Opened atop the neo-Renaissance Tokyo Station building in 1915, this 150-room hotel—battered by Allied bombs in the final months of World War II and a hub of Tokyo’s literary scene in the 1960s and ’70s—closed in 2006 for a much-needed makeover. This was carried out in conjunction with the extensive renovation of the station itself, which, among other improvements, has returned the building’s two grand rotunda domes to their prewar glory. The hotel’s rooms, decorated in the classic European mold, feature cut-glass chandeliers and heavy silk drapery alongside big bathrooms outfitted with soaking tubs and high-tech toilets. The staff is gracious and efficient, if not always completely fluent in English, while the well-executed food ranges from fine French in the Blanc Rouge dining room, to casual bites in the Atrium café. Book one of the rotunda rooms for close-up views of the station’s ornate yellow domes and the hubbub on the concourse below, though be forewarned that some noise does leak through.

1-9-1 Marunouchi; 81-3/5220-1111; Tokyo Station Hotel; doubles from US$300

See more from The Luxe List 2013