The hotel’s handy location, fresh and airy rooms and five dining options make it a good choice for holidays — but the fact there are several floors of conference facilities and meeting rooms mean you will see lots of business travellers here too. Myplace café and bar is where to go for a very pretty afternoon tea, but you won’t want to miss Folk Kitchen’s Instagram-ready themed sweet treat buffets either. Staff cut through the noise in the high-ceilinged lobby in an efficient and friendly manner to get you checked in and up to the calm of your well-designed room. It may not offer cutting-edge style or ultra-luxury, but Hilton Osaka is ideal if your priorities are comfort and convenience.
Rooms and suites
Score 7/10
Hilton Osaka packs in 562 rooms on floors 9 to 33, all with large windows overlooking the gleaming skyscrapers of this central neighbourhood. Each floor has at least one suite, but at 30 square metres the rest of the rooms are already quite spacious for a Japanese hotel. Decor in almost all rooms is light and calm, featuring subtle Japanese design elements like dual washi paper and wood screens on the windows. There’s also an ergonomic desk chair in each room, a nod to the high proportion of business travellers. Standard rooms have a unit bath with two shower heads, while Deluxe and up have separate baths and showers — all have organic toiletries.
If you can splash out, go for one of the three gorgeous Japanese-style suites, where the traditional decor contrasts wonderfully with ultra-modern city views. The rooms are infused with the fresh, grassy scent of their tatami flooring, on which you’ll sleep in a traditional futon, and details include ranma (decorative wood sections above sliding doors) with delicate cherry blossom carvings.
Note that some rooms allow smoking, so specify your preference when booking. Connecting rooms are available, and two rooms are wheelchair-accessible.
Food and drink
Score 8/10
On entering the bustling lobby, you’ll see Myplace, which serves baked goods and snacks, plus ramen at lunch, and a pretty afternoon tea. The space transitions into a bar later, with a strong line in Japanese gins and a negroni selection, plus live music.
Most of the dining options are one floor up. Folk Kitchen is an all-day buffet restaurant, serving breakfasts, lunches, sweets and dinners. The sweets buffet is always themed (it changes roughly every four months) and is a popular photo spot. The themes are reflected in the food as well as the decor — for example, the Fairy Forest theme included praline-filled chocolate acorns and a fantastical pastel-purple mascarpone mousse with raspberry cream.
Neighbouring Centrum is decked out in black and red, with a geometric ceiling and an open kitchen. Set menus are available — including an excellent-value weekday lunch with appetiser, steak, bread and coffee for around £40 — but go for à la carte in the evening, when the menu features dishes like seafood on ice and wagyu and tomahawk steaks. The extensive wine collection is especially strong on New World varieties.
The other restaurants are KawaUme, which serves multi-course kaiseki cuisine and sushi, and Tenka, which specialises in teppanyaki (grilled dishes). They both have a well-chosen saké selection to pair with the Japanese dishes.
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What else is there?
Score 7/10
On the seventh floor you’ll find the 15-metre indoor pool and the fitness centre. The gym is open 24 hours and doesn’t allow under-15s; the pool is accessible to all ages, and you can rent children’s swimwear, but it’s closed overnight. Along with the usual free weights and machines, the gym has yoga and Bosu balls, foam rollers and TRX. There are Japanese-style baths (which you enter naked, not in a swimming costume) and saunas in the locker rooms, and useful equipment like swimsuit dryers.
You’ll have to remove your shoes and change into slippers before passing the reception desk. No visible tattoos are allowed; they aren’t common in Japan, and some people feel uneasy seeing them.
The third-floor Executive Lounge is open to guests staying in suites or Executive rooms, and offers all-day dining and a quiet area to relax or work. There are some children’s activities available, such as a stamp search around the hotel, as well as occasional collaborations with Kids Plaza Osaka.
Where is it?
Score 8/10
The location couldn’t be more convenient, right opposite the Osaka-Umeda transport hub. As well as ensuring you easy access to the rest of the city and beyond, Osaka Station City is packed with food and shopping options. Though the neighbourhood immediately around the hotel isn’t one of Osaka’s most character-filled, just east of Osaka station you’ll find a warren of izakaya (traditional bars) and tiny restaurants in covered shopping arcades.
You’re also just a short walk from the late-night entertainments of Kitashinchi, and around 15 minutes from the vintage shops and trendy cafés of Nakazakicho. The eye-catching Umeda Sky Building, with its panoramic observation deck, is 20 minutes away on foot.
Price room-only double from £190
Restaurant mains from £17
Family-friendly Y
Accessible N
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