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Old Nov 15, 2018, 12:08 am
  #3  
livefromtuscany
formerly vienna-resident
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Montepulciano, Tuscany
Posts: 1,057
St. Regis Osaka

St. Regis Osaka (photos below)

We arrived by taking a Taxi from Osaka Namba station to the hotel, merely 5 minutes away. The entrance and concierge/bell desk are on street level, the lobby is located on the 12th floor, rooms on floors 14-30. The lobby was quite busy, with a lot of check-ins happing at the same time. The hotel was at almost 100% occupancy, everybody coming to see the fall foliage in and around Osaka.

The location of the St. Regis could not be better: it’s right along tree-lined (and currently Christmas-lit) Midosuji Avenue, an upscale shopping boulevard. Parallel to that runs Shinsaibashi-suji, a covered pedestrian-only street featuring hundreds of stores, shops and restaurant. The Osaka castle lies to the East, and is reachable on foot in less than 30 minutes. The Hommachi metro station is right underneath the hotel with direct access.

Check-in was smooth nonetheless, we were in the room in no time, and had a welcome tea served by the butler. We stayed in a Skyline Grand Deluxe King room (as booked, no upgrade given), which was perfectly adequate in size, with a nice view over the Osaka city center towards the East.

Opened in 2010, the style of the room is quite classic St. Regis, maybe a bit generic and already a little dated, but the room was in very good condition and well maintained. The air-condition is able to create arctic temperatures, as tested for bhrubin

There are 3 restaurants: an Italian restaurant and a Teppanyaki restaurant on the 12th floor, and a French brasserie on the ground floor. We had our dinners outside the hotel, but did try the St. Regis Bar on the 12th floor, which served excellent cocktails and features a buy-1-get-1-free promo for hotel guests, after which I was drunk enough to eat anything for dinner.

The breakfast location has changed recently: Breakfast is now served in the French brasserie on the ground floor brasserie. The buffet offers all standard Western/Japanese items, but the ambiance is average. The space seems too small for 160 rooms, and it was quite loud and busy during breakfast hours.

Concierge team very good and eager to help with recommendations and directions around the city.

Observations:
  • Laundry prices are about half of what the Amans charge, so best to get some laundry done here.
  • All the public spaces seemed to be designed for a much smaller number of rooms; during the main check-in and check-out hours, the lobby was always far too crowded.
  • The lack of a pool and wellness area is strange for such a new hotel.
  • The butler service is a nice touch, and we appreciated the welcome drink of our choice.
  • For running at 100% occupancy, it’s remarkable how many staff members greeted us by name.









Last edited by livefromtuscany; Nov 20, 2018 at 2:56 am
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