighborhood each day. We liked the idea of Shibuya because it had a lot of train lines, but wasn't quite as large and overwhelming as Shinjuku or Tokyo Station. I would definitely stay here again on a future visit to Tokyo, but hopefully I'd be able to afford a slightly larger room. And hopefully our visit would be in the summer when the A/C is turned on!

I accidentally booked a smoking room but fortunately, they put an air filter inside. My booking did not include free breakfast but they gave me for the whole stay which is really nice. The room is typical business hotel room, very limited space. No closet to hang clothes. Amenities were good. But the most interesting part is the glass walls in the bathroom/toilet. Also a bit difficult to find the doors and it's not a typical door also. The whole stay was satifactory. Except for the cigarette smell, which was my mistake, all good.

My fiancé and I just stayed at the hotel for about two weeks. The plus side is that the hotel is clean, they provide free breakfast, and it's a five minute walk from the Shibuya Station and the scramble. The downside is that you have to walk a steep incline to get to the hotel. I have chronic knee pain as well as my sciatica flair ups so that was a big negative for me. The room we stayed with would have been find for me by myself but my fiancé is 6'3 and built like a football player so if we do stay here again we know to book one of the bigger suites. Other than that the staff was very kind and accommodating. The employees in the front desk also speak fluent English if you don't know how to speak Japanese. My fiancé and I wouldn't mind staying here again. It's a great location despite the incline walk. The amount of conbini's like Family Mart and Lawson are great too without having to venture far. The trade off for being close to the station was worth it and also there's a laundromat about 6-8 minutes away which is great but expect some walking on those steep incline streets. So if you plan to stay in Shibuya give Granbell a chance.

If you're looking for a boutique hotel in Tokyo, Shibuya Granbell is it. During my November stay here I had a split level room. I could see this being a great option if your traveling partner wanted to stay up and read downstairs whilst you have a bath and go to bed upstairs. But since I was solo, I pretty much just used the downstairs as a staging area for my suitcase and such. The unique rooms and the stellar location are the main reasons I'd pick the Shibuya Granbell again. I felt like a local in the neighbourhood (the hotel's on a small street packed with restaurants and bars in every direction) and its easy to access other parts of Tokyo on foot or by taxi or train (the hotel's easily accessed via the Shibuya station West exit) from here. If you want to take the limousine bus to/from Narita it picks up and drops off a few minutes away at the Cerulean Tower hotel. The free breakfast is pretty bad so probably skip it. Smoking is also allowed in the lobby and most rooms so if you're sensitive take note. If you want to be in a stylish room the middle of it all in Tokyo, look no further.

I booked this hotel on 1/5 Japan time afternoon, and mistakenly set the dates from 1/5-1/8 instead of 1/6-1/8 as originally intended. I called the hotel within a few minutes of making the booking to correct the error, and ask for the first day of the stay to be refunded, since I will not be arriving until 1/6. After being placed on a hold for 25 minutes, the answer was an absolute "no" because "it is the rules." Of course, at that point there was no way I can stay there happily for the two nights as I was initially planning, and website allowed me to cancel the booking altogether while forfeiting $113 paid for the first night's stay. Once I told that to the hotel receptionist, probably realizing that the hotel will actually make less money now than if they just allowed me to cancel the first night, she outright lied to me and said "you will need our permission to cancel, or we will charge you for the second night as well." While I consider it extremely unreasonable and an awful customer service to not allow me to fix a booking mistake I made just minutes ago (also there were plenty of rooms available, the hotel did not incur any loss), I can understand that I am the one who made the mistake. However, it is inexcusable as well as unprofessional to flat out deceive a customer to get them to stay, especially after using the "rules" as an excuse for being so inflexible. Needless to say, I will never stay in this hotel again. There was always a problem with the attitudes of the staffs but the location and the facility was ok, but now it only reminds me of their awful and deceptive customer service. They decided that keeping my $113 was more worth it than keeping me as a customer...

