Hotel Sardonyx Ueno

I stayed for 5 nights in this hotel! The hotel provides the essential amenities in the room already but there's also some free amenities in the lobby such as bath salts, hair ties, plastic cutlery etc which we can take 2 per day. There are also rental umbrellas by the entrance. The room is small & narrow but it is typical for Tokyo. I decided to upgrade my room to have the sofa since it was really cheap. Definitely the better option if there's 2 people staying in the room. I shared the bed with my mum, and thanks to the sofa & small table we could still eat better than if I didn't upgrade the room. There wasn't much of a view but saw the back of a Don quijote with the little mascot penguins on the building. Despite how close the hotel/room was situated to trains/traffic, the windows were pretty well sound proof. I rarely heard other guests/cleaners in other rooms either. On days where you don't want service, they hang a bag full of amenities for you (new towels, bathmats, dental kits etc) on your door. The location was pretty good, close walk to ameyoko street, other shops, cafes, and convenience stores. Its about 5-7 minute walk to Keisei Ueno/ Ueno station, but if you're taking JR line somewhere, okachimachi station is closer (about 3min walk)! Hotel itself is very easy to find & to travel to. My booking had breakfast included and you get given dated coupons to redeem at the restaurant in the lobby (Italian Tomato Café Jr.) and you can choose 1 meal from the menu daily, which includes small bowl of soup & a drink that you can refill. The meals were small but sufficient but the restaurant itself is very cramped & gets very crowded in the mornings. From memory the cafe is open from 6:30-9:30am but you can also get takeaway to your room, which i found to be the more relaxing option.

The bed & pillows were very firm so I had to ask for a different pillows as I had woken up with a stiff/sore neck. Was provided with a foam pillow which helped!

Adorable compact hotel (like many in Japan) that had all I needed. So this room was small but so well utilized regarding space. It was perfect for my 2 nights alone in budget accommodation in wonderful Ueno Tokyo. It was close to convenience stores and everything. There is a Narita airport train that takes you right to the area the Keisei Skyliner which is just as fast as the Narita Express but cheaper and stops at Ueno at the end of the line. So overall an excellent choice of hotel for the price.

Everything was perfect for the price.

The room and location were fantastic, perfect after flying from the UK. The A/C is powerful yet quiet and the en suite bathroom is spacious enough. Plenty of fantastic restaurants nearby and an easy point of access to get anywhere in the city.

The breakfast was a little underwhelming. We were offered a choice of three small hotcakes, a single hotdog or one thick slice of toast (no condiments), all with a small pot of consomme soup. I definitely had to supplement this with a trip to the local conbini before I felt I had had a full breakfast, something a bit disappointing when booking with breakfast included.

location is super great

the aircon can’t adjust by temperature, it’s too warm in the room when turn on at the lowest one so I have to turn off it and open the window

This hotel was a fantastic base for our 5 nights in Tokyo. It’s a 3 minute walk to Ueno station and the streets behind the hotel are lively with fantastic food and shopping. The room was immaculate - so clean and had everything we needed. It was small but that was expected given hotel rooms in Tokyo are generally tiny. We loved our stay here and would recommend to anyone travelling to Tokyo. Thank you!

Breakfast wasn’t great (just white toast, pancake or hotdog) but plenty of other cheap options nearby

Location is excellent and it was great value for travel around New Year.

Like many hotels in Japan, rooms advertised as non smoking have clear evidence of prior smokers (eg lingering stale smoke smell in air/on curtains). Hard to say if this is because of booking policy or previous guests ignoring the rules. Room spray and functional windows help significantly. Also be prepared for peak checkout times - elevators often full.

Location is in between short walking distance of 5mins of two train stations. Also located just off the izakaya streets with many food options including 24hr convenience store. Helpful front desk who also helped us with luggage delivery services even it’s late into the night.

The room & toilet is tight on spaces (expected for Tokyo hotels). Not for those who need space. If you have large luggage, then it will be take some creative way to open up or pack the luggage. But if you are ok with this, the hotel is value for money.

Check in is at 3pm, I arrived early and they were happy to hold my bag until I returned. I got back around 4pm and they had already taken my bag to my room! Otherwise, room is clean and area is quiet in spite of being near a busy area. Really close to Ueno station and LOTS of food options around. I had breakfast included - its well... simple. You choose from a set menu like toast + small soup, or hotdog bun etc. Not your traditional breakfast.

Room size is your typical Tokyo size - extra small. Can't open my luggage on the floor, had to be done on the bed. This room was meant for 2, but my partner had to leave Japan a day earlier. I cannot imagine us both squeezing into this tiny room. The bed size was for 1. Skip the breakfast option if you can, rather eat at the family mart for much better value. If you do get breakfast - Get early as the best options will run out.

The hotel was conveniently located between a few different train stations, it was 4 mins from Okachimachi station where you could take a train 40 mins into the city center, and Ueno station which has a direct line to Narita airport. There are many good restaurants and shops located near the hotel. The hotel room itself was small which is to be expected in Japan. There was a full size bed, a small desk with a small chair, a large TV and a large window. The bathroom was very roomy for Japan, there was a large tub/shower and the toilet was nice!

I accidentally booked my stay in a smoking room, which was my own fault. The room did smell quite strong but the facility provided room spray, and an air purifier. The air conditioning did not help but if you left the window open it was okay. Another minor flaw was the breakfast service, the portions were quite small but they had a juice and coffee bar.

The location is very strategic, a 3 min walking distance to the train station, near to the shopping street and ueno park. We reached the hotel at 12.30pm, and the receptionist informed us that the room was ready to check in earlier. This definitely was an addition bonus to us. They also prepared 2 welcome gifts for kids, they love it so much. The room size was decent, we could open 2 big luggage at the same time and the service provided was excellent too. Definitely will book it again.