Tak

I saw it on the corner, too.
I did not think I could use it as the pillow, but you might be right since there were many towels hear and there.

RTWSTARALLIANCE

Preface: Thought it would be good to try the Hotel during our annual fall trip in. The head of Starwood just arrived also.

Status: Platinum.

Rate: Three FWNs plus one using points.

Transportation: From KIX took the Nankai line to Namba. Limited Express which was 890 yen plus 500. They also have a super seat option. Not necessary. From Namba took a taxi from Takashimaya entrance area to Hotel. Fare was 1060.

Check-in: You arrive into the lower lobby level. Brought to 12th floor. There are two desks for check-in. The agents were genuine in trying to find a decent upgrade. A lead agent explained the different room types, sizes and views. Our original deluxe moved to grand deluxe. A higher price point is grand deluxe premiere but this room does have at least a few less square meters. Confirmed all benefits we have mentioned before such as taking breakfast, internet and run of the mini bar which is a huge benefit for Japan.

Perks: As noted above.

Room: Our room is supposed to be at least 50 square meters. We had been shown a similar room on the top floor but the desk area was very dark. Had a large hall and you could still hear highway noise from below. Without asking we were given an opportunity to check-out another room. Much better light. I regret it is hard to say anything at all exciting about the room.

Bathroom: The bathroom area contains a double basin sink, toilet room, enclosed shower/tub area and there is a tv and closet. Lots of stone.

Internet: Wired with two power outlets. Comp.. A little slow.

Tv: I know this was meant to be a business hotel. The English speaking stations are very limited. Very. Having just come from the IC Phnom Penh there were more English speaking stations and certainly variety. They have a blu ray player but no movies well frankly no library. Like we are all carrying around blu ray discs. In my opinion the tv line up needs looking at.

Local markets: There are a huge amount of eating places around the Hotel. Not necessarily high end but stuff you love to find when in Japan. Very near the Hotel starts a dori or what one knows in Europe a pedestrian shopping area. This is nice.

Negatives: I know the Hotel is trying. We can sense that. We just might be here too soon. I think the Hotel has the feeling of luxe. The people are helpful. I know almost anyone would be somewhat excited to be at a SR. We realize having a Lounge is HUGE. Being able to just relax in the room and watch some stupid English speaking comedy like a rerun of Friends on Star World is also nice. Having a library such as the Conrad Tokyo to watch dated movies. My wife just made a comment about the Osaka Hilton.

Closing: It may be possible some SRs are just a one time try for us. Such as the SR SIN. I've been to SIN numerous times since and find myself returning the the Grand Hyatt SIN or Conrad SIN. Possibly more than I thought because they have Lounges. My fourth night here has been the variable. The Hotel is encouraging me to make a room move that night. The staff is very sincere and we have alreay met staff from yes the Westin Kyoto, a butler who knows Mr. Yokoyama of the HR Kyoto and a agent who worked in Thailand. I am going to put on a positive attitude and make the best of my remaining stay. Hope that makes sense.

jhm

Thanks for the report, RTWSTARALLIANCE! Your feeling of (I think) "the hotel is trying but the jury is still out" is more or less how I feel - I need to try the property again one or more times to see whether it grows on me or not.

Did you try the hotel's two restaurants and the bar ?

"dori" just means street but what you saw was a "shotengai" (a covered shopping arcade) which you can walk down to Shinsaibashi and then Namba. It might be this one (but I'm not sure):

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-b...0050612x2.html

One of the waiters in the Italian restaurant I spoke to came from the HR Kyoto and one of the lobby/checkin staff from the RC Osaka.

RTWSTARALLIANCE

You are spot on. I know the place is new so we will see how things progress over the next few days. There have been things that let you know all is not well yet-

Little red and blue paper adhesive dots to denote hot and cold.

Number 11 coming off elevator bottom on the lift from ground floor lobby to 12.

The angle of the drain in the shower / bath combo which allows scum to build up to the left of the drain when you shower.

Dirty kinda scuff reception lobby floor in certain areas.

Shower with water pressure that varies when you turn it on. You have to allow for more pressure than normal to "keep" the stream flowing at a constant rate.

We have not tried any of the food or bar facilities. This evening we had dinner at Watami which serves a variety of small dishes to make a meal. Three of us with a drink each- less than 5500 yen. Other side of street side entrance to SR.

