voco Osaka Central — Hotel in Osaka

My husband, 2 year old toddler and I stayed in VOCO for a total of 13 nights from 5-18 Sep and were very sad to leave! ||We chose a Grand Room King Bed with a tatami corner and was told that it was one of the bigger rooms in the hotel. It was indeed very spacious and beautifully designed which is a rare find in Osaka where rooms are either too small and/or dated. The tatami area served as a great area for my toddler to unwind and play and we even had dinner there once even though there is a proper dining area in the room. I also liked that the shower area had both a full sized tub and shower head, the former providing great nightly "entertainment" for my toddler and the latter for the adults. ||Location wise, the nearest station would be Higobashi (blue line, 5 min slow walk) or you could even choose to walk to Yodoyabashi (red line, 10-15 min) or Hommachi (green line, 10 min) station depending on where you're headed. We believe VOCO is located in the CBD area and is removed from the action of Namba and Umeda. However, this means that it's quiet at night which ensures you a good night's rest. It is also conveniently located between the 2 and easily reachable by train. Because of our toddler + stroller, it does take some effort to get to these stations by train because of where the elevators at the train stations are located. Tip is to hop on a taxi which cost us about 1500 yen to Dotonburi area and under 1000 yen to Osaka station/Umeda area and takes so much less time, approx 10-15 mins. Convenience stores, a small supermarket and a pharmacy are 1-2 mins away. Pro tip: we didn't get to explore the food options around the area but the alleys seem to have Izakayas and ramen shops that were popular with the locals. Ask the Concierge!||Breakfast everyday was pretty standard, but the variety offered was good enough for us to dine-in almost every morning. You have a choice between a Western style breakfast (eggs, sausage, ham, veggies) or Japanese style breakfast which comes in a very pretty wooden tiered box. To accompany your mains, there is also a buffet line of breads, bakes, soup, fruits, juices and cereal. Think the difference in rate between breakfast and room only was less than $20 so we went for the breakfast rate and found it to be absolutely worth it. I'd encourage you to do so too!||What makes a hotel stay truly memorable though, is its people. The hotel hosts were friendly and I'd like to point out 3 specific incidents. I do hope that this compliment gets passed on to the following people:|1. Tomomi-san who was around almost every breakfast service - very attentive and showed a genuine desire to delight her guests. Every morning, my husband would have to put in our order for the family just before 10am (which is when breakfast service ends), as I struggle to wake and prepare my sleepy toddler for the day. Even though I usually arrive after 10am, the crew will still be ready to attend to my needs and Tomomi-san will always thoughtfully hold my mains till I arrive so that my food is served hot. On one morning, I turned up with a red eye (suspected conjunctivitis). She showed genuine concern and advised us on the brand of eyedrops to get, where to get it (there's a pharmacy 2 mins away) and was also ready to recommend an eye doctor if I required further medical attention. Subsequently, she would also check on the condition of my eye which was really appreciated. |2. When we came home one night, we found that one of my daughter's stuffed animals was missing. We turned over the entire room but to no avail. Suspecting that it may have been trapped in the sheets changed by the housekeeping team, my husband called the front desk to ask for help. Immediately, a front desk host came up to get more details about the toy and then went off to look for it. Within 15 mins, she was back with my daughter's favourite toy in her hand, together with an apology. I regret not getting her name but would sincerely like to thank her for so efficiently locating the toy so late at night. We also received a printed letter of apology together with some service recovery items the next night when we returned to our hotel. Genuine mistakes happen and we weren't upset since it was eventually found and would like to thank the team for handling this incident with much sincerity. |3. We checked-out early in the morning at around 7am and could only sneak in a quick drink before leaving. Seeing how we were standing around gulping down some juice, your hotel host (this time a guy, who also takes charge of breakfast service almost every day) offered to pack 2 cups of drinks for us to-go. The hot tea was much needed to prepare us for the journey back home. Much appreciated! ||Overall, an amazing stay with VOCO and we couldn't recommend it more :) It is by the way very kids friendly and they even provide cute dino-themed kids amenities. Definitely our hotel of choice if we were to be back in Osaka again. Kudos to the team once again for the excellent...

