HIYORI HOTEL OSAKA NAMBA STATION — Hotel in Osaka

We booked the Family Triple Room for 3 people and here was our experience.||LOCATION: Initial impression is that it's very close to Namba Station and while this may be true, Namba is a big station. Depending on where you're going, chances are you will still be walking a bit North to get to where you need to go. For the Nankai Airport Express trains it's about 3mins walk and about 7 mins walk to the area were you will be taking to other stations like Umeda, USJ, etc. Being situated right next to the Namba malls (Namba Park and City) you'll find a good selection of shopping and eateries around. Walk-able to Dotonbori area up northeast and Osaka's mini-Akihabara den-den town down southeast, this is a really decent location! Familymart just a stone-throw away, McDonalds literally next door and everyone's favorite DonQuihote and Daiso about 1.5 blocks away.||ROOM: Modern/renovated hotel w/ small rooms but that is to be expected when booking. My after-thought tells me that each room was built for 2-beds. For those like us who opt for a 3-bed room (still same size as the 2-bed), you will feel very-very cramped. Appreciate Hiyori for offering this option, but it falls short quickly due to space issues (I offer solutions-please read below!)||Blackout roll-out shades needed re-alignment but nothing major. Once they work it is true black-out shades! Windows do open quite slightly too. Hangers were enough, but no wall hooks to hang anything. We made due and we were able to fit 2x 31" and 20" open-luggage. Rooms were a bit dusty upon inspection and could use a little more attention (eg. walls had dust clinging to it). ||AC controls didn't seem consistent. We don't like it too cold so we usually leave it at 25C. Some nights you can feel the AC, some nights we didn't. HOwever if you figit w/ the temperature, it kicks back in...not impressed.||With all the cons out of the way, here is what we did like. The foot-massager is something we don't see in hotels that us walk-less tourists need! Thank you for this! We used this almost daily. The dimmable headboard light is not something we thought would be useful but it was. Great for a low night light just before bed, especially for our young kid. The rest of the room is still in great shape so nothing to complain about. ||If Hiyori is reading this, I would like to to suggest for these types of rooms: removing one of the arm-rest chairs (or opt for stowaway stools, under the bed has a lot of storage) I would also like to suggest wall-mounting the TVs to enable more counter-space. And please clean the walls at least twice a year or something. ||SERVICE: All staff that we encountered were polite and professional! Most also spoke enough English and the front-desk spoke fluent English. They also offer much free stuff, such as bottled water (daily if you ask) free evening snack, tea, toys, coffee, masks, etc. You can also borrow umbrella when it's raining. It's pretty cool they have the weather report near the elevetor. And a currency exchange machine on the ground floor as well.||TIP/DIRECTIONS: Try their breaskfast, it's really decent! Our 5-year old ate free. Direction-wise, this hotel is visible while standing across from the overpass, to the right of McDonalds. On the 7th floor they have a coin-op washer/dryer (detergent is provided), 6th floor a microwave/ice maker thing.||WOULD I STAY HERE AGAIN: Considering everything as a whole, espcially for the price, staff, and location, yes I would still consider Hiyori in future...

I love this hotel. I loved it so much that we cancelled a different reservation in Osaka to come back to this hotel instead.

The rooms in the Hiyori are small, but well-appointed. I adored the synthetic tatami-style flooring. They had some talking points on their website about it being relaxing for your feet, but actually I agreed with that. The foot massager probably would also help. We kept intending to use it, but didn't, but it was definitely something I don't usually have available.

The layout of the room we were in had the bed against the wall, a long credenza, and a table and chairs near the window. We liked this, and had no issue finding inobtrusive spots for our luggage. The table & chairs had a decent view of Namba Parks' garden from our room—plus it's just fun to watch people walk around in such a bustling city. We found the mattress very comfortable.

Our room had a bathtub, and I felt very emotionally attached to the bathtub and wish it was in my own home. The shower room that the bathtub was in felt spacious. The amenities are plentiful and very nice. I like that they offered face-care products beyond the usual shampoo/conditioner/soap of most hotels.

We had breakfast at the hotel. It is more expensive to eat breakfast at a restaurant than to grab something at a convenience store. That said, the value of the breakfast felt appropriate. The selection in the hotel restaurant is kind of staggering. There was someone frying assorted items on skewers, traditional Western breakfast foods, traditional Japanese breakfast foods, lots of breads, several beverages, soups, salads... a little bit of everything! We enjoyed our selections. Besides, there was so much to choose from that if you picked something up that you didn't like, you could just not eat it and replace it with something else, because it's a buffet.

The location is quite good—directly across the street from Namba Parks, easy walking distance to some of the upscale department stores, and several train stations are right there. We had no problem traveling within Osaka and to other cities with the Hiyori as our hub. There's a McDonald's right across the street if you need to eat something cheap and quick, plus the usual proliferation of convenience stores. Having Namba Parks and the department stores nearby means there are nicer restaurant options, too. I never miss a chance to get cake from Harbs.

Staff are extremely friendly and communicate well in English. We were noticed as repeat visitors and welcomed back when we checked in for the second stay during the same trip.

When we're in Osaka next, this hotel is definitely at the top of my list. We've stayed in a few other hotels that were tolerable and one hotel I will never, EVER go back to. My husband felt the same way—he told me, "I'm so glad we're going back to the good hotel," when we were on our way there for our second stay. ;)

As far as we're concerned, this is now "the...

Great hotel if you want to be away from the hustle of Dotonbori, yet close enough to walk over for meals and shopping!

Rooms have a great configuration and decently sized for Japan. We had the Family Twin room which separates the toilet and the bathroom- this layout is great as it’s a lot less messy when you shower. Amenities are great, they provide everything from pyjamas to POLA cleansing oils, soaps, lotion, and milk. Shampoo, conditioner, and body soap are also all by POLA. Free water is also provided; just ask reception whenever you need it. Bed is the hard type which i disliked, but my mum loved as she felt it was good for her back. Just be aware if you’re a side sleeper.

Service is ok, staff are friendly enough but I felt the check in could’ve been more informative. We weren’t told about things like the free evening Chazuke (learnt about it from reviews- very yummy, by the way), or how to manage our eco no cleaning plan etc. there’s no phone in the room, so you’ll need to go to reception for most things.

Location is splendid especially if you are planning on taking the train a lot- easy train to the airport, and pretty much most other places. Compared to staying in dotonbori you do have less food options and need to walk abit more to the main parts tho- but honestly the walk isn’t that bad. Perhaps 5-10 min.

Comparing here to Forza Namba; I’d think this is a great overall winner- quieter, better configured rooms, more amenities, and proximity to the airport. But if you’re planning on doing ALOT of shopping, Forza might be better cause you can just drop off your bags and get...