Thank you for the dori clarification. We just did not know which one it was.

RTWSTARALLIANCE

BTW. That mini bar better be comp. or I got trouble. And Yasuki was not even here!

RTWSTARALLIANCE

Thought I would do my best to get excited about this place. So for the benefit of all will describe the room.

Room: You enter onto carpet. To the right of our entry is a butler keep door. When we have asked for tour info and busy the items have been left here. Large enough for laundry if you have the DND. Also here find first door entry to bathroom to right. Moving forward and toward the windows we have a small alcove. A cabinet has your mini bar and Nespresso machine with four cartridges. The mini bar is very well stocked and my wife has commented on the quality for the contents. We went to dinner with her girlfriend and they came back enjoying a beer.

Coming along to the right we have a wall with windows. I would say about 50% of our wall has windows. This is probably the reason why the Premiere goes for a premium yen amount versus this type of room. Light is still good. Of course you have all the components which control the sheer and curtain. Infront of our window you have the large sofa seating area designed for watching the world go by. The view is ok. We have a round wood table. Coming around you have a large flat panel hd Panasonic tv with blu ray machine. The tv is mounted on the wall with a swivel base. This units are hidden from view by a horizontal split panel. There is a small wood door to access a panel for av input. A bag contains component input cables. (This is going to save me if I can get Netflix input going. Have no idea if I can view our account from Japan. Only have three dvds which I will also try and us input into system with.)

Continuing we have a very large leather top desk. This is pretty interesting. To the left is a flip up for hsia and power. The center section lifts up so I assume you can store a laptop. There is a desk lamp. Coming around you have the second bathroom entry. Then a night stand with king bed. Another night stand contains the room controls. The bed is very comfortable. Hanging lamps to each side are very stylish. All of this area is on carpet.

Bathroom:

The bathroom and closet area are in stone. The closet has double doors with a wall mirror. There is a sensor which turns on the light. As stated before double basin sink with huge surface area. A toilet room with one serious Toto washlet. We had to ask for the seat warmer to be shut off and most of the controls are not accessible. We have washlets in all bathrooms of our newly built home in the States. I had never ever even in our last home where we had one tried it. I thought never. If you are going to try it do it in total privacy the first time out using the low pressure spray or as on our one Coco washlet the kiddie mode. There is a reason why they are popular in many parts of Asia. I use them now. My wife laughs because it took me 11 years.

The tub/shower room are enclosed with glass facing sinks. There is a tv mounted in the wall so you can view from tub. The shower as noted before was a little off and you have the option of body sprays. Amenities are SOTHYS from France. There is one wall alcove display in the toilet room with a glass vase and another in the bathroom with a ceramic displayed. Sounds like the newspapers have been delivered to the keep.

The build on this room must have been one serious amount of money. Well. After all that if I can get Netflix going will be happier.

RTWSTARALLIANCE

Internet speed slow.

The frosted door to the toilet room needs to be more frosted per my wife.

Got computer connected to tv. Can view dvds but Netflix on demand not available outside US.

broadwayboy

I had expected rave reviews about the rooms, but will now keep my expectation low.

Is it true there are 2 options of room upgrades we can expect -- a grand deluxe (king bed) and grand deluxe premiere (2 double beds)?

RTWSTARALLIANCE

In fairness your expectations should be met if reasonable.

I got the feeling that if available we would have been given a suite. The Hotel is very busy esp with the Starwood VIP arriving. The Japanese are trying out the Hotel. Monday is also a national holiday but my wife forgets which one. Too much time in the States. Bodes well for me.

It does sound as if the Grand Deluxe Premiere is only available with two beds. I prefer space so the king option was fine. My wife went back to Kyoto today for time with parents so I much prefer a king bed versus the "extra" bed. Hope that helps.

More notes-

We walked around the building heading out to Umeda (Osaka station connection) taking the Midosuji subway line. Rate 200 yen one-way. That involved stairs with my wife's luggage. When you exit SR you will see a jewelry store to the left. Just after that there is on the back side a escalator also elevator on this level to Honmachi Station. Use this. Much easier.

