Tokyu Stay Osaka Honmachi — Hotel in Osaka

This hotel unfortunately did not live up to its advertising. One reason I booked this place was that there were supposed to be microwaves and washing machines in the rooms, but my room had neither of those things. It had 2 public machines which unfortunately ran into problems when I used them (my clothes were left soaking wet twice because the machine couldn't cope with the use of a laundry net and gave an error message; a sign to say "don't use laundry nets" would be an essential upgrade here). When I complained about the laundry problem the first time the staff just laughed when I went to walk away and nothing happened. The second time, the staff gave me access to a different room a few doors away from mine which - wouldn't you know - was one which DID have a washing machine of its own. I was then able to spin my soaking clothes easily. But I felt pretty hard done by that I didn't get this room to start with, as this was a key point of the advertising.

The room itself was very small. It faced directly towards an office building so the floor-to-ceiling window had to be blocked by a blind at all times for privacy. This also meant that I never got to have any natural light. Not good.

There is a gym which consists of 2 treadmills, a bike and I think maybe a few weights (I forget). I wanted to use the bike but I couldn't adjust the tension or settings on it so I gave up due to embarrassment. It was also far too hot and sweaty in the gym room itself and just being in there was unbearable. I had sweat dripping off me just from trying to figure out the bike for 10 minutes. I was exhausted enough from all the walking in this area anyway so I may as well not have bothered.

There is a free tea/coffee/cocoa machine in the lobby on the 18th floor, available until 10pm. But it often gets jammed up, so you get cocoa-stained water more often than not. Embarrassing to have to keep asking for help with it so I just gave up.

I did find that there was a slight residue of soap scum on the bath when I checked in at first. So it hadn't been properly cleaned after the last guest checked out. I cleaned that bath myself. But apart from that the cleaning was pretty good and the building was in good nick.

The location is 3 blocks away from the top end of Shinsaibashi-suji. But it's waaaaay far from the Dotonbori end, so tourists be aware. There is no JR station nearby so that means JR passes are useless here (the JR pass is a false economy anyway though, it's foolish to buy it unless you are doing short hops on the shinkansen, but that's another story). The hotel is a few metres away from the Sakaisuji-Hommachi subway station, but the nearest exit closes at night so in practice you'll have to walk around the block and then some when you use the station at a late hour. It's also near the main Midosuji line Hommachi subway station but again this one closes many of its 20 or more exits at night so I found myself lost and stuck in there for 25 minutes walking in circles up and down many flights of stairs in the dark at midnight on one occasion and I didn't feel safe as a woman alone in that situation. I became exhausted walking all the way around and around getting myself all muddled up just to access these stations.

Additionally as regards location and transport, a major point is that there is absolutely no reasonable accessibility to public transport for persons with mobility issues here. There are very few lifts or escalators available, but where they are available you will have to walk much further to access them. This means that unless you're using a wheelchair it could well actually be harder for you to walk all the way to the lift and back than it would be to just struggle with the stairs. This was very difficult for me because I certainly do have mobility issues and I ended up injuring myself further due to this inaccessibility. This is a widespread problem in Japan though, not just here.

I just overall wouldn't suggest staying here. There were more hassles than perks and I felt I could have spent my money and...

What kind of hotel refuses to change bed sheets for their guest after the guest showed the receptionist their arm with massive hives flare-up due to the dusty and dirty bedsheets? We even politely requested it to be changed the next morning, not immediately. Yet, they even had the audacity to charge for changing bed sheet even after seeing the condition of the hives all over my arm. They refused it because they claim we cannot prove my hives flare-up is connected to the bed sheets -- like what? Did they not see my hives-ridden arm or not? Should I have undressed my whole body in front of the reception desk to show them the hives all over my body? I have medically diagnosed allergy to dust, attended dermatologist assessments in my home country and they insisted I needed a "medical certificate" to prove it. Not to mention, my asthma got triggered so bad that I was heaving and coughing non stop and it was pure raw suffering.

Tell me -- where can I conveniently obtain one at 9PM in a foreign country? They're absolute tools and brain-rotted. After pushing back at them, they offered to provide a set of bedsheets with no charge under the condition that we change the sheets ourselves -- this was incredibly insulting and rude. Is this a hotel or my own home? Alas we had to accept it because the hives was literally burning and itching all over my body. They are so extremely stingy with poverty-level room service, no bedsheet changes unless you stay for 7 consecutive nights which is ridiculous.

No water provided either. OUTRAGEOUS. The entire room is dusty, aircon is also dirty and you could SEE all the dust floating in the air constantly. Receptionist is cold, rude, indifferent and can't provide basic people customer service. They showed visible facial expressions of lack of care, annoyance and a look of spite in their eyes -- even rolled their eyes when we initially politely requested to have our bedsheets changed the next morning. Avoid booking here and look elsewhere. Dog water customer service, dog water level of care, dog water level of cleanliness, dog...

Location was pretty decent, just at the "outskirts" of dotonburi.. was really close to a train station too, so we didn't have to lug our suitcases about for a huge distance. Point to note, there's actually a station exit with an elevator further down the road, the nearest station exit is stairs only, not even an escalator. The little bit of extra walking distance from the station exit with the elevator is definitely worth it if you have heavy luggages, as it's quite a large step of stairs from the basement to ground level. quite a few konbini/convenience stores just round the corner, and just a short walk to the shinsaibashi, with quite a few restaurants along the way.

Room was pretty spacious for the price, and it was a huge convenience having a washing machine within the room. Interestingly our room wasn't carpeted, which would have been nice, given how cold Osaka can be in winter.

Service was so-so, staff weren't very friendly, didn't experience that famous Japanese hospitality while we were there. Limited housekeeping is available, where they refresh your towels each day at your request. No change of bedsheets or complimentary bottled water, but a small water kettle (600ml) is provided.

Luggage storage came in the form of combination lockers and wires attached to combination locks, which is located on the first floor free of charge. There's also a restroom available if you need to use one after you check out.

Quite a value hotel if you're not fussy about daily housekeeping or having friendly hotel staff. Would revisit despite the quality of service, due to the price, location, and the availability of rooms with washing...