Our final stay in Tokyo and we somehow got an upgrade to the Executive Suite - I could have kissed the lady who checked us in when she told me that! The room was more like an apartment, split over two levels and just had a really luxurious feel. Good things: - Huge, comfortable bed - Massive windows to look over Shibuya - Huge L-shaped bath and really impressive bathroom overall, stoked with great products - Couch/TV area downstairs - Staff were pretty friendly - Breakfast was really tasty - there's a few options for breakfast so we went to the a la carte rather than buffet and I couldn't fault the Japanese options - Handy for Shibuya station - Bar/restaurant downstairs was good for a drink in the evening Bad things: - They kind of suggested that you needed to be out of the hotel between 11am-2pm for housekeeping but I'm sure if you left the do not disturb sign on the door, they would just leave you in peace - Wifi could be a little patchy - It's not super easy to get to Narita airport from here. Our flight was at 10.30am, we left the hotel at 7am and were still cutting it a little fine. I loved this hotel and I was so pleased to finish our holiday with a bit of luxury.

My son stayed here during a college trip in March. On his first day in Tokyo he accidentally left his carry on bag on the train. It was recovered, but not in time for him to pick it up and make his flight home. The extremely helpful staff at the hotel offered to go collect his bag and hold it until he was able to make arrangements to have it shipped back home. They have diligently worked with me over the past two weeks as I worked to make this happen. So, not only did my son enjoy his stay at this hotel and would highly recommend it based on that alone, but their kindness and generosity of time sent them way above five stars in our book. Great location, speak English.

Shibuya Granbell Hotel is a small hotel (roughly 12 floors) in a great location in Tokyo, just a few minutes away from Shibuya Station by foot. The location is super central and close to everything, with the major Shibuya shopping area just 5-10min away and Daikanyama and Ebisu also quite close -- 15-20min away. The rooms are clean and modern, though they can be pretty tiny (er...space efficient!). In terms of toiletries, slippers, and even pajamas, you're completely covered, as the rooms are all stocked with everything you'll need to be comfortable. I especially enjoyed the green tea shampoo, conditioner, and body wash set, which smelled pretty awesome. Pretty sure I smelled better during my stay in Tokyo than I usually do back at home. Hotel staff is helpful and efficient and will do everything they can to make sure you're comfortable. I had booked two separate rooms for 3 days each for a one week stay due to online booking constraints, and they made sure to shuffle things around so that I could remain in the same room for the entirety of my stay. They even left a cute handwritten note explaining that I could stay in my original room. Few things that kept this from being a 5-star experience: - Breakfast is alright, but not great. The buffet-style option at Cona was better than the La Dining set options, in my opinion. - Wi-Fi in my room was pretty weak, so I took a few calls in the lobby seating area in the back. (For some reason, there's no outlets in that area, so be aware of that too!) - Unfortunately, there is no gym in this hotel, but the hotel is pretty close (15min) to Yoyogi Park so you can get some exercise there. All in all, great choice if you're looking for a small and friendly boutique hotel experience in the busy chaos of Tokyo.

- Delicious breakfast, caring service, and good location. Breakfast is pretty delicious. There are some problems with the kettle and the heater at first, but the staff helped us with care (we are really touched). The location is pretty good. 7 minutes then it's Shibuya Station, and 10 to 15 minutes will be the shopping centers. We are really touched by the service and we are really satisfied :) The price is a little high though.

If you are looking for a nice, clean and fairly inexpensive hotel that is a short walk to the Shibuya Station and shopping, then I suggest considering the GranBell. Finding the entrance can a little confusing, but as you come up the street follow the road to the right up the hill. The entrance is located across the street from the hair salon. Make sure to give the door a good push as it is a very heavy. Overall the hotel is very nice, slightly more spaces than APA and other domestic hotel chains. Yes, some things are in need of updating or repairs such as the carpets and walls in some areas but overall it is well maintained for a budget hotel. Having stayed at other GranBell locations, this one is no different in using a modern design with some cues from the 60's. The bathrooms are especially roomy and do not use the drop in plastic/fiberglass units that other chains use. Hallways in some sections can be rather dark since they are painted black or charcoal and have limited lighting. Other sections have bright orange or green trim. The staff are very nice and several at the time of my visit speak English fairly well (in case you do not speak Japanese). If you like pizza and beer, suggest stopping into P which is located next to the front entrance. They serve great thin crust pizzas and have a decent selection of beers on tap.

