Intercontinental Pier 8 Yokohama Review: A Hotel Where the Room Is The Destination
- Ava Lyn
- 14 hours ago
- 5 min read
InterContinental Yokohama Pier 8
2 Chome-14-1 Shinko,
Naka Ward, Yokohama,
Kanagawa 231-0001, Japan
InterContinental Yokohama Pier 8 is one of those properties where the room and setting does most of the heavy lifting. If that is what you care about, it would feel like money very well spent. If you, however, want a full scale resort with endless facilities, you may find it beautiful but slightly underpowered once you have settled in. From the hotel, you can walk to Red Brick Warehouse, the Cup Noodles Museum and much of Minato.
InterContinental Pier 8 sits on Shinko Pier in Minato Mirai 21, a part of Yokohama that has grown from historic port to polished waterfront playground. The hotel is directly attached to the Yokohama Hammerhead complex and also directly connected to the Shinko Pier Cruise Terminal which makes it very convenient for those who arrive in Yokohama by cruise. Mirai in under 10-15 mins, or hop on a short train or taxi ride to Yokohama Station and further into Tokyo. Haneda is about 16 km away and the hotel highlights its straightforward airport and Shinkansen links which makes this a practical base for first timers and repeat visitors alike.
InterContinental Yokohama Pier 8 is part of IHG's InterContinental portfolio and it bahves a little more like a lifestyle resort than a big business hotel like its peer InterContinental Yokohama Grand just around the corner. With only 173 rooms, it feels intimate by Japanese chain standard and the interiors lean hard into pale woods, soft curves and you are greeted by a sculptural staircase entrance that is very "Edition" like. Some rooms frame the inner garden and other overlook directly over Yokohama Bay Bridge and city facing rooms capture the Minato Mirai skyline. At ground level, you plug straight into Marine and Walk's low rise detail and dining, including a notably upmarket 7/11 stocked with local craft beer, cigars and snacks, so you never feel isolated even though you are slightly removed from the urban blocks of Yokohama city.
For this stay, I booked via Mastercard Travel Concierge with the following perks:
Daily Breakfast for Two
Room Upgrade (If Available)
Early Check In (If Available)
Late Check Out (If Available)
100 USD Hotel Credit
Hotel Specific Amenity
Every room at Pier 8 is generous by local standard and start at 45 sqm. For this stay, I booked via Mastercard Travel Concierge and was upgraded from a 46 sqm Classic King to a 60 sqm Junior Suite, the ultimate sweet spot. We paid ~ 496 SGD and was upgraded to a room valued at ~950 SGD, which is a whopping ~ 450 SGD worth in upgrade. In the junior suite, you get a proper sitting area, more circulation space and crucially, an absolutely gorgeous bathroom with natural light, dual vanities and a spectacular tub complete with Byredo amenities. Storage is ample and beds are comfortably plush and garden facing rooms in particular enjoy low noise levels despite being only steps from the promenade and cruise terminal. The rooms are everything you need for a luxury, quality stay.
Where the property feels lighter is everything outside the room. There is a 24 hr fitness club with big windows looking into the garden but it is very compact with but a few cardio equipment. There is no pool, which may be a noticeable gap for families and travellers used to many of InterContinentals beautifully designed pools around the world. When we visited, the spa was also not available. The only guest-only space is at the rooftop, which is absolutely spectacular and certainly on a good day, would be a beautiful working space.
Breakfast and most of the on site dining funnel through Larboard, the main restaurant and bar facing the bay. The concept is "innovative Yokohama style Western Cuisine" built on Kanagawa sourced ingredients, so even classic dishes come with a local tilt and breakfast runs as a semi buffet style service, where you order off an ala carte menu and help yourself to the salads and pastries.
Options for the a la carte breakfast menu include:
Eggs (Fried, Scrambled, Boiled, Plain Omelette, Cheese Omelette)
Whitebait Omelette
Roasted Norwegian Salmon with Homemade Gribiche Sauce
Wagyu Shabu Shabu Style with Japanese Style Sauce
Grilled Yamayuri Pork from Kanagawa wth Fruit Tomato and Balsamic Vinegar
Overall the breakfast is good rather than memorable. The semi buffet format works well but there is little to make this a reason to book the hotel.
Beyond Larboard, Pier 8 also has a small sushi counter, Sushi Katabami, tucked deeper into the building and a bar within Larboard itself, but that is essentially the full in house F&B lineup. That makes the hotel credit slightly awkward to utilise when it is restricted to certain venues. We were disappointed that Sushi Katabami was not included and for this stay, utilised it at Larboard. The meal is pleasant thanks to the bay views and local sourcing, but the food may not stick in your memory the way the room and setting do. The good news is that the attached Marine & Walk and Hammerhead complexes handles the eating portions very well as does the redbrick warehouse, so there is plenty of options around.
Trade‑offs
The pitch of InterContinental Yokohama Pier 8 is clear. It is a small, design-driven Inter Continental. The upside is substantial if you land an upgrade or a well-structured package. In our case, the move from a 46 sqm Classic King to a 60 sqm Junior Suite with breakfast, late check out and a 100 USD credit turns what is already a premium priced stay in a strong value proposition. The downside is that once you step beyond your room, you will be dealing with a thin facility set for the price: small gym, no pool, possibly a spa, limited dining and a rooftop that, while lovely, is sitting more like ambience than facility or amenity.
Target Audience
This balance makes Pier 8 ideal for couples and design‑minded leisure travellers who want a calm, stylish base within walking distance of Minato Mirai and Red Brick Warehouse and who naturally spend a lot of their downtime in‑room or out around the city rather than cycling through resort activities. It is also a smart pick for cruisers starting or ending a voyage in Yokohama, and for repeat visitors who already know the city and simply want a scenic, low‑stress harbour perch. By contrast, families expecting kids’ facilities and a pool, will be better served at larger Yokohama properties that trade away some intimacy and design flair for more conventional big‑hotel infrastructure
Would We Recommend?
Absolutely Yes. An enthusiastically for travellers who value view‑rich, thoughtfully designed rooms and an easy Minato Mirai location over a long list of bells and whistles. If you go in with your expectations aligned, treating InterContinental Pier 8 as a beautifully designed harbourside "home" with a few bonus spaces rather than a destination resort, you are most likely to leave impressed, especially if you can replicate a similar upgrade or package value.
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