Shibuya Granbell hotel

Shibuya Granbell Hotel is an upper-middle-range business hotel housed in a simple gray-and-black building on a side street near busy Shibuya Crossing. Check-in takes place in a small, low-key lobby with a gray reception desk and a few chairs and potted plants, and there's a small seating area with a couple of wooden tables and a few chairs too. A rack of local guide brochures and a small lending library full of paperbacks adds a homey feel to the room. A pair of elevators lead up to rooms, accessed via dark-gray interior hallways with futuristic colored lighting panels and minimal artwork. The hotel attracts business travelers and couples wanting an affordable place to stay in the bustling neighborhood.

This hotel's location is hard to beat, being only a five-minute walk away from the famous Shibuya Crossing and Shibuya Station, one of Tokyo's busiest public transportation stations. The area is busy, crowded, and vibrant, with lots of restaurants and shops all around. Getting to major tourist attractions from here is also easy. It takes about 10 minutes to reach Tokyo Tower by car or half an hour if you're relying on public transportation, while the famous Senso-ji shrine takes about 25 minutes by taxi or 45 minutes by public transportation. It's around 40 minutes by public transit to reach Ueno Park, where many of the city's top museums are located (such as the Le Corbusier-designed National Museum of Western Art, the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, and the National Museum of Nature and Science). It's about 35 minutes to Haneda Airport using public transportation, or around half an hour by car (depending on traffic), while Narita Airport takes about an hour to an hour-and-a-half by car, or an hour and 20 minutes via public transit. 

Shibuya Granbell offers a range of smoking and non-smoking rooms spread across its main and annex buildings. They range from tiny, 12-square-meter (129-square-foot) Single units to the 62.5-square-meter (673-square-foot) Business Suites. Decor schemes fall into one of two types: Artistic and Comfortable. Artistically styled rooms are simple and modern, with pop art-inspired decor features such as vivid posters, red and green wall-mounted light fixtures, and sleek, modern decor, with lots of straight lines and dark hues. Comfortable units, conversely, feature ample use of dark woods and neutral, earthy tones, with softer furnishings and lots of off-white and brown hues, plus lovely little touches in some of the higher category units such as exposed brick and potted plants. 

All rooms are well equipped with amenities like flat-screen TVs, safes, mini-fridges, electric kettles, pajamas, air purifiers, and free Wi-Fi. Suites add capsule coffeemakers. Sleek and modern bathrooms have bidet toilets, but their layouts vary depending on category, though most come with shower/tub combos. Higher-category suites have both soaking tubs and separate walk-in rainfall showers. They're well-stocked with basic toiletries along with little additions such as razors and dental kits. Rooms with wheelchair-accessible bathrooms are not available. 

There's not much in terms of features offered at Shibuya Granbell Hotel, but there are two dining options options. All-day dining is on offer at Pizza and Wine CONA, which specializes in pizza and other Italian fare. Restaurant Saku-La Dining offers Japanese food for lunch and dinner, with a strong selection of wine and sake as well as two private dining rooms available. Both also offer breakfast, buffet-style at Saku-La Dining, that can be added to rates for an extra fee. Room service is available.

Wi-Fi is free throughout the property and a computer is available for guest use for a small fee. Vending machines stocked with drinks and snacks are also available. Unfortunately, there are no wellness facilities such as a gym or pool.