I'm shocked at the high ratings this hotel has received. It was below average. Proximity to the local train station is great, and definitely a plus.. it's why we booked here to begin with. You can enter in from one of two streets on a slope, which is a little odd for bringing in luggage, but it is what it is.. the main entry door is a huge wood door that pivots from the middle.. it's really pretty actually, but what's odd about it is that you can be trying to push on one end and once it's partially open, if someone starts pulling on the other end, it starts closing your side.. quite odd, and I didn't care for going through this door bc it didn't feel safe, though it was pretty. Once in the lobby it's nothing special, there's no sense of arrival at all.. especially if you come in from the non-main entrance, you're like.. umm where do I go? The people were fine, not particularly nice or helpful, but not rude either, just doing their jobs, nothing more nothing less. The hallways were dark, and the design aesthetic was retro, weird and cheapy. Doors and colors were not all the same. The space photographs much better than it actually is in person. The rooms themselves are very small and cramped.. the designer did a good job of maximizing the space though, to allow for a place to put your suitcase, and still have a desk, bench, etc, but it's very tight. We had a small table and 2 chairs, and a little desk, but you have to rearrange stuff just to try and sit in them bc everything was shoved together to allow you to walk around the bed. No view here, other than into other people's spaces - the exterior wall is fully curtain, but less than half is actually window. The carpet is gross. The wall to the tiny bathroom is glass starting at halfway, and it's yellow.. bright yellow film, which is just awful, with a retro and cheap look. Because of how many buildings around can see directly into your room (and you into theirs), theres a curtain in the bathroom to close the view for when you need to use the restroom. The bathroom is so cramped I guess they felt they needed the glass so the space would feel larger. What is nice, as with all the places we stayed in Japan, is that the bathroom has all the toiletries you'd need, with razor, brush, etc. Breakfast was included.. normally this would be a plus, but the breakfast was awful. It was by far the worst meal we had in Japan, but it was bad even to American standards, like cheap cafeteria food.. you have a couple options, so I guess the continental breakfast would have been the better bet; I believe ours was called La Dining.

A big part of this 5 star rating comes from the fact that we got upgraded to an Executive Suite. Nothing improves your feelings on a place more than getting more for free, and we really lucked out with this. We had booked a deluxe double originally for our last 2 nights in Japan, and we were looking forward to using the room as a base to explore the area, and for me to hit the record shops nearby! We nearly didn't leave the room, as the upgraded room was so big and fancy we nearly didn't leave... The other hotels we stayed in when we were in Japan were fairly business orientated, so this had a very different feel, which starts with the cool door which you use to get into the hotel. It's a massive barn-door affair, which insulates you from the hustle and bustle of Shibuya. The staff at the main door were friendly, and there is a laptop you can use if you need to. There are also details of the methods you can use to get back to the airport if you need it, but the transfer bus doesn't actually leave from the hotel. The room, on the 8th floor, was brilliant. It had an entrance hallway, which had a fridge and Nespresso coffee maker at the entrance, with a corner couch with a TV. The main draw of this was that this area had wall to ceiling windows, that let you look out onto Shibuya, and chill out. If you're out and about for most of the day you're probably not going to use it much, but it's a nice thing to have, and good if you need time to chill out, or need somewhere to store your luggage. The upstairs area was a cracker, with a huge bed (a bit of a luxury compared to other Japanese hotels we stayed in), a continuation of the view, and a nice desk area if you need it. The main draw here was the bathroom, which was massive, with a rainwater shower, and a huge 2 level bath. I couldn't resist filling this up (it takes a while), opening the blinds and watching the world go by. My only complaint would be that the speed of the air conditioner couldn't be adjusted easily, but other than that it was a comfortable room to spend some time in. There were a few ragged edges, but when you have so much space and comfort it's really not an issue. We also had the breakfast in the morning. I opted for the French Toast, which I highly recommend. We also had a couple of drinks in the hotel bar, which was pretty good, and you can get a decent looking pizza there if you're feeling hungry. Overall, there is a lot to recommend here. Obviously my view on this is impacted by the upgrade, but I would still recommend this hotel to anyone. It's in a good area, is comfortable, and who knows, you may win upgrade roulette as well!

This place is about a 7 min walk from Shibuya Station, pretty easy to find with an offline map. This hotel is very clean and modern. Our room was extremely small but hey, it's Japan. Due to space, Our big luggage could not even be laid on the floor let alone have two adults living inside. Let's talk about breakfast. They offered 3 different styles: Japanese, French, and American breakfast each morning but my overall pick was the Japanese. Their mackerel and miso was pure quality. We had an excellent stayed here, staff was friendly, and location was pretty good. Lots of restaurants around but then again, that's the perk of being close to the station. I would stay here again and recommend for anybody that is looking for a decent hotel with quality breakfast. The only downfall to this place is the room, some might feel suffocated.

