APA HOTEL＆RESORT OSAKA NAMBA EKIMAE TOWER — Hotel in Osaka

After combing the net for a hotel that was reasonably priced, convenient and central in Osaka I eventually stumbled across the APA Resort & Spa at the discounted price.

The hotel is right beside JR Osaka line and only a short walk from the more convenient Namba metro subway line.

Self check in was a breeze. However, there's not much customer service to speak of as clearly automation is the order of the day. Though it didn't effect our week long stay I can see it potentially being an issue if you needed help.

The rooms are small (as is the standard in inner city Japan) but get the job done. Our 22nd floor room boasted a double bed, large tv, fully equipped bathroom with tub and a lovely view of the Osaka skyline. I've stayed in many, many hotels in Japan (this is my 8th trip) the size for the price is pretty standard. There's more than adequate space under the bed for storage (you could easily fit several large suitcases under there).

My 8 year old and I absolutely adored the facilities as, packed within its 40 floors, the resort has everything you could possible want or need. We loved the attached bathhouse and used it daily. It featured a mineral bath, several other tubs of varying temperatures, a 'rotemburo' (though it's enclosed and feels indoors) and a sauna. We found it a wonderfully relaxing way to start our day. The hotel also features a cafe on the first floor (offering yummy and reasonably priced pizzas after a long day of exploring), a tea shop (literally the best matcha espresso I've ever had and that's my go-to order when available) and a flower shop. There is a buffet restaurant and bar on the second floor. On the fourth floor is the bathhouse, a small but well equipped 7/11, a nail and eyelash salon (I got my nails done here and would absolutely recommend), a massage therapist, the laundromat (I'd recommend the combined washing/dryer as it thoroughly impressed me). Scattered throughout its floors are numerous vending machines, ice makers and microwaves. I've stayed in many different hotels (and chains) in Japan and never had one that offered such extensive facilities for this price point (I paid about 10000yen a night).

My only quip is that at peak hours (particularly check out) it's an ordeal catching an elevator. I would have opted to have taken the stairs but unfortunately they're unavailable unless in the case of an emergency. My tip: go up to go down. You'll save yourself time and frustration.

NOTES OF THE FACILITIES: I have several tattoos on my left arm. It states clearly several places that you'll be refused entry or asked to leave the bathhouse unless you can cover any tattoos you have with two of the free tattoo stickers (available daily at the front desk). I couldn't cover them but tried my best. It was not an issue for me. Just something to note.

The pool on the 40th floor is only open during the summer season (it closed on the 21st of September) and isn't free (2000yen for adults and 1500yen for children. Another note for gym junkies: that's also pay per use and, I thought, rather experience as well (2000yen for half an hour).

They only offer housecleaning every third day. It didn't bother me but something to note.

Overall we had a very pleasant stay at the APA Resort & Hotel in Namba and I'd...

I stayed here from April 12 to 16, 2025 and had a great experience overall. I did not take the breakfast buffet option as I felt it was expensive at 3190 JPY per day. Fortunately, there is an on-site 7-11 convenience store on the 4th floor and many restaurants in the area.

The on-site spa was a great ammenity and I used it twice. I'm Canadian so being nude around other people was a bit off-putting, but I got used to it quickly. I don't know if there is a policy for being nude in the onsen, but I saw someone with a bathing suit on. I suspect that the hotel cannot enforce a nudity policy in the spa. They provided yukata robes and leather slippers. They even have a tutorial on the TV on how to wear it, which was a very nice touch.

The room is small by Western standards, but still functional. There is a small desk area with a power outlet and Ethernet port. The bed has a North American style two prong outlet as well as USB A and C ports that stay on when you take the room key out. All lights and the TV turn off when you take the room key out. You can also turn off all the lights in the room with a switch next to the bed. There are heating and cooling controls next to the bed that took some fiddling with, but I got it working fine.

There is also a HDMI in port if you want to connect your device to the TV, but I did not use it. You can also wirelessly stream your device content to the TV, but I did not use that feature.

Each floor has hot and cold water machines as well as trouser presses. I don't think there are any ice machines in the hotel. Apparently, there are microwaves available on some of the floors, but I did not use them.

Housekeeping only happens every 3 nights so my room was only cleaned once during my stay. They do leave replacement towels and robes every day though.

There are some weird architectural choices with this hotel. The hallways feel cold because they are open to the outside. This is particularly apparent when you're only wearing yukata robes to the onsen. Secondly, the 4th floor lounge area where the onsen and convenience store are located has an open roof. It rained a few days during my stay and the lounge furniture and floor got wet. The staff tries their best to keep the lounge area dry, but they can only do so much. I think the hotel should have a canopy above the lounge furniture to keep them drier. I found the choice to have an open roof very strange because it does not even provide any natural light.

I stayed at the hotel with 2 friends with rooms that did not have any views or natural light. Their rooms looked into the interior of the hotel and they were staring at steel support beams. I luckily had a room that had a great view of Osaka.

On April 16, I checked out at 10am with the dropbox in the lobby and wanted to store my luggage before my flight out of Osaka in the late afternoon. There was a large line in the lobby because there were many people doing the same thing. The line moved fairly quickly though. Perhaps the hotel should allow people to keep their luggage in the room, provide a 12 noon checkout or give them instructions to scan a QR code ahead of time before going to the lobby to drop off...

I stayed at this new hotel from 4 to 7 Dec, a total of 3 nights. Three of us stay at Room 1909 and 1910, connecting rooms. The rooms are very comfy, with a multi-function television which you can get all information. I rated full marks for the hardware.

In terms of location, the subway exit is very close to the hotel. If you need to take 御堂筋線／みどうすじせん line, it is around 10-15 minutes underground walk. If you wish to walk to Dotonbori, it is also around 10-15 minutes.

Everything is good except the service. On the day of arrival, I tried to seek a staff assistance to make a dinner reservation for me as I do not speak Japanese. However, the staff rejected saying that the hotel will not make phone call for their guests. This is not the kind of service I am looking for. I stayed at another hotel in Kyoto for three nights, and they assisted me to make reservation. Eventually I have no choice but to call the restaurant myself and fortunately one of the staff can speak English.

After I made the phone call, I discovered that the hotel charged 10 yen for the local phone call. This is a big joke. 10 yen is a very small amount of money, but this is not about money. This is about the experience.

During the trip, one of my luggages was damaged and need to buy a new one. On the date of checking-out, I left the broken luggage inside the room. I asked the concierge staff whether they can help to trash it. The staff impolitely responded that they will not do that. Fine, I went back to the room, took the broken luggage and planned to find a place to legally trash it. And on my way to the elevator, a cleaning staff approached me and offered to trash my broken luggage. I appreciated this very much. But the question is why the concierge staff refused to offer assistance.

Last but not least, I went to the bar for cocktails two nights in a row. The bartender (name forgotten) made some very very nice cocktails. But unfortunately he will be leaving for another job soon. But thanks to him.

If you are not looking for good service and just need a place to sleep, you may try this new hotel. But if you just need a place to sleep, there are other cheaper choices with...