November 2026
Bulgari Tokyo vs Aman Tokyo: Which Property Is Better?
The Bulgari is the one I'd book, and it's usually about a third cheaper than the Aman. Its staff are warmer, and I ate better there too. The Aman still has the more beautiful room (that stone bath at the window!) and a lobby I'd go out of my way to walk through.
Better overall hotel: The Bulgari
I went to the Bulgari half expecting to miss the Aman. A lot of the Aman regulars I know have quietly moved over there, and after staying at both, I get it. Aman Tokyo has the loveliest room in the city, no argument, but its rates have roughly doubled in a few years, dinner there was good without being memorable, and the service slipped more often than it should at an Aman. The Bulgari felt like a party we'd been invited to, and it's where I'd spend my money.
Booking a big anniversary, where the room itself is the treat? Then do two nights at the Aman, because nothing at the Bulgari feels as special as one of those suites.
Better rooms: Aman Tokyo
The Aman's room is the one I still picture. Every room there is a suite of at least 71 square metres, calm and very Japanese, and the TV stays hidden in a tabletop so nothing ever gets between you and the view. Our Bulgari room was 56 square metres of Italian furniture, a deep red rug and warm wood, plus a dressing room by the window that I LOVED. It's rich and comfortable… just a level below. The beds go the other way, though. The Aman's is really two singles side by side, and at the Bulgari I slept straight through every night.
Better bathroom: Aman Tokyo
I had a bath at the Aman every single night. The stone furo sits right up against the window, the floor under your feet is heated, and after dark the city lights spread out below you while you soak. The Bulgari's bathroom is gorgeous, all dark stone, and the rain shower hits like a car wash, but for what a night there costs, it's smaller than I expected.
Better service: The Bulgari
The Bulgari's team are quick, and warm in a slightly playful way you don't always get in Tokyo. The doormen and the pool attendants had our names by day two, and on the last morning a bellman walked us across the road and all the way to our platform at Tokyo Station. The Aman's send-off is just as lovely. But at dinner there I was asked for my room number more than once, and with no messaging, everything means picking up the phone.
Better bar: The Bulgari
Sunset at the Bulgari Bar was one of my favourite hours in Tokyo. It's up on the 45th floor with a terrace over the palace gardens, and on a clear evening Mount Fuji turns up on the horizon. Get the gin and Aperol cocktail they first made in Milan, and a pizza, because the pizza up there is properly good. At the Aman I'd skip the bar and have afternoon tea in The Lounge, under that paper ceiling.
Better food: The Bulgari, except breakfast
My best pasta of the year happened in Tokyo, of all places. It was a perfect spaghetti al pomodoro at Niko Romito's Il Ristorante, and that's the dinner I'd book first. At the Aman the food looked beautiful and very little of it stuck with me, apart from Arva's agnolotti (the ricotta bursts out when you bite) and Musashi, the sushi counter, which is worth booking even if you're sleeping at the Bulgari. Breakfast swings back to the Aman for its Japanese set. The Bulgari's is its weak spot, so have it brought up to the room.
Better pool and spa: The Bulgari, for the pool
I swam at 9pm with the Skytree lit up outside and that emerald-mosaic pool all to myself, 40 floors up, and it's the reason I'd go back. You change in your room and ride a private lift down in your robe, which feels very glamorous and very lazy at the same time. The Aman's long black basalt pool is beautiful in its own way, softly lit and rarely busy, and its spa is the better one, the biggest of any hotel in Tokyo, with hot Japanese baths in the changing rooms. For a swim, though, I just kept wandering back down to the Bulgari's.
Better arrival: Aman Tokyo
Standing in the Aman's lobby is like being inside a giant paper lantern, the whole soaring ceiling made of washi, and in the evening someone plays a traditional Japanese instrument as the light goes. The Bulgari's arrival has its own glamour (a private lift up to a huge Bulgari star set into the floor, then check-in on the sofa in your room), but down at street level it's a car entrance you can easily walk straight past.
Better location: The Bulgari
From the Bulgari you can practically see your bullet train. It's directly opposite Tokyo Station, with an underground route so you never cross the street in the rain, and Ginza is about 15 minutes on foot. The Aman is a few minutes' walk from the station in Otemachi, the banking district, and after dark and at weekends the streets around it are empty.
Better value: The Bulgari
Neither one is cheap. At the Bulgari you're paying for the name, and at the Aman for the room. The Bulgari usually comes in about a third under the Aman, though, and you have a lot more fun for less. If they both make you wince, the Four Seasons at Otemachi has the palace view for much less, and I've put it head to head with the Aman in my Aman Tokyo vs Four Seasons Otemachi comparison. The rest of my Tokyo stays are over on my Japan page.