While the lobby is nice, this place has seen it's share of travelers. The carpet in our room was stained and the hallways were all broken down and chipped. If you're wondering why they painted their hallway walls black, look closely and you'll see that they pretty much used black duck tape to patch their walls. The redeeming factor of the hotel is that it is cheap, located very close to shibuya station, and the ability to store your luggage for free (before check-in and after check-out). Also the bed sheets were clean and the shower worked well. It is what it is, a cheap centrally located place to crash for the night. 3 stars.

I had heard great things about this hotel, but it needs a serious touch up. Everything - especially the rooms - could use fresh paint and a deep clean. The breakfast was incredibly disappointing, and even though it was included in our rate, we only ate there once during our stay. But the location is great, and the staff are very helpful. The adjoining restaurant has great pizzas that are only 500¥ / $5USD.

Splurged on our last night in Tokyo and stayed in the King's Suite. Beautiful, spacious room with a large balcony and views galore. The staff was helpful and spoke fluent english. A pretty short walk over the bridge to the train station.

Coming directly from a tiny room (118sqft) in Shinjuku where my wife and I had stayed for the previous 7 nights, we were looking forward to checking into a larger room (262sqft) at the Shibuya Granbell for the next 5 nights. The front desk staff were extremely helpful and courteous, even offering to upgrade us from our premiere double room to the split-level "Feminine" suite (525sqft) for no apparent reason. Of course, we said yes! The room was gorgeous, with the shower and restroom on the first level, along with a large open living area and small balcony. The spiral staircase led to the 2nd level bedroom and an even larger balcony with a view of Shibuya. Even though the hotel is only a 3-minute walk from the JR line exit of Shibuya station, it is in a fairly quiet area up a very small hill. There is a Family Mart nearby and the location is easily accessible to all JR lines and the Narita Express, making for a convenient base of operations for all your travels. With our busy schedule, we didn't have a chance to eat breakfast at the menu-based restaurant on the 2nd floor, but the small continental breakfast on the 1st floor was adequate to get us through to lunch. Will book again on the next visit to Tokyo.

When I return to Tokyo, I will definitely be returning to the Shibuya Granbell Hotel. I give the hotel top marks for LOCATION (the absolute best in my opinion), service, space and modern design. You have two options for an included breakfast. The Japanese Traditional breakfast at the restaurant on the second floor was delicious. One critique: I wish the hotel had coin laundry units or had a nearby coin laundry. For light packers who are staying for a while, you are pretty much stuck with what you have lest you pay high dry-cleaning prices. This is especially important during monsoon season (when we visited). Despite being in Shibuya and a quick walk to Shibuya Station, the area of the hotel is fairly quiet and quaint with coffee shops and lounge bars at your disposal.

What the Granbell was missing in grandeur, it made up for in character. And truly, the location in Shibuya couldn't be better - tucked down a little side street steps away from Tokyo's most famous street crossing. The only indicator you'll see for the hotel is a massive wooden door that opens into a tiny, smoke-filled lobby. And just like the rest of Tokyo, everything is stacked on top of everything else, including my room which was split over two levels. Every room is decorated differently - mine was urban/industrial with a massive tub and one of the best hotel showers I've ever been in. The wifi was super fast and reliable and the staff was very friendly, although a few things were lost in translation, like the request for a non-smoking room. If you're looking for a boutique, non-big-box hotel in the heart of one of Tokyo's hippest neighborhoods, look no further.

My choice of accommodation whilst in Tokyo. I've stayed at other large chain-type hotels such as Ritz Carlton and Grand Hyatt, but with the high price of hotels in Tokyo, Granbell is very affordable, and accommodations are just as great staying at this boutique hotel. It is a pretty small hotel and rooms can be very small depending on the room you choose. Last time I was here was with my cousin, and it was cheaper for us to get two separate rooms than to get a twin room together. Beds are comfortable, bathrooms clean and nice, and the free breakfast is an added plus. Although during my last stay, the breakfast buffet restaurant was closed so we had to opt for the saku-la restaurant on the second floor, it wasn't bad, but we were pretty much eating the same thing every day. The very close proximity to the JR Shibuya train station is what makes this a great place to stay in Tokyo. From Narita, you (foreign passport holders only) can take the Narita Express (N'EX) train for only Y1500 ($13.75 US) and the trains stops right at Shibuya Station.