Hugh H.
Yelp
Hotel Sunroute Plaza is the place to stay in Shinjuku or in Tokyo for that matter. It's centrally located to everything you would need! Let's dive into the details!
ROOM - 4 Stars: Hotel Sunroute Plaza is newly renovated, modern, priced reasonably, and most of all clean! When I was searching for a hotel, my main concerns were how modern it as I didn't want anything old, how clean it was for obvious reasons, and a prime location with easy access to everything.
I have to note that by American standards the rooms are indeed small. By default, most things in Japan are small, but this shouldn't be a surprise considering space is a premium. Besides, you want to spend your time exploring Tokyo... not staying in the room all day! ;)
There is free wifi available in the lobby and in the room. The room was fully equipped with a beautiful TV that played plenty of Japanese channels and had a light sprinkling of Chinese, American, and other foreign channels. There was air conditioning and heating available at your fingertips. The bathroom had everything that you needed including soap and shampoo. I want to point out that there wasn't a safe available though. Not a big deal, but something worth noting for some folks. We had a double bed and it had decent level of comfort. The pillows were kinda eh... but other than that, it was a pretty good room.
SERVICE - 10 Stars: The staff is fluent in English and Japanese. They did a great job of answering all of our questions. We asked everything from where can we buy chocolate, candy, mochi, etc. We also had to take an unexpected trip to the doctor and the staff was extremely helpful not only with providing directions, but also calling the doctor's office and translating for us. This was a HUGE help since unexpected medical issues can be a pain (no pun intended). We even asked about cough medicine since we can't read the names at the drug store and they simply gave some to us. To top it off, after asking about where to buy chocolate, mochi, and whatnot, the staff member at the front desk who assisted me even followed up to see if I was able to find what I needed! They seriously went above and beyond with all the help they provided! They did an amazing job at making our trip as great as it could be just based on their high level of service.
Also, if you need to reserve a shuttle bus to Narita or Haneda Airport, the staff will help you make the reservation or assist you with alternative methods such as directions using the train system and where to go to reserve seats for the Narita Express.
LOCATION - 5 Stars: This hotel is completely in the center of everything in Shinjuku. It's perfectly located near EVERYTHING. There's a McDonald's, First Kitchen, Yoshinoya, plenty of convenience stores like 7-11, drug stores, electronic shops, places to play games, pachinko parlors, etc., which are all nearby. Of course, you can find all kinds of Japanese food you can imagine ranging from ramen to udon to katsu to sushi to pastries. All of this is within a few minutes walking distance from the hotel. The hotel has maps for food and stores in the local area as well.
The JR Shinjuku Station is only a few minutes away and you can get to anywhere you need to go! The station is massive since it also has several department stores such as Lumine Est, Lumine 1, Lumine 2, Odakyu Ace, Odakyu Mylord, Odakyu department store, Keio mall, and Keio department store. There are many places to eat in the station as well as in each of the department stores. There is not only Japanese food, but different types of food from around the world. There's American, Hawaiian, French, Italian, Korean, Chinese, etc. The list goes on. I will be happy to report that there's also a Dean and Deluca as well as a Laduree in Lumine! There are other places to eat and shop throughout the station. Just walk around and you'll find something to eat with no problem.
The best way to get to the hotel is to use the Toei Oedo Line at Shinjuku Station. Just use Exit A1 and the hotel will be on your left... literally just a few steps away.
I made the mistake of not looking at this detail and I ended up going to the main Shinjuku Station using a different subway line since I figured we could just use tunnels to find the correct exit. However, The Toei Oedo line has a Shinjuku Station, but it's not connected in any way to the main part of the Shinjuku Station. So, be mindful of this to avoid having a longer walk than what would actually be needed and would probably be more difficult if you're dragging luggage with you.
RECOMMENDATION: This place is AWESOME! I'm so glad I decided to book this hotel for my group. It's location was perfect and the service was off the charts. The room relative to the price I paid was definitely on par. I highly, highly, highly recommend this hotel to anyone staying in Tokyo. You will not regret it!