InterContinental Osaka Review
The InterContinental Osaka is located in a new development just outside of Umeda Station. If you have been to Osaka you may know Namba Station and its surroundings; Umeda is four subway stations further.
The InterContinental Osaka is located in a new development just outside of Umeda Station. If you have been to Osaka you may know Namba Station and its surroundings; Umeda is four subway stations further.
There is no airport express train but there is an express bus that gets you to within an hour of Umeda Station from Kansai Airport for JPY 1,550.
The hotel is part of a shopping mall and several office towers. It can be a bit tricky to find but the big InterContinental logo towers over the area.
Check-in was friendly and very efficient. After a quick passport copy (I always wish that hotels wouldn't do this and just check ID) and a swipe of my credit card, I had the room keys in my hand.
The lobby is located on the 20th floor and the hotel has a separate set of elevators to get you to your room. The lobby is likely the combination of two floors. It looks gorgeous and the adjacent bar and restaurant both have sweeping views towards the Umeda Sky Building.
My room on the 26th floor was right at the elevator and the check-in agents who escorted us up mentioned that all rooms have great noise insulation. And right she was - there wasn't a peep to be heard the whole time. The room was fantastic and reminded me a bit of the Park Hyatt Istanbul.
There was a massive bathroom with a superb rain shower and a freestanding bathtub. It was done to perfection, with lots of bright beige colors.
The room itself was equally well-designed and the views towards the Umeda Sky Building from any part of the room were superb.
The AC worked perfectly and it was easy to change temperature at any point.
The beds were superbly comfortable and had the perfect mix of hard and soft. I'm a big fan of the beds and bedding at all InterContinentals. The chain has rarely ever failed me and is usually ahead of competing chains like W and Grand Hyatt.
The Internet was a little slow at 4 Mbit - not horrible but I'd expect more like 10-20 Mbit for the quality of the hotel and fast connections in Japan generally.
There are a number of decent coffee shops in the mall downstairs and an even bigger number of eateries in the lower floors of Umeda Station. Both can be incredibly busy during weekends and close early/open late, so it's important to watch your hours.
The hotel bar and restaurant on the 20th floor both produce eclectic food that looks fantastic. The only minus is that there are no separations between smoking and non-smoking, so expect a lot of secondhand smoke.
At check-out, the staff made it easy by just checking the room reservation and letting us walk out in seconds - no drama or multiple credit card checks.
In summary, the InterContinental Osaka is a fantastic hotel. There is little to fault, like the secondhand smoke and the somewhat slow Internet. The location is good for Osaka, though not perfect. My room and the public areas are done to a level of perfection, with understated luxury that is hard to match anywhere. I wish I'd had more time here.
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