About St. Regis Osaka

After seeing cheap airfares, we decided to make a quick trip to Osaka and then started searching for hotels. We discovered that St. Regis Osaka is the only St. Regis in Japan. Since I had already stayed at St. Regis in Sanya, Beijing, Tianjin, Changsha, and several other cities and had generally good impressions, we decided to check in at St. Regis Osaka.

The hotel is in the center of Osaka, right next to Honmachi Station, so it is very easy to get around. You can also walk a few steps to Shinsaibashi, then stroll all the way to the Namba area. If you head the other direction, you can also walk to the Umeda area. And if you don’t want to walk, it’s just a two-stop subway ride.

In addition, if we were going to Universal, taking a taxi from the hotel was quick and not expensive. For a morning trip, it took about 20 minutes. We shared an Alfa ride, and it cost 290 RMB each way. It was a nice way to save some energy for the day.

Getting to the airport is also quite convenient; one transfer by subway is enough, and it takes just over an hour. For a private Alfa transfer to the airport, I asked and got 590 RMB.

Booking and Requests

This time we booked using points, mainly because a five-night stay fits Marriott’s 4-nights-paid-get-1-free points perk, which worked out to be pretty good value. My booking was 252,000 points for five nights. At a typical after-tax hotel rate of around $500, Marriott points were worth about 1 cent each.

I had one booking with Marriott Platinum and one with Marriott Gold. The Gold booking did not get free breakfast. Customer service was all template responses—chat, email, and front desk requests all failed. Plus, several of their replies were inaccurate: children under 12 are supposed to be free.

Even the Platinum member did not get a suite, only a one-level upgrade to a higher floor. The Gold room was originally on a lower floor, but after we said the two rooms were booked together, they upgraded both to the same floor.

Lobby and Garden

I forgot to take photos during the daytime check-in, so here’s an evening shot. The vibe looks nice at night.

Check-in is at the 12th floor. Unlike The Conrad Osaka, whose lobby is grand and dreamy, the lobby here feels more cozy and comfortable. There are many little window-side nooks like this.

A larger central area.

It’s mostly set up as two-person seating throughout.

The small outdoor garden is comfortable, but in summer it is too hot to sit outside during the day.

Here’s an overall shot.

Stay Experience

Rooms

St. Regis Osaka is somewhat older, so the room doesn’t have anything particularly unique. The overall style is classic and understated.

I spent a while looking around and didn’t find anything especially worth filming, so I only shot the most obvious one: a Bloody Mary. This cocktail seems to be one of the hotel’s signature drinks.

The view from the window is good, and the higher-floor vistas are comfortable.

The bathroom has a classic double-vanity setup.

I don’t really know these toiletries.

The shower area is a bit tight because the bathtub takes up much of the space.

Complimentary Gifts

The Platinum room included one cookie, which was very sweet.

One of our companions had a birthday, so we got a small pudding cake, and it tasted good. Also, a St. Regis tradition is that you can call room service unlimited times for juice, milk, tea, and coffee. You can even call ahead; they’ll prepare everything and leave it in your room before you get back.

Breakfast

After having breakfast at the same hotel for five consecutive days, even a buffet gets repetitive. Overall, the quality is good, though the variety and options are a bit limited. The restaurant entrance is right next to the elevator, so you can head straight there from your room. There’s also a coffee machine and a juicer at the restaurant entrance, so if you’re in a rush, you can quickly grab and go.

The restaurant setting is pleasant. Most staff members are Western; there seem to be fewer Japanese staff, possibly because more Western guests stay there. On our first day, since we were heading to Universal Studios, we came at about 6:00 a.m., and it was not crowded. On the following days, by around 8:00 a.m. it got busier, but wait time was still short—about five to six minutes to get seated.

Window-side views are average—mostly just city scenery.

This flower looks really pretty.

For meals, breakfast is set up as à la carte plus a buffet. In practice, you can keep ordering additional dishes. They give you a menu first, and if you like something you can keep adding.

The Japanese set meal is the most recommended, especially the rice, which is plump and perfectly cooked. But it felt a bit unusual to eat such a large bowl that early in the morning. The pan-fried fish was good with no fishy smell. A few of the cold dishes were average, especially the fish roe, which was both salty and fishy—I skipped it each time. Also, one complaint: the main dish in the Japanese set doesn’t change daily, and at most one cold dish gets swapped out.

I ordered a few other items as well. The runny egg, avocado, and smoked salmon tasted good, but the cake underneath wasn’t very easy to bite.

Bacon, runny egg, and cake. The bacon was thick and salty, so I only ordered it once.

The Japanese set had this much rice, yet the udon was such a tiny cup. The flavor was too light; even the soup had almost no taste. I only ordered it once.

The French toast was good—soft, cakey, and sweet.

Last was the kids’ meal, with a surprisingly large portion, almost close to the size of the Japanese set.

Aside from the à la carte items, the other self-service options were relatively limited. The fruit section, however, was quite rich, with blueberries and cherries.

There were also some fresh-cut fruits, as well as canned fruit.

My favorite was the smoked salmon, and I had some every day. Smoked salmon seems to be a signature item at St. Regis, and I’ve had it at St. Regis hotels in Changsha, Sanya, and Beijing too.

Summary

The biggest highlight of this hotel is its great location—everything is close by, and you can walk for shopping as well. Still, the room quality was rather average; the furniture and fittings felt somewhat dated, a bit behind the Osaka Conrad at the same price point. Compared with Osaka Conrad, breakfast had far fewer options, but the à la carte items were of higher quality. In terms of service, Osaka St. Regis was attentive and thoughtful in just the right way, without being overly pushy.

If you had to choose one, pick St. Regis if you want free breakfast; if you are a Hilton Diamond member, choose Osaka Conrad, which has both breakfast and a lounge.

Also, this hotel does not have a pool! We did not notice before check-in, so we brought swimwear and other items back with us unchanged.

You can refer to the experiences at the other two hotels at the links below: