Hotel Be Zen — Hotel in Osaka

Nah this is whack. The hotel is in a busy alleyway lively with drunks and sketchy people. Totally unsettling front desk area, when my friend and I arrived we weren’t greeted by anyone at the front desk and instead we were met with two other older male guests that were loudly saying crude things about us (our Japanese is not great and we are two women travelling alone, so we could not stand up for ourselves confidently and had to let it pass, the man at the counter did not say anything to the two men about their comments)…the moment we arrived it immediately made me think it was a love hotel and despite the lack of adult toys in the room im still not convinced it’s not; especially since when you turn on the TV you’re met with the option to go directly to the adult shows and there’s MULTIPLE love hotels within the area. The elevator closed on me very quickly and hurt my shoulder, and as other reviews have said it is SMALL if you have anything more than carryon in there you’re screwed. When we got to our non-smoking rooms, it still smells like smoke and must on the 7th floor, and probably every single other floor, and the rooms are not much better. I’ll admit the room is big but it literally gives you the vibe that horrible things happen here, we immediately had to do a scan to check and see if they hid cameras anywhere cause the lobby and the vibe of the overall hotel is so unwelcoming you feel like something is very wrong. The bathroom is gross, it clearly has not been properly scrubbed and sanitized in ages as there’s water stains on the walls as well as the metal knobs for the water. Scrapes, dirt, marks, stains on the carpet, I could go on so I just attached some photos and if I can I will add more in the morning when we leave. Btw it was 16,800¥ for a single night. :) not happy...

Oh, I Be Zen. I Be very Zen.

Now, at first glance this looks like a nondescript little hotel, down a nondescript alleyway in bustling Namba. But at a second glance it looks, and feels, exactly like a love hotel.

But... where was the love? I didn't see any love; In fact, I didn't see anyone. Apart from check-in and check-out I didn't see a single soul in Be Zen, at a time when most of Osaka was fully booked out... so that's either testimony to the discretion of the hotel, or it was truly completely empty. Another thought springs to mind... maybe everyone was just like really really zen!

The rooms are fairly modest like most Japanese hotels; however they are very spacious (unlike most Japanese hotels), with a gargantuan bathroom cough love hotel cough and incredibly clean.

But really, the most zen thing about this hotel is location. Walking distance to the heart of Dotonbori (9 mins to the Glico sign) makes this the ideal stay for those looking to experience the area which has great food (street and restaurants) and some iconic bars.

Who knows... maybe...

The location of this hotel is fairly convenient. It is close to a major subway station. The elevator can barely fit two people with luggage. There was often no one at the front desk in the morning or in the evening. Unlike most other hotels in Japan, they put the daily amenities in the room instead of in the lobby which was a nice touch. For the price, the room was significantly larger than other hotels we stayed in. The bathroom was also nice, there was a separate shower room and toilet room, and the shower area was great. The bed was essentially a glorified cot, so you are essentially sleeping on springs. There is also a VERY small bedside shelf that can barely fit your phone on it. My biggest issue, and it was a big issues, was the smell. The moment we went up to our floor (5th floor) it stunk. The smell in our room was only slightly better, but there was a noticeable stench. I wouldn't stay here again simply because of the smell. Overall, not a...