Detailed review of my stay in August 2025
What is your IHG One Rewards status?
Diamond Inner Circle Royal Ambassador
Were you (or for multi-stayers are you generally) happy with the hotel/stay
Surprisingly yes.
Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
Booked cheapest rate and got 1 Double Standard
on last floor.
How are the rooms?
Around 12 sqm large.
Bedroom with bed.
Very comfortable bed.
Desk.
Mini fridge.
Tiny bathroom with bathroom/shower combo.
Skin + Soda toiletries.
Washlets
There is no wardrobe as such, only three hangers fixed to the wall beside the bed.
The bed itself is raised, allowing space underneath for a suitcase.
Sleepers.
Flat screen television set with no international channels.
No Chromecast.
Kettle can be provided.
USB power socket next to the bed and desk.
Very quiet.
View over the next buildings.
No Free PressReader
How is the exec. lounge?
N/A
What was good and what was bad?
GOOD
- Very smiling staff
- Pretty good breakfast bento (2 choices). The dining area offers free coffee and water all day. Microwave.
- Docomo bike station just next the hotel.
- As is always the case in Japan, there are convenience stores right next door — a 7-Eleven, a FamilyMart, and an Aeon.
- For those unwilling to walk the two minutes to the nearest konbini, the hotel also has a small shop with a few drinks, some snacks, and a handful of ready-made dishes.
BAD
- Nothing considering the price, even if Chromecast would have been more than welcomed.
Value for $ or IHG One Rewards Club? Would you return?
I decided to extend my stay from 4 to 6 nights in Osaka, a city I truly enjoy, and took the opportunity to try this property for one night, simply to see what it was like.
It is closer to a capsule hotel than to a conventional hotel. To give an idea of scale: the entire room is smaller than the bathroom of the junior suite I had at the InterContinental.
And yet, I found myself liking it a great deal.
The room is tiny, of course, but very well designed.
The top-floor rooms in particular are flooded with light, which makes them feel far less confined than they are.
Storage is cleverly arranged — there is space for suitcases under the bed, a mini-fridge, even a dehumidifier.
The bathroom is equally compact but again efficiently laid out, with a surprisingly large Japanese-style bathtub.
Service was another pleasant surprise. The two staff members at reception were genuinely kind and attentive.
In the US, I would probably never have considered a hotel like this, fearing a noisy or unruly clientele. In Osaka, however, that concern doesn’t arise: the atmosphere was perfectly calm, and the surrounding neighbourhood is pleasant in its own right, complementing nicely the area around the InterContinental.
For travellers looking for an economical option, or for those curious to experience a capsule-style hotel for a night, I would say this was a rather enjoyable stay.
The modest price made it even more so.
