Hotel Review: The St. Regis Osaka

Background:

I’ve always wanted to stay at a luxurious St. Regis property, but have never done so. I have stepped foot in a couple such as Bal Harbour, and Princeville, Hawaii (when it was still a St. Regis). An opportunity arose for my Japan trip, and so I booked the St. Regis Osaka for a three night stay. We stayed at the Conrad in Tokyo first and then ended the trip with the St. Regis Osaka. It was also the first time I’ve stayed at a Conrad property before, so I was excited to compare the two.

TAKEOFF POINTS:

Date of Stay: December 2022
Room Type: Grand Deluxe City View Corner, 2 Double
Pros: Convenient location, spacious room, boutique style in the middle of a city.
Cons: Rooms could use an update, toiletry brands inconsistent.

FORA TRAVEL BENEFITS:

I work with a travel agency, Fora Travel, and can assist in booking hotel stays. Fora is partnered with Virtuoso which the St. Regis Osaka is a part of. With Fora’s partnership, you can get special perks when booking with me. This specific property features:

• Upgrade on arrival, subject to availability
• Complimentary Daily A la Carte Breakfast for two guests per bedroom, in restaurant
• $100 USD Equivalent Food & Beverage credit
• Early check-in/late check-out, subject to availability

If you are interested in getting these perks and want to stay at the St. Regis Osaka, feel free to email me at takeofftotravel@fora.travel and I would be happy to help you plan your trip.

Hotel and Location:

The St. Regis Osaka opened in 2010 and has a total of just 160 guest rooms, making it a boutique style hotel. It is located on the top 16 floors of Honmachi Garden City (floors 12-27). The location is a bit interesting as it is more tranquil than other parts of the Osaka city center but still very convenient. It is steps away from Honmachi Station for public transport, and is on the street of Midosuji which is where high end shops are located. It’s about 4 miles from Shin-Osaka Station (where the bullet trains stop), 2 miles from Osaka Station, and 1.5 miles from Namba Station. Additionally, it’s situated at the northern end of Shinsaibashi-suji, which is a covered shopping street for everyday goods and food that runs all the way to Osaka’s main entertainment district of Dōtonbori. That is nice especially if it’s raining.

Arrival:

After taking the Shinkansen Bullet Train from Tokyo and arriving at Shin-Osaka, we took a taxi ride (about $17 USD) to the hotel.

Upon entry, you enter the ground floor where the French Bistro “Rue d’Or” is located. Concierge desks are also located on this floor.

Then, you take the elevators to the main lobby, which is located on the 12th floor. This design was similar to my stay at the Conrad Tokyo.

Check-In:

We arrived a little after 3pm, and both front desk associates were helping other guests. A different associate came to assure us that we would be helped shortly. The St. Regis Osaka offers a sit-down check-in experience, and after one associate freed up, we were promptly checked in.

The associate kindly walked us to the elevators, and told us about the welcome drink that she would have sent to our rooms. Since I was staying through my birthday, she also wished me a happy early birthday, and said they would deliver a small cake at our convenience.

St. Regis Butler Service:

St. Regis is known for having the St. Regis Butler Service. One of the nice services offered is having a welcome and morning beverage (tea and coffee service). The St. Regis in Osaka offers tea, coffee, apple juice or orange juice as the beverage choices. Other services include unpacking/packing services and garment pressing (two garments per person per day is complimentary). Our welcome drink got delivered shortly after we checked in. For the next days, I requested the morning beverages in the app, and they responded promptly.

Grand Deluxe City View Corner Room:

Our room was located on the 20th floor, and I though the hallways looked quite nice.

Upon entering the room, you had a private feeling at the entrance where you had to go down a mini hallway and turn left to the room, since it is a corner room.

The room featured 2 Double (Full) Sized Beds. From the pictures they look a bit lumpy, but they were actually quite comfortable. I got great sleep during my stay.

Towards the window, there was a nice sofa and table. And in front, a desk area that looked quite aesthetically pleasing.

There were two ways to enter the bathroom, in which you could loop around the room. It was actually quite a convenient design.