I have stayed at a few Voco hotels recently and was impressed with that this IHG brand offers, and decided on a trip to Osaka to book at the voco Osaka Central as a result of my previous good experiences. On arrival I was welcomed by a friendly gentleman in the lobby, and was directed to take a seat and when an available person at reception was available, I would be called over. I was directed to a reception team member within about 5 minutes of arrival. I was then directed over to the lift area after checking in by the friendly gentlemen welcoming guests in the lobby.||This particular room grade (King Corner Premium Room) is large by Japanese hotel room standards and featured 1 bed, a couch/lounge area inbuilt into the windowsill, a small fridge, a Nespresso machine, and an open wardrobe with a large baggage unpacking area inbuilt. The room featured an Air Purifier unit as well. Power points were found in many locations throughout the room, including some with either a USB-A or a USB-C port for charging devices without an adaptor. The bedding and pillows were comfortable and warm for the winter evenings, the room is quite well insulated however, and the air conditioning worked well to keep the temperature right. The only downside was the mattress was a little hard for side sleepers, but perfect for back or stomach sleepers. It took a night or two to get used to, but this is honestly nothing different to any other Japanese hotel I have stayed in. After 17 trips to Japan, I have found the large majority of Japanese hotels have the same style of mattress. The bathroom was large, featured a shower room with bath, and a upper scale Japanese bidet-shower toilet. The shower had very good pressure, and the bath is a much-appreciated addition in this particular room type when many western branded hotels are removing them in all their room grades. Toiletries were provided, and other sundry items can be picked up from the reception desk if anything is forgotten. ||The hotel does have an on-site restaurant and bar, however I did not use these facilities during my stay||Location:|The hotel is located Kyōmachibori in Osaka, almost halfway between Umeda and Shinsaibashi. The area surrounding the hotel is mostly business, but there are convenience stores, parks, restaurants etc within the local area. A Yoshinoya, for example, is located downstairs. In the surrounding streets you'll find some Izakaya, and a short walk away is a supermarket that is larger than a konbini, but smaller than a full-sized supermarket. The location is good as it is a little quieter than being right in the heart of Umeda, Shinsaibashi, or Dotonbori, but close enough to make those little night-time strolls for shopping and nightlife very easy. ||Transport:|The hotel is located close to Higobashi Metro Station, Exit 7. This station is approx. 3-5 mins walk from the hotel entrance and is located on the Yotsubashi (blue) Line of the metro system which will take you to Umeda, for links to JR/Hankyu/Hanshin Line services. About a 10-15 minute walk away is Yodoyabashi Station, located on the Midosuji (red) Line which is the line you need to take if you are connecting from Itami Airport or from the Shinkansen at Shin-Osaka. There is a lift near the directionally signed "Land Axis Tower" at Exit 13, on street level this lift is between the Family Mart and the adjacent building, and there are stairs here as well. Yodoyabsashi is also a station on the Keihan Line as well, which will take you to Kyoto. I came from Itami Airport, which meant I used the Osaka Monorail and then transferred Midosuji Line. Check the running times of the trains before booking your flights, my return flight to Tokyo departed at 07:05, and I had to get the first Metro service and Monorail connection which put me into the airport with just under an hour to check in and get through security screening. Taxis are easily found out the front of the hotel but can be a pricey alternative when travelling long distances to airports (for example). ||All in all this is a great little hotel in Osaka, and I am very impressed so far with the Voco brand and offering. The team at the Hotel Voco Osaka are very welcoming and friendly, and the room product and decor is very modern and...

Good location, nice and stylish room, good service, but NO WINDOW. Ok, I am an IHG platinum member and I booked the base room with cash. I checked in the front counter and was told that I would be upgraded. I went to my room and remarked to myself of how nice the room was and I proceed to unpack my stuff. Some time later, I went to open the curtains and lo and behold, I have NO WINDOW. Ok, technically, there was a window there but it was frosted or something in brown/gray stuff that there was ZERO natural light coming from the outside to inside. I could not see out AT ALL. I called the front desk and they told me it was for security reasons. I dont understand why. Maybe they meant for privacy reasons, instead? If so, then having a normal window with curtains and a sheer would be sufficient? Because no light could come in and I could not see outside at all, this is, for all intents and purposes, a windowless room. And this was supposed to be an UPGRADED ROOM for me. How can I get upgraded to a windowless room especially as a platinum member?! I went to the IHG website and there is no mention of a windowless room (or similar) on the description and the front desk also did not tell me that the room was windowless upon check in. I felt VERY disappointed. After some self-debating, I called the front desk and they moved me to a higher floor with an actual window that I can see out of. So there was a room available! They just choose to book me in to the lowest room possible despite getting a supposed "upgraded". Very peeved. I may have been ok if I booked using points only and was not an IHG member, but I booked a cash rate, was platinum, and was "upgraded." There should have been a full disclosure also by the website and the front desk.||Breakfast was ok, but the options for the buffet side were very limiting. Do not recommend.||Other notes: I arrived to the hotel around 8am to drop off my luggage and provided my passport information to the staff. I came back around 4pm the say day (a weekday) to get my keycard. It was not late. The staff informed me at the time that my luggage was already inside my room, but strangely did not have my key card ready at the time and had to make one on the spot.||Peeved of windowless room because:|1) It was not translucent, or transparent at all. It was essentially a blackout curtain. Zero light.|2) The IHG website may no mention of such a room|3) Front staff made no mention of this to me|4) I was "upgraded" to this room|5) I am an IHG platinum member|6) I booked using a cash rate and not points|7) I checked in at the appropriate time on a weekday (either 8am or 4pm) and not late, so staff should have had plenty of rooms available at the time|8) There was an actual room available for me (when I complained) and it was the EQUIVALENT room as the windowless room that I had (slightly different layout but actually a worse chair than my first room) but with a window that I can see out of (higher floor also). Instead of giving me this room, they gave me a windowless room. VERY...