Henn na Hotel Osaka Shinsaibashi — Hotel in Osaka

This is a tricky review to write. Usually I try to review a hotel on its own terns - how well does it do what it sets out to do. In this case, a big gimmick of the hotel is that automation is replacing human service - so how do you deal with that in a review?||||Fundamentally - the automation is still a work in progress. When you book, you provide the full names of guests as shown on ID; then at reception you scan IDs to check in. However there was a problem for us - the booking was in my name but my passport was not recognised when scanned. The robot staff announced they were calling human staff - but despite trying several times, no-one appeared. Finally after 10mins or so we solved the problem by scanning by travel companion's ID, which then recognised our booking even though not in her name.||||Another problem was that we had wanted to forward bags to this hotel but our previous hotel told us we needed to confirm that bags could be received. Our email was not replied to for a couple of days, by which time it was too late to forward bags.||||These are big service problems. However I also note that at the reception desk there is a means to summon staff, and on other occasions when we used this, staff appeared almost instantly.||||Now to the rooms. Rooms in this hotel are generally pretty small. We had booked a larger room (Twin Room LG Styler), which was indeed larger but poorly designed so that much of the space was not functional. The biggest issue was that there was no real hanging or storage space. A small hatstand with coathangers was placed in a small alcove but clothes could not be hung here without impeding access to the window blinds. There was no storage space for any luggage, save for in front of the basin, in front of the desk (blocking the chair) or in the entrance corridor. ||||So where was all the space? There is a large bathroom, half of which is a shower area, and half of which has a squatting washstation with knee-level taps, stool and bucket. These two could have been combined to save much space. The toilet is on the opposite side of the hall (and curiously, the fan switch for the bathroom is next to the toilet light, not bathroom light, on the wrong side of the hall. The combined bathroom is entirely a wet area, with no shower curtain, so the larger space can't be used to store suitcases. And a large chunk of space is taken up by the "LG Styler", a sort of space-age cupboard that will steam shirts and press trousers in a 50-min cycle - but which is designed so that only a couple of garments can be inserted at a time. These poor design issues were frustrating.||||On top of this, the room has some electronic customisation that was hard to figure out. Admittedly, it may have been easier if I understood Japanese, but there were also basic English instructions. The room has a digital assistant that can supposedly control the lighting mode, air conditioning, and has an alarm function - but we could get the lighting to work only intermittently, could only control the AC directly through its own remote rather than the assistant, and the alarm function didn't seem to work at all.||||The room also comes with a free portable Android smartphone-like device, which you can sign in to your Google account and use around town if you wish. I didn't do this as I was not happy about signing in to a borrowed device and relying on its promise to wipe all my data on checkout. However, more trusting people may find this useful if they don't have a functioning device of their own.||||The biggest asset of the hotel is its location, very close to an elevator entrance to Shinsaibashi subway stn, and next to the Shinsaibashi-suji arcade down to Dotonbori. There is a small restaurant in the lobby which provides breakfast, which is convenient if you want something in the hotel, but there are cheaper options available within a 5min radius if you don't mind the...

The hotel location is superb; conveniently located near shopping and subway stations. Checking in with the dinosaur receptionists was a seamless and unique experience. Although the room was small, it had everything we needed.||However, our experience was marred by poor service from a breakfast counter staff member. During our stay from 9-14 December 2024, we encountered unfriendliness and unreasonable treatment.||The service crew seemed uninterested in addressing our concerns and she was dismissive of our needs. Her attitude made us feel unwelcomed and unvalued as guests. I cannot help linking it to the language she heard I was communicating with my family....even though she is not aware of where we are from. ||This lady was serving at the breakfast counter on 10, 12, 13, and 14 Dec 2024. ||On 10 Dec, we were told that our family of 3 is only entitled to 2 rice balls and 2 bread even though the sign board shows 1 person with 2 rice balls & 2 bread. It was not possible to clarify with her as she simply looked away.||We later found out from a nice breakfast lady (who manned the counter on 11 Dec) that EACH guest is entitled to 2 rice balls and 2 bread. ||On 12 Dec, we took 2 rice balls each first as the tiny table did not have space for more food. When my husband returned to take ONE bread, the bad-mannered lady stopped him and pointed to Point 4 on the notice board in Mandarin - "no return or exchange is allowed". He explained that he was not exchanging or returning any food, he has not even taken a single bread. She simply insisted he cannot take anymore. Now, this is clearly an act of discrimination & unfairness.||For the rest of our stay, we gave up having breakfast at the hotel because the bad mannered lady was there.||It is not about the rice ball or bread; it is about fair treatment and politeness we expect from a hotel staff in a well-mannered country.||Unfortunately, this experience overshadowed the hotel's positive aspects. We do expect a certain level of respect and courtesy when we have approached the...

The hotel location is superb; conveniently located near shopping and subway stations. Checking in with the dinosaur receptionists was a seamless and unique experience. Although the room was small, it had everything we needed.

However, our experience was marred by poor service from a breakfast counter staff member. During our stay from 9-14 December 2024, we encountered unfriendliness and unreasonable treatment.

The service crew seemed uninterested in addressing our concerns and she was dismissive of our needs. Her attitude made us feel unwelcomed and unvalued as guests. I cannot help linking it to the language she heard I was communicating with my family....even though she is not aware of where we are from.

This lady was serving at the breakfast counter on 10, 12, 13, and 14 Dec 2024.

On 10 Dec, we were told that our family of 3 is only entitled to 2 rice balls and 2 bread even though the sign board shows 1 person with 2 rice balls & 2 bread. It was not possible to clarify with her as she simply looked away.

We later found out from a nice breakfast lady (who manned the counter on 11 Dec) that EACH guest is entitled to 2 rice balls and 2 bread.

On 12 Dec, we took 2 rice balls each first as the tiny table did not have space for more food. When my husband returned to take ONE bread, the bad-mannered lady stopped him and pointed to Point 4 on the notice board in Mandarin - "no return or exchange is allowed". He explained that he was not exchanging or returning any food, he has not even taken a single bread. She simply insisted he cannot take anymore. Now, this is clearly an act of discrimination & unfairness.

For the rest of our stay, we gave up having breakfast at the hotel because the bad mannered lady was there.

It is not about the rice ball or bread; it is about fair treatment and politeness we expect from a hotel staff in a well-mannered country.

Unfortunately, this experience overshadowed the hotel's positive aspects. We do expect a certain level of respect and courtesy when we have approached the...