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-   -   Ritz Carlton Osaka or Conrad Osaka (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/luxury-hotels-travel/1961891-ritz-carlton-osaka-conrad-osaka.html)

TravelLawyer Mar 21, 2019 10:16 am

Ritz Carlton Osaka or Conrad Osaka
 
I know I could not be asking about more distinctly different properties, but the Ritz Carlton Osaka and Conrad Osaka are coming out at about the same price in December, so I wanted to see if anyone has been to both and can make a recommendation. While amenities are important, we primarily focus on service, food, and pool. While the Ritz is older, we know they have excellent service and a solid "Ritz Kids" program at their hotels. The Conrad has newer and more spacious rooms plus we would have lounge access as Diamonds. (We are booking through Virtuoso so status doesn't matter that much at either property though). I don't know anything about location - is one better than the other? We would be taking a day trip to Kyoto and other touristy areas in Osaka in December which will be cold (prefer to be as sheltered as possible during commutes).

We typically stay at the InterContinental Osaka in the past, but the rates are not competitive for the dates we are looking at. It would be substantially more than the Ritz or Conrad for our stay, and it just doesn't make economic sense to book it given the other great options.

Aventine Mar 23, 2019 12:49 am


Originally Posted by AtomicLush (Post 30913347)
I know I could not be asking about more distinctly different properties, but the Ritz Carlton Osaka and Conrad Osaka are coming out at about the same price in December, so I wanted to see if anyone has been to both and can make a recommendation. While amenities are important, we primarily focus on service, food, and pool. While the Ritz is older, we know they have excellent service and a solid "Ritz Kids" program at their hotels. The Conrad has newer and more spacious rooms plus we would have lounge access as Diamonds. (We are booking through Virtuoso so status doesn't matter that much at either property though). I don't know anything about location - is one better than the other? We would be taking a day trip to Kyoto and other touristy areas in Osaka in December which will be cold (prefer to be as sheltered as possible during commutes).

We typically stay at the InterContinental Osaka in the past, but the rates are not competitive for the dates we are looking at. It would be substantially more than the Ritz or Conrad for our stay, and it just doesn't make economic sense to book it given the other great options.

Ritz because it's closer to Osaka and Umeda stations. Maybe underground entrance and passages too.

bhrubin Mar 23, 2019 11:27 am

It depends on what your priorities are. I will assume the St Regis is more expensive since it’s not mentioned, and it is unquestionably the choice I’d recommend above all others.

The Conrad is by far the best hard product—it isn’t even close. It’s spectacular. The lobby view makes the Aman Tokyo even looks a bit mundane, it’s that impressive. The rooms and suites are also spacious and modern, impressively laid out and with nice viewsl, and with a dark sleek sensibility if that appeals. Very sexy. The Conrad also has some nice food outlets. But we were a bit underwhelmed with our lunch service. Service otherwise was friendly and helpful.

If you’re used to the IC, I think you’ll enjoy the Conrad. We liked the Conrad more than the IC, and they both share the newer more modern sensibility. Service to us was comparable for our non-stay F&B visits and when they showed us around. The IC is closer to the train station, but I honestly can’t understand how a 5-10 min taxi ride makes someone choose one hotel over another unless all other items are equivalent. We preferred the room and suite looks at the Conrad a bit more than at the IC, but that can go either way depending on your tastes, of course.

The Ritz hard product is dated and feels overly grandiose and pretentious to us. Low ceilings, unimpressive and very dated furnishings and worn carpets, combined to make us strongly dislike the property. Service was extremely formal, something you may appreciate or you may dislike. But the St Regis service didn’t feel nearly as stiff as here. The lobby was also a ZOO, and we detest that. It’s close to the train station...but wow we did not like it. The final straw for us was the sheer quantity of blue hair. It reminded us a bit of why we also so disliked the Four Seasons George V in Paris.

We walked from the StR to the Conrad (about halfway between the two) and to the RC and then over to the IC...and then taxi’d back to the StR. We’d take the StR again in a second...but the Conrad would be our second choice.

TravelLawyer Apr 2, 2019 9:16 am

Thanks @Aventine and @bhrubin for your comments. We will definitely take these points into consideration.
@bhrubin - yes, you are correct. The St. Regis is 50% more for the same nights we are considering, so unless it comes down a bit, we are ruling it out purely on price point. As for the partial focus on transportation, we will have kids in tow which impacts our travel somewhat as it's just harder to move kids (at least mine) around. I'm not as familiar with Japan as I am with Hong Kong, and being close to the MTR is a must in HK. Is it not the same way in Japan? (To compare, we were just in NYC and we didn't use the subway at all - only ubers.)


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