Folio Sakura Shinsaibashi Osaka by Banyan Group — Hotel in Osaka

We booked this hotel because we expected that with a Banyan Tree management that there is some sort of quality to it though it is small in Japan. The price is not particularly cheaper in comparison to some local Japanese brands such as APA, Smile Hotel, Daiwa, and etc. The hotel doesn’t provide any bottled water and though if substaniabilty is a big thing for any Singaporean hotel chain, I think they should at least provide a glass bottle for the guests to use to fill up the water from the lobby, but no, the asked us to go buy water ourselves so we can have a bottle to fill the water from the carboy they left in the lobby. Another thing is their amenities are extremely lousy, no tea, coffee, just tooth brush and towels that you can pick up from hotel lobby. Any Japanese smaller hotel chains can do so much better than them and they claimed to be managed by Banyan Tree. Don’t expect them to clean the room daily as it’s on a rotation schedule so if you stayed for 2 nights and if it’s not on that schedule, they won’t clean your towels or sheets, just emptying your trash only. The breakfast is also terrible especially if continental breakfast is offered. The coffee and English tea is both very weak in small cups which I would suggest anyone not to pay extra for their breakfast plan. The only good thing is that they have a relatively rectangular floor plate so you can open up a luggage without blocking any walkway. My take is don’t be fooled just bc it’s by Banyan Tree. It might be a Franchised property and it is definitely not up to...

We stayed here through a special arrangement.|The location is quite central and easy to get around. There's a convenience store along the main road and some small eateries around. | The hotel staff are courteous and helpful, our room and bathroom are very clean. Breakfast is nice, simple and adequate.| However, do note the advertised room size as the bed is large, there's a writing desk and a bidet and shower, so things can get cramped.| I would also mention there are no hooks for clothes in the shower and bidet. There is small fridge, an electric jug, but no cups, complimentary tea or coffee which I find rather lacking.| Because of all these, my actual rating would be a bit lower than above.||Now for some travel tips. I only found out after two days that there is the Crysta Nagahori underground street. (thought this was only for underground parking). This connects various metro stations and the Shinsaibashi-suji arcade and more. And there are elevators to bring you to street level. To think of the traffic and cold we went through when we arrived! |For this hotel, you enter/exit Crysta at the North 4 (in Japanese) exit, but this is not so obvious at the street level. Crysta has its own set of shops and is less frenetic than the arcade. It can shield you from the street level weather and make your stay...

Nice stay in a simple hotel. Very nice staff, and overall a nice hotel and a decent stay. But have to say for the price there were some minor issues mainly with the room. Firstly the room is very dark and the window brings in no light. The aircon was good, but when it got too hot for it and we opened the window the room would smell of cigarettes which is very unpleasant. Also the breakfast is very simple, and we only had it once or twice as compared to other hotels it is really quite lacking. No tea and the...