This is a counterpart article to my post on the Villa Fontaine Tokyo Haneda Onsen and Spa. Even though the spa is independently accessible, it is part of the Villa Fontaine Hotel at Haneda Airport. The Hotel side of the business is split into two different parts: the Villa Fontaine Premier and the Villa Fontaine Grande.
The Premier is the higher-end, more “Premium” of the two hotel offerings. While the “Grande” is smaller and has fewer amenities and smaller rooms. The Onsen and Spa are on the top floor and can be accessed independently or if you are a hotel guest.
Both hotels and the spa are part of a more significant development, the Tokyo Haneda “Airport Garden” hybrid shopping concourse.
This is directly connected to Terminal 3, the International Terminal at Tokyo Haneda International Airport.
The complex features many great restaurants and shops within a ten-minute walk from Terminal 3 and is connected to the terminal via an interior walkway. The vast facility is relatively new, having opened in January 2023.
Location and Access
The Hotel Villa Fontaine Premier is about a ten-minute walk from the airport.
Once you arrive there, you have several options. You can take the escalator directly to the Spa or head over to the Villa Fontaine Grand. During my visit, there was a Samurai Armor display, which was also on sale for sale 2m yen/$13,275.
If you carry on and turn the corner, you will then find yourself on course to the Hotel Villa Fontaine Premier.
Hotel Villa Fontaine Premier Booking & Check-In & Check-out
The first thing to note is that the Villa Fontaine Premier is substantially more expensive than the Villa Fontaine Grande. The cost for a room for one night, booked the week of, was 50,000 Yen ($279.88).
Booking was also pretty tricky since I found the English version of the Villa Fontaine website does not work well. In fact, even though I could see prices, I found it impossible to book. No matter what I tried and how many hoops I jumped through, The reservation cannot be moved beyond a certain point, and payment cannot be made on the English version.
In the end, it was much easier to book on the Japanese site, and I booked a Superior Queen Room.
Check-In Process
Unlike the Grande, the Premier Hotel check-in is done at the actual front desk, like a normal hotel would. Overall, I much prefer this experience; it is less chaotic, there is far less traffic, and the human interaction was exquisite and professional.
Check-Out Process
Like check-in at Hotel Villa Fontaine Premier, check-out is done at the front desk. I found the staff to be super helpful. Even after I checked out, I realized I had forgotten something in the room. The team made me a new key on the spot so I could go and retrieve what I had left.
The Hotel Villa Fontaine Premier Style & Character
The Hotel Villa Fontaine Premier is located in a section beyond the Grande and has its check-in area and its own set of elevators and facilities. However, there are some shared facilities between the hotels, like the Gym and access to the Onsen on level 6.
Also, Grande members can use some of the facilities. Such as the Throne Lounge and the Premium Restaurant. Since both are located on the Premier side of the hotel complex.
Although the Villa Fontaine Grande has more of a gold/tan theme, the Villa Fontaine Premier has a silver, black, and yellow theme. This color theme is in all the hotel areas and transfers throughout and into the rooms.
Hotel Villa Fontaine Premier Rooms
Both hotel brands offer a “Superior Queen Room.” However, that said, the Villa Fontaine Premier comes with amenities in the room, whereas the Villa Fontaine Grande does not. Also, the Premier rooms are also substantially larger than those of the Grande.
Superior Queen Room
The room is absolutely stunning, and I like it much more than my room in the Villa Fontaine Grande.
I found the room much more spacious, and the bed was far more comfortable.
The room had leather finishes and great attention to detail.
Also, the Fridge is fully stocked with a selection of Suntory, water, soda, ginger ale, coke, and sake.
This is also one of the significant differences between both hotels.
The room also has Mochi, Green and Black tea, and Keurig coffee pods. These are absent in the Villa Fontaine Grande.
Bathroom
I found the bathroom to be huge compared to the Grande, and it comes with a sink, walk-in shower, and bathtub.
This is the second most significant plus factor for the Hotel Villa Fontaine Premier, as between the larger room plus bed and bathroom, this is a better offering for those who like pampering.
The room also comes with some great amenities, which are much better than the Grande. When staying in the Grande, you must pick up amenities from the lobby at check-in.
The following amenities come in the Premier room:
- Toothbrush and toothpaste
- Hairbrush
- Ladies set
- Shower cap
- Body towel
- Ear beds
- Minuca skincare set
- Mouthwash
- Hair dryer
Hotel Villa Fontaine Premier Amenities
The Hotel Villa Fontaine Premier is bursting with amenities besides the stunning rooms. These include a drinks lounge and two different restaurants.
