bcx

With wife and 3 year old. Sight-seeing and eating, hopefully stuff the little one can enjoy.

shonanroger

Flapster

Had a 1 night stay here.

The hotel was pleasant enough, but felt really, really dated. Like an upscale hotel from the 90s. Had to fight for an upgrade (got a corner suite, but online, saw the exec suite was available). The exec lounge was decent, but again very dated, and limited offerings in the evening food-wise.

I wouldn't rush to stay again, but everything was ok - no real problems.

theOtherHolmes

YYCowboy

Was just at the CY last month, excellent property, spotless hardware, rooms are above average in size by Japanese standards but might be a tight squeeze in your situation. I was solo and found it spacious.

The breakfast was the highlight, excellent selection, variety and service. Anything you can imagine as a breakfast item they will have it, both Asian and Western options available.

Can't beat the location, directly connected to the station via short outdoor bridge, 30 min to Kyoto on the JR Special Express for $5 ish USD one way or $11 on the limited express will get you there even quicker.

shonanroger

theOtherHolmes

shonanroger

est-gratuite

Can someone confirm if you can open the windows for fresh air in this hotel ?
From some pictures elsewhere on the internet, it seems like you can...but want to make sure.

Boraxo

Anybody stay here recently? Wondering how it compares with the nearby Hilton.

Was very unimpressed with the dated Westin Kyoto, and I will definitely pass if this one is built from the same mold.

ElevatorEnthusiast

What a fantastically classy property that is a portal into another era! I just checked in, and from the classic sliding keycards, the touch-sensitive elevator buttons, and the delicious cheesecakes and apple pound cakes at tea time in the Executive Lounge, this property is really winning me over. I feel like this vibe is what the Park Hyatt Tokyo tries to be, but 31K JPY is a much more reasonable rate for experiencing a different era of hospitality than 133K JPY.

I'll follow with a full trip report after I complete my stay.

ElevatorEnthusiast

As promised, here is my full trip report - my positive sentiment has been mostly kept intact, but I will admit that improvements in the breakfast offering are needed. Regardless, I found the property to be charming, comfortable, and a good value when compared to the prices of other Osaka properties. Here are my pros, cons, and photos of what is apparently the first Westin in Japan:

Pros:

• Upgraded to an Executive King the day before arrival (I did notice suites in app, but did not push at check-in) - I was a bit disappointed in the lack of a suite upgrade, but I really enjoyed my room placement facing Umeda Sky (what a great building) on the 28th floor (club on 26, top floor is 30)
• Room design was classy and definitely exceeded my expectations and love for grandparent-styled rooms
• Bed was comfortable - mattress was just-right, pillows were plush, covers, while not super thick, were very weighted and heavy (lovely)
• Shower pressure was quite good (as seems to be typical in Japan)
• Left a nice welcome gift of some really tasty cakes (tasted a bit like moist ladyfingers)
• Loved the chair placement - right by the TV
• Nice marble bathroom design
• Executive Lounge offering (afternoon tea and evening service) was quite nice - especially the delicious apple pound cake, chocolate roll cake, and cheesecake at afternoon tea - staff was really nice - evening service had a few appetizers and some drink choices (I mixed orange juice with some white wine - seemed to be mostly orange juice)
• Service was efficient and professional
• I was asked about late checkout, but I didn't need it
• Delivered an English-language newspaper in the room number slot in the morning
• Loved, loved, loved the touch-sensitive elevator buttons and slide-in keycards

Cons:

• No Internet TV OS
• Breakfast in the restaurant (breakfast is not served in the lounge) could be improved - packed at 7:30, had to sit in the lobby bar, buffet only, made-to-order eggs benedict was pretty watery and not very tasty (they were also making truffle omelets, which looked better - should have gotten one of those, but I was turned off), salmon had lots of bones, got by with okay scrambled eggs mixed with pretty good croissants, had to walk across the buffet and up the stairs to the lobby bar with my self-serve coffee (no table service)

Overall, for the price, I would absolutely return, but don't get too excited for breakfast (or just don't order the eggs benedict).

Photos:

Goldeneyeuro

Those pictures show a marked improvement for the quality of rooms versus what I saw on the website/other reviews. It's like... still a classic style but modernized. Makes me look forward to my stay there later this month since the other photos show a room that looks very dated (old carpet with lots of white furnishings on the walls and bed made to look worse with poor lighting). Apparently they are performing renovations from Apr 3 to Apr 24 for the guest rooms on the 21st floor per an email I received from the hotel. That email also said the hotel is still in "partial COVID restriction" operating mode, whether that is for cost cutting or some other reason I don't know. The restrictions include:

Some restaurants still either completely closed or only open on certain days of the week.

Gym has a limit of 4 guests at a time and a time limit of 60 minutes

Fitness centre (not sure how this is different from the gym) requires a reservation and one can not rent attire (didn't even know this was a thing at hotels)

There is a note saying the breakfast is buffet style but that may change with no prior notice

Room service only available until 21:00

Club Lounge only open until 21:00, with alcohol only available until 20:30. Club Lounge has social distancing measures and temperature checks in place, one can only stay 50 minutes and people are discouraged from using the meeting room.

These shouldn't be a big problem for me but may be for other people. Still looking forward to my stay, the biggest regret I have from my prior trip to Japan is not spending enough time in Osaka and Kyoto.

ElevatorEnthusiast

I honestly don't remember any COVID restrictions in the club lounge other than being asked to wear gloves (which probably won't go away in Japan if I had to guess).

This was an "Executive" room - so perhaps they look more fresh than rooms on other floors?

The _Banking_Scot

Hi,

Excellent report thanks

Seems to me that gloves for the club lounge is an osaka thing? I stayed at the Hilton and Conrad in Tokyo in November 2022 and no need to use gloves ( the Conrad did hand out a mask cover envelope type folder to put your mask in whilst at your table)

Regards

TBS