10/10 Excellent
Jonathan, Hastings
Traveled with partner
May 17, 2024
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
We had a Grande Tower room on the 21st floor so the views from the room's two windows one facing north the other west, there was a further window above the bath facing north, the views over Osaka were stunning especially at night. We had 2 queens sized beds but only used one, the whole room was spacious but you get what you pay for. The washer/dryer was a blessing as it meant we could travel especially light, taking only sufficient for 7 days change of clothes for 18 days of travel.
The only negative and something I would've changed had I known was paying in advance for breakfast. On the weekends we had to queue to get in albeit not for long, there was a queue for the one coffee machine 7 deep for something that was so weak it was hard to tell what it was, don't expect a decent cup of tea as the water available was far from boiling. All the food was cold including items that you would expect to be hot, like bacon, fried eggs and scrambled eggs. So in hind sight I would have given it a miss and visited Tully's Coffee or Douter for a French toast set or the like for less than half the price of breakfast at the hotel.
So besides breakfast I would highly recommend the Karaksa hotel Grande Shin-Osaka Tower, especially the Grande tower rooms.
It's a perfect base to use a JR West 5 day rail pass a real bargain compared to the newly raised JR pass. We travelled by reserve seats on the Shinkansen to Kobe, Okayama, Hiroshima, Fukuyama and Himeji.
Jonathan
Stayed 7 nights in May 2024