Travel: Tokyo's 125-year-old Imperial Hotel steeped in omotenashi

The hotel is marking its 125th year of uninterrupted business - it did so on Tuesday, to be precise - with the extensive renovation of all 361 rooms in its 31-storey Imperial Tower. The first incarnation of the hotel was replaced in 1923 with a masterpiece designed by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Incorporating designs from the Mayans and the Hopi Indians of the Americas, the building was detailed, bizarre, dramatic and ahead of its time. Unfortunately, the " oya" stone that Lloyd Wright insisted on using proved less durable than anticipated and the building had to be replaced again in 1970, although sections have been preserved (business continued during both renovations as the hotel has annexes that were put to use). The present hotel is a slightly monolithic structure, but it's what is on the inside that counts: close to 900 rooms, 17 restaurants and bars, state-of-the-art fitness centre, pool, sauna as well as banquet and business centre facilities.

You're missing the point. There are plenty of "nice hotels" in Tokyo, but none of them have the blend of style, heritage and omotenashi - the Japanese term that translates as "to entertain guests wholeheartedly" - that oozes from the Imperial's every nook and cranny. It's the details that set the excellent apart from the rest. The single fresh rose in every elevator; the hand-written message in each guest's room; a dedicated smoking room; a stunning flower arrangement in the lobby (below) that reflects the golds, reds and russets of the season. It's a place fit for a king. Or an emperor.

More presidents, performers and princesses than you can point a camera at. Elizabeth Taylor, Charlie Chaplin, Bob Hope, Helen Keller, Queen Elizabeth and Babe Ruth have all been guests. The shoe shiner in the lobby has buffed the shoes of Lee Kuan Yew and the cowboy boots of John Wayne.

Allegedly so, and he would have approved of the Old Imperial Bar. It's all dark wood and leather, immaculately attired barmen and more reminders of Lloyd Wright, from the hexagon-backed chairs at the bar to the mural that was saved from the 1923 building. It is also the home of the Mount Fuji, the hotel's signature cocktail, which was first poured in 1923 and is a combination of gin, pineapple, lemon and egg white, served with a glacé cherry.