The Throne Lounge
I visited the Throne Bar & Lounge during both of my visits to the Grande, even though it is actually on the Hotel Villa Fontaine Premier side. I also visited this on my visit to the Villa Fontaine Premier, though only during the daytime.
The lounge is accessible to guests of either hotel and to members of the public not staying here. The beautiful lounge has some stunning views west of the water and industrial areas of Yokohama.
The views were excellent, and I especially enjoyed this in the morning light, seeing the snowcapped and cloud-surrounded Mount Fuji in the distance in the daytime.
The lounge has an excellent and massive selection of Japanese whiskies. Some of these are quite rare and interesting selections, such as Ichiros MWR Chichibu from Saitama, which I’ll review someday.
Restaurant “Il Ristorante Tokyo”
The Hotel Villa Fontaine Premier has a separate restaurant next to The Throne Lounge. The eatery is called “Il Ristorante Tokyo”. When open, it has its own check-in desk at the front of the restaurant for reservations.
The restaurant has paired-facing seats and four-person seats. This is on the same side of the building as the Throne Lounge and thus has similar amazing views.
Overall, it felt like a very classy and intimate dining experience. However, I did not get to try it this time around. On a future visit, I’ll update my experience once I try this restaurant.
Hotel Villa Fontaine Premier Gym
On the 6th floor, you can find Two different gyms are located across from one another. Both gyms are in triangular-shaped rooms.
One contains treadmills, ellipticals, bikes, a yoga mat, and a grass workout area.
The other contains some weight machines. However, there are no heavy free weights available (the heaviest was 5 lbs), so I found the gym to be lacking what I needed for my workouts.
The gym is also stocked with towels and water bottles, which is excellent. I only got to use the gym one morning at the hotel.
Hotel Villa Fontaine Premier Onsen
The Villa Fontaine Onsen Spa can be accessed from either hotel from the sixth-floor connecting hallway using the dedicated elevator bank.
The rooftop Onsen Spa & Hot Springs bath is one of the main features of these hotels and is a prime attraction with both interior and outdoor open-air natural hot springs baths, some with reasonable views of the runways and planes landing at the airport.
The spa is open from 1 PM through 10 AM the next morning every single day. Yes, you read that correctly; it’s open overnight! I’ve now visited this spa on a total of four different trips. By far, my favorite time is going early in the morning, between 3:30 am and 6 am, ideally timed with the sunrise! In the winter, when the air is clear, you can clearly see Mount Fuji and beyond Yokohama. The Onsen primarily looks out onto the industrial area to the west, which is a fascinating and very “Japan” view.
Inside, you’ll find a suite of spa facilities, including individual cleaning stations, massage baths, a cold bath, two hot indoor mineral baths, and three outdoor mineral baths at different temperatures. There’s also a fantastic sauna that was filled with some lavender herbs and was very refreshing to breathe and experience.
Final Thoughts
I love this hotel and stay at it frequently, and more often than not, it ends up a part of my travel itinerary on visits to Tokyo, Japan. It is the perfect spot before and after long flights from North America and across the world. If I had to nail down a timeframe, I would say it is ideal for early-morning flights or mid-afternoon arrivals.
I really like the Premier Rooms, which are exquisitely elegant and detailed and have tons of amenities and perks included. Not to mention, I appreciate the free access to the Onsen and Spa. I also found the bathrooms are significantly better than those of the Grande, and the bed is larger, and the bedding is more comfortable.
Budgeting allowing, I would always choose the Premier over the Grande. Since While I have some complaints about the Grande, I have none about the Hotel Villa Fontaine Premier.
The icing on the cake is the Haneda Airport Garden shopping concourse also has fantastic restaurants and shops with all kinds of cool goods available for purchase. Will I be here again? Definitely!
Pros
- Easy check-in and check-out process with the front desk.
- Beautiful rooms that were immaculately clean.
- I love the color schemes inside these rooms and the luxurious finishes.
- Extremely comfortable bed and sleeping setup.
- Massive bathrooms are well stocked with amenities and features.
- I liked the walk-in shower as well as the large tub for baths.
- Extremely comfortable beds and sleeping arrangements.
- Wi-Fi was stable and great for working.
- Access to the Tokyo Haneda Spa and Onsen is included.
- The Hotel Restaurant was excellent, with delicious offerings.
- I also loved The Throne Lounge and Bar, trying some whiskies here.
Cons
- This hotel is substantially more expensive than the Villa Fontaine Grande.
- The hotel’s English reservation website wasn’t working during my bookings in early 2023.
Verdict: 10/10
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