I know the reviews on this hotel are rather mixed but I had no issues with the hotel. City hotels are only somewhere to sleep, so for me it was more important to have a good location than a really luxurious hotel. My review may be influenced by jetlag but either way, I had a pleasant stay.
Location
A small, 3 star business hotel located in the Umeda area of Osaka, within walking distance of Osaka train station and several metro stations. It took me less than 10 minutes to walk from the train station with my suitcase and the hotel was really easy to find. Opposite the hotel is the Herbis Plaza, a huge shopping centre with everything from high end fashion to cheap eats. Nishi-Umeda metro station (西梅田駅) is also located under this shopping centre and can take you all around the city.
The Room
Japanese hotel rooms, are small even for dinosaurs, but it is only a place to sleep. I stayed in a single room and had more than enough room to keep my things, my photographer and myself. The seventh floor was really quiet, even though I looked out onto a busy road.
The hotel room had a fridge, kettle and cups for in room snacks and drinks. I also had a windowsill big enough to use as a table (but my photographer was too big). The view from the window was incredible and I really enjoyed lying in bed watching the city lights twinkling.
The bed was a double but one side was against the wall, which may cause issues if two humans were sharing. But I found it to be comfortable and big enough for my solo stay. However, my one moan is about the pillows, which are a real big change from the ones I am used to in Europe. My neck found it hard to adapt to the lumpy, hard pillows which felt like they were filled with frozen peas, maybe I was just unlucky but I didn’t enjoy the experience at all.
There was absolutely no room for a suitcase and only enough hangers to put out clothing for one day. Though I won’t moan about this because the hotel is aimed at business travellers who usually only stay for one night. Being a solo traveller, I was able to put my suitcase on one half of the bed and not have an issue with this.
The Bathroom
The bathroom was compact but had everything I required for my stay. Japanese toilets are something which amuses me greatly, mainly because of the strange English translations, I won’t mention too much because it is something you need to experience for yourself. My favourite surprise was finding a dinosaur sized bathtub, where in European hotels you usually only have a shower. I’m calling it dinosaur sized because a human would have to kneel or sit curled up in the tub, you also need bath floaties because the water gets pretty deep. I’m always happy to have a bath after a long day of walking and exploring.
Dining
A certain photographer may have slept through breakfast (I wonder who that is …) but that did not stop me from going in search of food. The Garden Café is located on the ground floor near the reception and had a really great selection of breakfast items, including pastries and cooked food.
A vending machine was next to the lift on the floor of my hotel room so I didn’t have to go far for a drink if I didn’t want too. A Starbucks, 7eleven and several restaurants (one of which is vegan friendly) are all within a short walking distance of the hotel.
Facilities
The hotel room was stocked with everything from shampoo to pyjamas, so if you wish to travel light you can do this easily. For a three star hotel I felt they really went above and beyond to help with any requests. I had a message left at reception about a meeting, after phoning the reception to find out the details, they translated my message into English and personally brought the written information to my room.
I had no need to unpack anything except my toothbrush and a change of clothes because toiletries, pyjamas and everything I needed for a comfortable stay. The Wi-Fi was really fast and easy to access within all areas of the hotel.
Finally, I was able to post my suitcase to Hiroshima (yes you readd that right) with the help of the reception staff who had a really good understanding of Japanese and English. For those of you wondering, my suitcase arrived safely to my next hotel before I did. I’d be very dubious about this in many countries but I felt really safe doing this in Japan.
The hotel has a special lift for those with walking difficulties or wheelchairs but the hotel rooms are rather small so I think it would be difficult to manoeuvre around the rooms with walking aides. That being said, the area around the hotel is really flat and there are ramps up and down the kerbs making it a really great area for anyone with a wheelchair or walking aide.
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