The Park Front Hotel at Universal Studios Japan — Hotel in Osaka

First off, this is not a 4 star hotel. The hotel lobby LOOKS like it would be 4 star, but I’d say this is 3 or possibly 3.5 at most. The good:It is situated directly across the USJ entrance. Short walk to and from the park, and if you have a park view room you have a great look at the park and all the people lining up at 6 am to get into the park. You also get discounts at the Wolfgang Puck downstairs in the building. The bad:1. Luggage forwarding is from 9 am to 1 pm. We had to check out the next day at 630 am, and had gone to the park the day before where we purchased tons of merch for the kids and friends back home, but were stuck not being able to use the hotels service for luggage transfer. For comparison, the Keihan hotel next door had luggage service available in the evening, but only offered it to their own guests. The Hotel Kintetsu nearby also offered evening luggage transfer. All the Lawson convenience stores nearby also had the service available (which is what we used). But the so called premier USJ hotel near the park entrance? You get the ridiculous 4 hour window from 9 am to 1 pm. Do better Park Front.2) The best room looked like a cheap Vegas room. There was a sofa much too small for the size of the room, a small table, and a whole lot of empty space for… not sure, actually. No iron in the room. The mini fridge worked great, so there’s that I guess. Also, no drawers or dressers, which would have been great filler for all that empty space above. 3) Laundry service was suboptimal and somewhat embarrassing. They provided a small laundry bag in the room, and when I called to request the service was first told to use the coin laundry on the floor. As I had a busy day ahead and didn’t want to waste time with that (also there is ONE machine that washes and dries on each floor), they instructed me to bring my laundry down to the lobby (!!!). At the lobby, they then asked me to take out each item so they can see it and itemize them. This is after I filled out the form indicating what I was including in the bag. But I guess it would be better for me to take out each item in front of guests checking in and walking through the lobby so they can confirm? Maybe the other hotels I stayed at in Tokyo and Kyoto did it incorrectly when they had someone came to my room, picked up my laundry and form, and then dropped it off in my room when done. Also, they ended up not wanting to wash some of my wife’s undergarments because they were afraid they would damage it since had lace (assumption on my end, not sure why else, really).4) Leaving the hotel the first day, the front desk assisted in getting a taxi, and directed me to the 2nd floor where a car drove up to get us (this was good). On the day of checkout we called an Uber Taxi and waited in the exact same spot, only for someone to tell us we were not at the taxi pickup spot, and had to go out to the side in front of… Hotel Keihan to get the cab. Silly us for thinking we would get a ride a) in front of our hotel signage and b) in the same location we got a cab a couple days prior (albeit with the hotel’s assistance).5) Check in experience: when we got in, there were staff members running around with luggage. Thinking they would help us with ours (spoilers: they didn’t), we were instead told to bring our own bags upstairs to the 3rd floor. After checking in, we were told to bring our own baggage to the room. Even the Disney resort took care of that for us. In retrospect this was a harbinger of what was to come. Maybe we expected too much, as prior to this stay we were at the Bellustar in Tokyo, Garrya Niko Castle in Kyoto, and Disney’s Hotel Miracasta. The stay could have been so much better if we didn’t feel that, for a supposed 4 star premier hotel, we expected the same level of service...

I am writing to formally lodge a complaint regarding the service I received at the check-in counter of The Park Front Hotel on April 16, 2025. The experience with one of your front desk staff members—a heavy-set woman with a middle-parted hairstyle—was extremely disappointing and reflected a serious lack of hospitality and service-mindedness. Please allow me to explain the situation in detail:

I arrived at the hotel at approximately 8:00 AM with my family of four, and we requested to leave our luggage. The staff at the baggage counter was very polite and provided excellent service.

Later, I returned to the hotel around 11:45 AM due to an issue with my USJ entry pass. I approached the front desk around 12:00 PM to check in.

I informed the staff member (the aforementioned woman) that I would like to check in. She asked for our passports. I handed her mine first, and upon confirming that we had four guests, she requested the other three passports as well. After reviewing all four, she stated that check-in was strictly not allowed until 3:00 PM. Even after I politely asked if early check-in was possible since I was very tired, she refused and repeated that check-in would only be allowed from 3:00 PM onwards.

I then waited in the nearby seating area. There were also other foreign guests waiting, whom I assumed were also waiting to check in. The seating was uncomfortable, and the prolonged wait caused physical strain. I became very fatigued and even dozed off briefly. When I woke up, the other foreign guests were no longer there. A moment later, they returned and asked if I had checked in yet. I replied that it wasn’t yet 3:00 PM. They informed me that they had already checked in and brought their belongings to their room some time ago.

I was shocked to learn this and proceeded to the check-in counter myself. It was then just after 3:00 PM. What I do not understand is: why was I told I could not check in before 3:00 PM, yet other guests clearly were allowed to do so? More importantly, the staff member saw me sitting and waiting for nearly three hours right in front of her, but showed no initiative or courtesy to let me know when check-in became available. This showed a complete lack of hospitality and attentiveness to guests.

This staff member may have been performing her basic duties, but she clearly lacked the spirit of customer service and empathy for tired travelers. For a hotel located adjacent to a world-renowned theme park like USJ, such an experience is both surprising and deeply disappointing.

I sincerely hope the hotel management will investigate this matter seriously and consider additional training for your staff to improve their hospitality mindset and ensure no future guests experience...

Luxury Room (City View) AND Superior Room w/2 extrabeds (Park View)

•UNDERWHELMING LUXURY• Booked: Luxury Room w/City View 25-27MAY2022 While the front lobby and elevators are themed to “time travel” perfection… the customer service was sub par. Not gonna lie, we felt ignored by the staff. We purposely booked a luxury room, on luxury floors, to receive luxury services and treatment because we saw plenty of positive reviews posted about the property… but we received none. Our time there was nothing like any of the raving reviews. We stood by the private check-in desk and felt like idiots cuz nobody came to assist. Zero luxury from the start… curious if it was due to our mixed family. No one from our party of 6 even cared to take pictures. Ooop… just kidding, I have one, and it’s just of the elevator. Anyway, we ended up just checking-in at the regular counter (who we maybe thought would lead us to the concierge- but didn’t), and no mention of the luxury floor perks. So all in all— the rooms were nice and clean, modern with a beautiful view of the city and a breakfast buffet that satisfied the whole family; providing a wide variety of new, as well as, familiar dishes. Our experience during the Memorial weekend stay at Park Front was mediocre. Dont let them steal your money y’all… they’ll charge you for a luxury experience that they don’t always provide. TBH, I sincerely hope we weren’t treated poorly because we have a mixed family. That would be so dang disappointing. •GREAT VIEW / TIGHT FIT• Booked: ParkViewSuperiorRoom w/2 ExtraBeds 25-27MAY2022 We came as a party of 6, so we reserved multiple rooms. The Luxury Rooms were all booked, so we ended up settling for the Superior Rooms. Listen, I’m gonna be honest… it was a tight fit. The room is long and narrow, which made moving around a challenge for teens. The price tag (presumably) lies heavily on its proximity to the Universal Studios Entrance and immediate access to City Walk. For the room however, if you don’t think it’s overpriced, and just need a place for 4 guests to crash during your Universal trip (and space isn’t a major issue for you)— then Universal Park Front would be a check in the box. The panoramic view of the US Park from this “Superior Room w/2 extra beds” really is awesome tho… but be warned, it’s...