The walk-in closet was quite nice and spacious.

Yukata:

A nice touch was that Yukatas (Japanese style bathrobe and loungewear) were provided. They even had subtle hints of the St. Regis brand with small stamps representing the hotel on it.

And at the entrance, there is a valet closet that can open from the outside for deliveries without needing to be bothered. Very nice luxurious touch.

There is a mini-bar in the room, as well as snacks for purchase. A Nespresso Machine and Hot Water Maker are provided, along with capsules and teabags.

The view towards the northern side of the city was nice to look at (perhaps minus the cranes).

Main controls for the room (lighting, drapes) were interestingly in the left side bed drawer. The right side bed had some controls, although much more limited.

Cleanliness was good, but not as spotless as the Conrad Tokyo.

The only real quirks of the room are the condition of some of the fixtures. But, a soft renovation could help it out. The wallpaper in the closet was all marked from the constant hitting of the hangers and the cabinet could use a cleaning. Also, there was this old wardrobe valet that was quite useful, but it could definitely use some touch ups.

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Bathroom:

The bathroom was quite nice and large, with two sinks, a separate tub, shower and a W/C with the bidet style toilet. The tub also had a television, and a view of the city.

The separate shower had jets on the wall, which was kind of cool and unique to me to see at a hotel. It also had a movable wand.

Interestingly, there was a hodgepodge of hotel toiletries. We got bar Soap from Le Labo, Shampoo + Conditioner from Byredo and lotion from the St. Regis’ former standard icon Remède’s. Marriott announced they were discontinuing the Remede toiletries from the St. Regis lineup in 2020, so perhaps that is the explanation for this mixture? Oddly, the Byredo bottles say “For the Luxury Collection” on the back which is another Marriott brand. Perhaps it came from the nearby Mitusi Kyoto, a Luxury Collection Hotel and Spa? Anyway, not a big issue, but the lack of consistency is a bit odd and doesn’t quite exude a luxury brand.

The most interesting part of the bathroom, to me, was that there was an emergency stairwell in the bathroom. It led to another door that could be opened in an emergency. I assume we could climb down to the ground floor with this ladder.

Housekeeping service was a bit under expectations, with certain stationary items not being replenished such as when the notepad ran out of paper.

Overall, the room was comfortable, and if the furniture got renovated, it would be better.

St. Regis Garden:

Just outside the lobby, is a nice garden inspired by Traditional Japanese Stone Garden architecture.

Dining:

The hotel features a numerous amount of restaurants for a property of its size. La Veduta is the main restaurant on the 12th floor lobby level, and it is Italian themed. It serves the main breakfast as well as lunch and dinner. Also on the lobby level is the St. Regis Bar that is open in the evenings. Additionally, the Teppanyaki Restaurant Wajo is open for dinner Thursday-Monday and lunch on Friday-Monday.

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The French Bistro is “Rue d’Or”, and is located on the ground floor of the hotel, serving lunch, tea time and dinner; plus it has a pastry grab and go section called La Boulangerie. I grabbed a few pastries from La Boulangerie for a morning snack and they were quite good and very reasonably priced (about 3 USD each).

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Also, there is this theatre + dining immersive experience called Le Petit Chef on the 11th floor.

Room service (private dining as they call it) is also offered 24 hours a day.

Amenities:

You can have an in room massage, or visit the IRIDIUM featuring SOTHYS Spa. Also, there is also a small fitness center open 24/7.

The Verdict:

Overall, my first stay at a St. Regis branded property was good but fell a bit short. Maybe I had high expectations given the amazing stay I had at the Conrad Tokyo. The rooms at the St. Regis Osaka could use a soft refresh on the furnishings, but the boutique feel and attentive service still make it a solid luxurious option in the city of Osaka.

 

Have you stayed at the St. Regis Osaka before? How was your experience? Comment below!

 

Best,

Ty

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Have any questions? Comment below or email me at takeofftotravel@gmail.com. I’ve also started working with a travel agency, Fora Travel, and can assist in booking hotel stays or planning trips. You can also view all my other posts here! Thanks for stopping by!