Zolor23

Loyalty Lobby posted pics of the building a week ago - https://www.instagram.com/loyaltylob...O/?img_index=5

I've been tracking booking availability, but still nothing. For now, I booked into the Hyatt Place Kyoto since it's gone to cat 2 and will switch over if/when this opens up.

lunareze

As of 4/1/2024.

Cat 1 with 3500 points off-peak availability in the summer.

angellt

It is now bookable online

brabb12

Already booked 2 nights for my wife and kid

Alinsfca

So sad, I will be in Osaka the week before it started accept booking I hope they will open early.

kaiotes

hmm available only through March. They didn't load April 2025 calendar

nas6034

Knowing nothing about Osaka in terms of location how does this hotel fare?

TravisMT81

Decent location near transit and 10 minute walk to Dotonbori and maybe 5 minute walk to “namba parks”. (Large shopping area)

brabb12

its too early still probably.

Jennatraveller

Kicking myself for not checking until today for availability in December.
Trying to book mid December (Dec 12-16) but doesn't seem to be any availability for standard room on points?
on Dec 13 it's even sold out completely.
The cash rate seems to be really high too for next cat room.

Anyone know if there's something in Osaka going on those dates? or Did people just swooped up all available standard room?

Trying to figure out how likely it will open back up for points booking.
Thanks in advance!

manc

booked for 3 nights on points in November — will report back. eager to read any review in the meantime.

Mark McCracken

Point availability lasted about 48 hours. The price also increased from a minimum of 15,300 to 17,700. Osaka has a strong local Hyatt following, and a bit of a Hyatt community, but no hotel. The Osaka Hyatt died June 30 of last year, but everyone knew that Caption was coming, so I think a lot of people waited, then took their remaining points and booked a ton of nights at Caption to re-qualify.

I hope I am wrong, but I suspect people who pay cash will be disappointed. The neighborhood is surrounded by similar sized hotel rooms for less than 10,000 per night. The five-minute outdoor walk from the train station, lugging your belongings would be unpleasant in the rain or the summer heat. Management could exceed expectations with great amenities or welcome presents or outstanding hospitality, but since it will be managed not by Hyatt managers, but by outside franchise managers, I am not expecting that to happen.

Hyatt Place Kyoto has slow wifi, and also has franchise management, but it has a great breakfast for Globalists, and it sits directly above a subway station. You can walk to the stair entrance without setting foot on the sidewalk. If the price of Caption Namba and Hyatt Place Kyoto continue to overlap, or if Caption Namba matches Hyatt Place Kyoto and goes to Category 2, then I think most people would prefer Hyatt Place Kyoto.

jpdx

Osaka is awash in decent and reasonably priced international chain options, so I'm scratching my head why any international visitor would choose the Caption --which I understand to be a Moxy-like product-- for 17,000 yen. I was just at the IC for 36k IHG points a night (which can be purchased for $180) durink peak Sakura season (with breakfast and club access as Diamond-LP), stayed at the Rihga for 7,800 yen last fall (also with breakfast and lounge), and just booked the Crowne Plaza for the last weekend of March 2025 for 15.75k IHG points ($80) a night, you guessed it, also with breakfast and lounge access. With Bonvoy, even though the happy days of BRGing the St Regis for 15,000 yen are long gone, one can still BRG the Sheraton for ~12,000 yen, which despite its shortcomings would likely still be superior to the Caption.

I spent a fair number of nights at HR Osaka pre-Covid, and --like many-- had a love-hate relationship with it. The location was just so dreadful, but the lounge was rather pleasant, upgrades generous, and despite the desloate appearance of the ATC and surrounding blocks of lower-middle class housing, watching the ferry Sunflower sail into the sunset could be beautiful on a pleasant fall day. What are the redeeming features of the Caption? The location is of course superior to that of the former HR, and I assume Globalists will receive breakfast (which may or may not be something to write home about). Will you be stuck in your 20sqm base room, or will the property upgrade to 30sqm Deluxe rooms? I will admit that I was pleasantly surprised by a few of the newly added me-and-all properties in Germany, which are also Moxy-like, so I'll likely spend one night at Caption Osaka simply to get to know the brand. But generally, I do anything I can to stay out of those 20sqm (or smaller) rooms in Japan, and unlike many off-the-beaten-path locations where there's no choice, nobody has to make such sacrifices in Osaka.

demue

jpdx -agree with your thoughts, the Caption wouldn't be high on my list in Osaka either unless someone is Hyatt super points rich and can live with a potentially quite small room.

BTW, that's a killer redemption rate at the IC Osaka, haven't seen it that low in ages (points wise).