GRIDS PREMIUM HOTEL OSAKA NAMBA — Hotel in Osaka

TLDR : NOT recommended due to terrible service, unless no choice and if your only criteria is good location

Only reason for the star is because of the good location (central location to many main attractions, near Namba/Nankai station, dotonburi, family martx2) and prompt replies via email Major renovation next door (perhaps my room was on the other side and we are out most of the day, we did not hear any noise) and hotel is located sort off at the back alley. Interior does look like new and nice furnishing/deco. Clean, room was a bit cramp to open up a 28” luggage bag (expected in most Osaka hotels). Shower room has extremely low ceiling, estimated ard 1.9-2m?

Price : Average

Service/experience: TERRIBLE Terrible front desk reception: During this Japan trip, we stayed in Kyoto and KIX airport as well, which had friendly and welcoming front desk reception and staff. At Grids, it was a total opposite. Checked in with family around 4pm+. Front desk reception attending, Mr Jeong Gyu (estimated 40-50 y/o) was cold and stone faced. Felt as though we were not welcomed at all. Not a word of greeting (hello, konichikawa, etc). Never felt so unwelcomed in the whole 1.5 weeks in Japan

Shocking that a “4-star hotel” does not provide bottled water in the rooms, no doorbell, no laundry bag. Water can be bought at 100 yen at the counter. IIRC, a note says that is limited to 1 bottle per pax,

AirCond control panel didn’t have English language selection (maybe user problem, ie I didn't know how to find the language selection?)

Walkways are VERY dimly lit

Room cleaning only on every 3rd day of stay but change of bath towels, face towels, rubbish disposal daily. This is on the pretext that they are aiming to be more “Green/reduce CO2 emission”. IMHO, it’s complete nonsense. If they truly want to go green, the opposite should be done, like other “green” hotels’ practise, ie daily clean up room/make tidy the sheets and blankets AND NOT CHANGE towels daily. Hotels with Green practises usually encourage non-daily change of towels but given the option to if needed. Despite only cleaning the room once in our 5d4n stay, they did a lousy job. Rubbish seen on the floor in plain sight, bed's throw blanket seemed to have been thrown on top of my luggage bag (I took pictures of room condition b4 and after I got back from a full day outing)

Additional note, I believe customer service centric hotels would have gone the extra mile to notify and offer to courier (FOC or guest pay) a left behind item, Grids definitely was not it : We left behind a bracelet bought in Japan as a souvenir. Upon my email to the hotel 36 hours upon checkout, hotel acknowledged that the bracelet is in their possession. No effort from hotel to inform me prior nor option for overseas delivery to...

The hotel was nice enough, but the customer service fell short of the expectations set by other hotels in Japan within a similar price bracket. ||A more westernised hotel experience, with a comfortable enough bed, shower with tub, sink, toilet, mini fridge and safe. We had shipped our large luggage from our previous hotel (via the Yamato courier service) and arrived before the check in time. The hotel allowed us to leave our backpacks in the meantime while we killed some time exploring. When we returned to the hotel, we were told our luggage (both large suitcases and backpacks) were moved to our room for us. ||Most of it was there, but we each had neck pillows strapped to our backpacks when we dropped them off and one was missing. We asked at the front desk and nothing had been handed in or found. The following morning we asked again, and the lady behind reception (the most helpful lady we encountered) said she'd check with relevant staff and review CCTV. Upon checkout we were told they had not seen it on the footage and that was that. It's not the end of the world - just a neck pillow - but it was just a shrug of the shoulders and tough luck kind of response. ||We did not eat at the hotel restaurant so have no comments there. ||The room cleaning schedule was like previous experiences (every 3 days for a 'proper' clean). Further amenities (like tea bags, coffee, sugar, cotton buds etc) were available from reception but bottled water was chargeable.||The hotel badges itself as 'premium' however I think it fell a little short of that title...

Comparing to the rest of the hotels I stayed during my 3 weeks stay in japan, staffs at this hotel are unfriendly. Not sure if it’s because they are too stressed from work (tourists are rushing into japan), or they are too afraid of speaking in English or? Their face, their tone and their body language are just making me so not comfortable that I feel I am not welcomed at all as if I’d never be here. Worst experience ever. This just doesn’t feel right especially in Japanese standard. ||Talking about the room itself, their semi-double room is small, so much smaller than any other semi-double rooms in japan I have stayed. It’s not quite enough to even fit one person with two suitcase (unless you open one suitcase on the bed and the other one on the sofa, and that leave you no room to move around). Do think twice if you are about to book this room type. You’d consider their double room with two beds if you really are consider staying at this place. ||In term of location, I’d say it’s excellent. It’s at Namba Station (where you can take the train directly to KIX), airport limousine bus stop for Itami Airport is just around the corner too. ||But again, guess I’d rather stay at another similar hotel next time as I don’t want my mood to be affected by the unfriendly service after all. Let’s hope their service standard would improve or go back to Japanese normal...