I went solo to visit Osaka Castle. Actually small compared to others visited but once the grandest of all. Not rebuilt after war to original size. Using the escalator done to Honmachi Station take the Chuo like. You will be going two stops aka 200 yen again to Tanimachi- 4 chome Station. Take exit 1B. It will be a walk. Upon exiting keep going straight down the street. You will see nothing that even looks like a park or castle. You will see to you right after about 8 minutes a NHK building and Osaka Museum. Cross the street staying straight. The entrance to the Castle complex is to the left. You will wind around and eventually come upon Osaka Castle. Reverse the directions back. This is not a day trip. There will be ample time to do something else.

RTWSTARALLIANCE

As has been reported the French restaurant on level one only serves a breakfast during the weekend. That made it a natural choice for this morning. The selection was adequate. Not much at all can compare to the Westin Tokyo. This was not a large spread. On your table you will find a menu to order additional items.

That opinion is being formed. We ordered toast and then had to ask for it. It arrived cold. Also requested butter and ordered one salad which we also had to ask again for. We left telling ourselves the place is still new. My wife later would have nothing of excuses I was making for the Hotel. She wanted me to tell her how difficult toast, salad and butter was. Now I am here by myself.

jhm

Thanks for the further details, RTWSTARALLIANCE. Do you think the above was due to lack of staff or lack of organisation ? It's been a few weeks since my stay now but - as I mention above - the dinner in the Italian restaurant was really slow (the kitchen); and my recollection of breakfast twice was the same (there seemed to be lots of waiting staff around but it seemed to me not working in an efficient manner). Still early days I guess...

RTWSTARALLIANCE

There is without doubt enough staff. That could never be the excuse. When I left the Hotel last night heading to the Dori there were at least four people directing cars or holding traffic for the one garage entrance and one car park lift. The same is evident in other parts. That is just an example.

What we observed at the morning restaurant was obviously a lack of organization and without doubt a lack of leadership / management. I am not gonna go further because I have a feeling the SR is onto my posts. Not here to make anyone miserable.

The staff has been drawn from all around Japan and abroad experiences. That being said does not make it perfect. Working a place like the SR with service expectations takes intuitive sense and of course a memory for please hot/warm toast. I would hate to have paid for the build let alone the budget of staff.

I have had other things but have decided to stop with the negative. Not that anyone is stopping me other than my genuine desire to give this Hotel a chance to with hope grow. These are things so basic is amazes me. One in particular has been mentioned before by one of our FT Japan friends (take mini bar inventory, restock mini bar). Had to get that in.

Have a decision to make asap. I am using 20,000 points for my last night. Other options in Osaka are much less and I have enjoyed my stay there. There is also a new option which puts me in a much better position transport wise as my wife has informed me I am getting another piece of luggage this evening when we meet friends in Kyoto for dinner. Thank you. No matter what that piece is coming home with us.

Without specific questions or very very meaningful items this will be my last posting from here.

RTWSTARALLIANCE

Before leaving the Hotel had a very candid conversation with management. The member had just come from the Westin Tokyo and took everything said with genuine concern. I trust she will do her best to raise the service level at the Hotel. I am without doubt not the first person to raise concerns with management. It is being done by both Japanese nationals and some SPG members.

In regards to Platinums. I can confirm that every item mentioned as extended to Platinum members is indeed the case. That in itself says alot. My mini bar was restocked everyday and continued to consume items. All breakfast items we had were charged to room (nothing to sign) and nothing appeared on my closing bill. In Japan these two items alone are huge.

This jury is out and I will rely upon coming reports from fellow FTers to see progress being made. Please keep the reports coming. Please. Regards from another SPG Osaka property.

broadwayboy

I will be staying for 3 nights next month. I hope to report nothing but good things...

henrikfromdenmark

Hi guys. I'm staying in St. Regis Osaka at the moment and my first impressions is really great. Don't trust the first bad tripadvisor reviews. I will do a report later, but let you know that 90% of the guests is japanese and that I have uploaded a video of my room and it's features: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3BX3cSg-Rc .

I hope this can help some. I have stayed in many great rooms worldwide, but I find this one special.

I stayed in Ritz-Carlton Osaka yesterday which I really liked, but the rooms is dated IMO, however they do have two michelin star restaurants and great facilities.

There is no swimming pool in this hotel which is a disappointment, but overall my first impressions is superb...