Caption by Hyatt Namba Osaka — Hotel in Osaka

I stayed dozens of nights in four different rooms using World of Hyatt points. As a Category 1, Caption is a good place to convert points into nights to increase or renew elite status, even if you have no reason to be in Namba. Most of the young staff members are friendly. Luggage, people, food and drinks are moved efficiently, and the housekeeping is good, kind and efficient.

At Caption Namba, it is important to keep in mind how little you are actually paying. When using points, nights cost the equivalent of about US$70 for off-peak and US$100 on regular nights. For that amount, I can tolerate the managerial decisions which lead to stays that are far worse than at other Hyatts in Japan. For example, on my initial visit, while sitting in the nearly-empty front area silently checking email on my phone, wearing a suit coat and dress pants, and, yes, freshly showered, management walked over to me specifically to tell me that Caption did not have a lobby, and that if I did not either buy something in their restaurant or have a room reservation, that I couldn't be there. They then literally took my name, walked to the computer and checked to make sure I actually did have a reservation before allowing me to stay. I cannot imagine that happening at a real Hyatt in Japan.

Another example of a lack of concern for customer experience is that cash is not accepted anywhere in the hotel including the washing machines and restaurant. The food there is basically the same quality as Saizeriya, but costs 2 to 3 times as much. The standard are slipping. More than once my 7 am breakfast sandwich was refrigerator-cold in the middle. After two months now, Caption seems to have already given up on evening restaurant service, closing the kitchen and only serving drinks and pastries after 2 pm. But they do not allow outside food in the restaurant and there is no lobby; in the evenings, you either have to go out to a restaurant, or bring in food and eat it in your room, which is a real problem if you have more than 2 people in your group because the tables in the rooms are so small.

Couples might see the Hyatt name, recall past stays at Hyatts in Japan, and assume Caption would also be a good place for a romantic weekend to celebrate a birthday or something, but it is definitely not the case. In the rooms, the bathrooms have only a sliding door with no lock, so not a lot of privacy. The closet has no doors. The rooms have no mirror to sit in front of to put on makeup. There are also design flaws. The fixed light hangs down way too low in front of the window, so I often banged my head on it when standing up from the chair. The bathroom sink is so small that you cannot wash your face without hitting your head on the mirror in front of you. The elevators only allow access to your specific floor, so if your friends or family are staying on a different floor, it is a hassle for you to either both time the elevator very well or go down to the restaurant to meet, and then ride the elevator back up together. The air conditioning worked well in three of my rooms, but not well at all in one room. The wifi is fast and reliable, but only lasts 24 hours before it has to be renewed, interrupting your online meetings, so it is an unreasonable and totally unnecessary inconvenience for long-term guests.

Overall, there are lots of problems, but considering how little I paid using points, Caption...

I had a mixed experience at Caption by Hyatt.

For the price, the location is pretty good—close to everything we needed. I loved the room itself, including the size, bedding, pajamas, and decorations. The bathroom was nice, but since we were on the 9th floor, the water pressure wasn’t very strong.

However, there were some issue during our stay:

We had two rooms with a total of four bookings because we decided to start our stay earlier but couldn’t modify the original reservation dates, so we made additional bookings. I had already prepaid for the first two bookings, but at check-in, the front desk insisted I had only paid for one. I wasn’t sure at the time, so after checking in, I reviewed my records and confirmed that I had indeed paid for both. When I returned to clarify with the same front desk staff, he still insisted I hadn’t paid. But then he printed a receipt showing that I had paid for everything—except part of the amount had been refunded.

The issue was that I had never received any refund between the time I booked (the end of 2024) and my stay (in March). When I asked when the refund was issued, the staff member couldn’t provide an answer and told me to check with my bank instead. I later contacted World of Hyatt customer service, and they confirmed that both bookings were still reflected as paid on their system. This was really frustrating, especially since it was our first day in Osaka, and I didn’t want to be dealing with payment issues.

I reached out again to Hyatt’s global care service via email but never received a response. So, I waited until check-out to bring it up again. This time, a different front desk staff apologized and told me that the amount had been accidentally refunded at the time of check-in. As a result, I had to pay the full amount again for that booking.

It’s now been almost a month, and I still haven’t received any refund from the hotel. The whole situation was frustrating, and the attitude of the first front desk staff wasn’t very helpful—he made me feel overwhelmed, as if I had made a mistake and was being unreasonable for questioning it.

We are World of Hyatt members and have spent many nights at Hyatt properties across multiple countries. We always pay upfront—whether through the World of Hyatt website, app, or direct payment links from hotels—because we don’t want to deal with payment hassles during our trip. This experience has completely changed our perspective, making us realize that paying upfront can sometimes create even bigger problems.

Because of this experience, we honestly don’t feel like staying at this Caption by Hyatt—or any Hyatt—again.

That said, the room and location were great. But if you plan to stay here, I’d recommend choosing the option to pay at check-in or check-out instead of paying upfront, just in case any...

I visited Osaka from 4/13/25 to 4/17/25 (4 nights) as a solo traveler. Upon arriving at the hotel around noon, I was able to check in a little early. I had requested early check in online a few hours before arriving. The process was fairly smooth. They offered some toiletries at the front desk as well, more eco-friendly and grab and go as needed. I did not pay for breakfast as part of my rate since I wouldn't be able to take advantage each day. l will note that was a good decision since I had early mornings prior to breakfast opening up. The one time I went down for breakfast was decent. Their cafe also has options during the day, but the kitchen closes early. My hotel rate ended up being around $300 a night, which is a moderate price but decent for a Hyatt property during peak season.||The location is wonderful! A few minutes walk to Namba station and about 10 minutes to Dotonbori. A lot of nearby restaurants and shops. The hotel rooms do have a view of the street (at least mine did), but nothing too amazing. I booked this hotel for my Osaka and nearby adventures, such as the World Expo, Himeji Castle tour, and 1 day trip to Kyoto.||I had booked the 1 Queen Bed, City View room. The layout of the room was pretty good overall. Little on the small size if more than 1 person perhaps. Definitely a little cramped near the window with the table and chairs. The style had some modern and Japanese influences to it. The hanger being a sword was a cool touch, along with the sliding door. There were some nice resources on the bulletin board inside the room. Unlike other hotels I've been to, it felt more like a regular American hotel layout with the bathroom including sink, shower, and toilet. In the hallway, there was a filtered water station, which I found useful! The room overall had a unique feel to it and not loud despite it being next to the street. The blackout shades worked well during the night. The room was very clean and felt new. I believe this hotel is only a year old. The hotel does have a small gym, but I didn't really use it during my time.||Overall, the hotel's location was exceptional, room was decent with a unique appearance and theme, and the dining was ok but limited. For a Hyatt, it is on the cheaper side! If you didn't care about a major hotel chain, you could probably find...