Best Value Luxury Hotel: The Peninsula Tokyo

We've been raving about the amazing technology and perfectly-designed rooms at the Peninsula Tokyo for awhile now. Posh hotels abound in Tokyo, but the Peninsula Tokyo stands apart (even in this crowded field in the Japanese capital). This was the first outpost for the Peninsula brand in Tokyo, and the first free-standing hotel to be built here in a decade. The location couldn't be more perfect: across the street from the Imperial Palace and blocks from the Ginza. It's little wonder that this magnificent hotel was recently listed as a "Great Value/Business Hotel" in the Travel + Leisure "It List":

The incredible palace views-- the best of any Tokyo hotel-- won us over, but Peninsula didn't stop there. The rooms are among the city's largest, starting at 544 square feet, and-- appropriately-- its most high-tech. Gizmos range from the convenient (bedside consoles that control drapes, panels that display outside temperature and humidity) to the luxe (Lavazza espresso machines) to the incredibly useful. We never realized how handy a personal nail dryer could be.