The Conrad Osaka is Osaka’s best hotel, bar none. I could stop the post there, but I won’t. If you want to read me talking about how great this hotel is, at the risk of sounding like a Hilton sheep - read on. If not, you should stop here- I’m warning you, it’s about to get cringey.
The Location
The Conrad Osaka is located in the Kita-ku district. A fully developed, beautiful district with modern buildings and easy access to local trains and buses.
The Hotel is connected to a massive mall, and nearby of the beautiful (although less posh) Hilton Osaka. You have easy access to a food hall called Touca as well as lots of anime and video game themed shopping. I enjoyed the Capcom store, the Pokémon Store, The mugiwara store, and I very much enjoyed the shonen jump store.
The Service
This hotel is worthy of the category 8 moniker. From check in to check out, the staff went above and beyond to provide us with the most excellent service that I have come to know Japan’s top-tier accommodations to provide. It was just as good as the Conrad in Tokyo, and slightly better than the Park Hyatt in Kyoto. They always checked up on us to make sure we didn’t need any refills, they were always on top of getting our food to us on time. No complaints, everything was solid.
The Room
As is the theme of my latest trip to Japan. I was upgraded yet again from a basic king bed to an executive king room, which felt more like a suite than a room.
There was a table in the middle of the room with a TV I finally had access to the HDMI port to, so I used it to watch the most Japanese thing I could think of…
One Piece RED
The bathroom was very nice as well, with a dual vanity his and hers sink(s), as well as a nice big tub that I didn’t get to try due to how dog-tired I was after every day.
By far the best part of the room, which coincidentally was the best part of the hotel as a whole, was the views.
The only negative is that the beds were stiff. I felt like I was being coddled by a rock golem every time I laid on that thing. Subsequently, I still slept like a baby, so maybe they have a point in doing so. The pillows were clean and soft as always. I have yet to see a hotel mess up pillows.
The Gym
I’m sure it was great, but I didn’t go, LOL. Perhaps check out a YouTube video or something for that.
Breakfast
Ah, my favorite part, breakfast.
This has to be the best breakfast I have had so far in Japan (at least this time). There was hot food, there was meat, there was fried rice, noodles, the pastries should be renamed “futuries” because of how far ahead they are of any other hotel in Japan. The cereal was decent, but the oat and yogurt were on point. I also compared this breakfast versus the older less-talented brother, the Hilton Osaka, and the breakfast there was lacking. The service as also pretty bad, as I had no one come check on the table even an hour later after initially sitting us down. But that really made the breakfast at the Conrad shine even brighter!
Overall Score
If you want my honest opinion, this might be the best hotel in Japan. I can’t say that for sure, as I haven’t been to every single one. But comparing it to its peers (outside of Aman and Bulgari) this might be a standout production. Now, I am sure you saw this coming, but it’s clearly a 5/5 Hotel. When I compare this versus its contemporaries, mainly the Park Hyatt, which was also opened in 2018, it’s hard to pick a winner. They are both great in their own ways. Do you prefer a trip back in time to a Kyoto village? Or do you want a modernist getaway? Either way:
5/5
