The four stars are for (a) the location, and (b) the front desk and managerial staff. I was waffling on giving it just three stars otherwise--it's just a standard large corporate hotel and those are generally, as this one was, nearly identical and pretty much just serviceable. I was attending a conference at a university in the area and thought about staying elsewhere; Ikebukuro is not exactly top on the Tokyo travel guide list of places to go, and some of my other activities were in Ginza which was on the opposite end of town. But I have to say I am a convert. Ikebukuro has a lively college-town kind of feel to it with all the students around (but not teen madness like Harajuku or Shibuya), plenty of places to eat at all hours because of that population, and had identical (but sometimes cheaper) stores as the rest of Tokyo.
The hotel's location is perfect, just off the south end of the metro/train station which gives you several useful lines (Yamanote, Maronouchi, and Yurakucho) and easy travel to the rest of Tokyo. You can nearly make it from the station to the hotel without going outside, which could be a detraction (who wants to stay so close to the station normally?) but in this case is fine--the hotel is separate from and in the most quiet and bourgeois part of the area near the station.
For a small fortune, we had a couple of drinks at the bar on the 25th floor and the view is fantastic. We also sucked up the ridiculous expense of the breakfast buffet one morning out of convenience--if you like Japanese food, though, pick the Japanese buffet--it was high-quality, with the usual congee, miso, pickles, rice, etc., but also a good choice of fish (smoked and raw), salads (the burdock and sesame was great), and even some Western food. But in general you don't need to eat and drink in the hotel because the area all around you is loaded with great choices (I especially liked Anpuku and Ashinoya, and there's a coffee shop on every block as usual).
The room was fine--we had a pretty good but not great view on the 14th floor--try to get higher than that if you can (I'm guessing around 18 you're not facing a building--we faced the police station and another building that were nearly the same height). It wasn't particularly noisy, although we could hear people in the hallway clearly, but this being Japan most politely moved into their rooms fairly quickly. There was the slightest hint of cigarette smell now and then (I purposefully reserved a non-smoking room), but I have stayed in "non-smoking" rooms in Japan that were terrible--this one was fine. The room was normal-to-large by Tokyo standards (meaning some crazy people who never travel will find it very small, but there was a sitting area and a closet). The biggest down side was the bed--it was rock-hard, really the worst I've experienced at this price and quality of hotel. We were staying for 5 nights, though--it'd probably be fine for one or two.
Everyone else is raving about the airport bus convenience--yes, it is the most convenient and worth it if you arrive early or late. But if you are saving money, the Yamanote line connects directly to the lines that serve the airports, and the Yamanote line is 2 minutes from the hotel, so that's pretty easy too. A little tip if you're really cheap: rather than take the Tokyo monorail if you're headed to Haneda, take the Keihin line from Shinagawa station. It was nearly half the price of the monorail (which is nearly half the price of the limo bus). But it's a local commuter train (we were the only gaijin on it), so if that's not your style, do the limo.
