Review: Courtyard Osaka Honmachi

1 year ago 268

During a travel to Japan, I spent 2 nights successful Osaka to get to cognize a caller portion of the country. I was looking for a edifice that had a bully equilibrium betwixt outgo and facilities, and came crossed the Courtyard Osaka Honmachi arsenic 1 of the options.

I’m rather acquainted with the hit-and-miss Courtyards of North America and Europe, but this became my archetypal clip with the marque successful Asia. Many members of the Prince of Travel squad and the Miles & Points assemblage person spoken highly of Courtyards successful Asia, and I was keen to cheque 1 retired for myself.

Courtyard Osaka Honmachi – Booking

I was fortunate to people an manufacture complaint astatine this hotel, which was 1 of respective options disposable successful the area.

Regular currency rates astatine the spot commencement astatine astir ¥15,000 ($150 CAD) and emergence up to ¥40,000 ($400 CAD) during highest periods. If you’re booking astatine slightest a fewer months successful advance, expect to wage ¥15,000 ($150 CAD), which is so an charismatic price.

If you program connected redeeming Marriott Bonvoy points, expect to portion with 35,000–45,000 points per night, with astir dates falling determination adjacent to 40,000 points.

There isn’t a precise compelling crushed to redeem points here, particularly if you tin publication rates for astir 15,000 ($150 CAD) per night. You’re apt to get overmuch little than our people valuation of 0.9 cents per point, and you’re apt amended disconnected redeeming your points for a much invaluable redemption.

If you person a spare Free Night Award kicking around, you tin inactive get decent worth retired of it, particularly if the currency rates tally a spot higher than the norm.

Of course, beryllium definite to effort retired immoderate firm codes that you are entitled to, arsenic it whitethorn bring down the nightly outgo adjacent further.

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Courtyard Osaka Honmachi – Location

The Courtyard Osaka Honmachi is conveniently located successful Central Osaka, adjacent to galore of the city’s attractions, transit hubs, and concern areas.

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The edifice is noticeably adjacent to a main thoroughfare, Chuo-dori Avenue. Despite the hefty level of traffic, I didn’t announcement immoderate sound from wrong the hotel.

Osaka Castle is simply a leisurely half-hour stroll from the hotel, oregon alternatively, astir a 10-minute drive. It’s a large spot for a tally from the hotel, if you’re into that benignant of thing.

To get to the bustling Dotonbori district, it takes astir 10 minutes by car, 15 minutes by transit, oregon 25 minutes by foot. There are plentifulness of restaurants and bars on the way, should you get bare astatine immoderate constituent on the journey.

Heading northward, you’ll get astatine Nakanoshima, a three-kilometre agelong sandbank wherever galore authorities buildings, commercialized offices, and museums are located, successful astir 5 minutes by car oregon transit, oregon astir 15 minutes by foot.

Shin-Osaka Station is astir 15 minutes by car oregon 20 minutes by transit from the hotel.

Kansai International Airport is astir an hr by transit oregon fractional an hr by car from the hotel, and Itami Airport is astir an hr by transit oregon 25 minutes by car from the Courtyard Osaka Honmachi.

Courtyard Osaka Honmachi – Check-in

I arrived astatine the edifice from Shin-Osaka Station by mode of the Midosuji Line. Navigating my mode from the bid presumption to Honmachi was easy, which was a spot of a alleviation aft an oddly delayed Shinkansen thrust from Tokyo.

The hotel’s exterior blends successful to galore of the surrounding buildings, and I astir walked close past the entrance.

Upon entering, I noted that the edifice appeared to beryllium rather modern, and walked done a hallway with green-leaf artwork and a divider with Japanese writing.

The lobby lounge has a fewer seating areas for guests, but it isn’t a peculiarly immense oregon inviting abstraction to cheque out.

I headed implicit to 1 of 3 check-in desks, and was warmly greeted by the associate. I arrived successful the aboriginal evening, and determination weren’t excessively galore radical successful the area.

My Platinum Elite presumption was acknowledged, and I was informed of each of the hotel’s facilities and amenities that I’d person entree to. There wasn’t truly overmuch of a constituent of “suite-talking” here, since astir of the rooms are precise similar.

I thanked the subordinate for the thorough mentation of what to expect, and past headed up to my country connected the eighth level of the hotel.

Courtyard Osaka Honmachi – King Comfort Guest Room

I wasn’t expecting my country to beryllium rather arsenic fancy arsenic what I’d experienced astatine the Mesm Tokyo the nighttime before. However, I was pleasantly amazed to find a modern country with everything I’d request for a enactment that was a premix of some enactment and leisure.

Upon entering the room, there’s a abbreviated hallway that leads past the bath and into the bedroom.

In the hallway, there’s an unfastened closet with a spot to bent your jacket, a footwear tray, immoderate drawers, and immoderate Japanese pajamas.

Everything successful the chamber is reasonably compact, but it had capable abstraction to determination astir comfortably. The furniture takes up the bulk of the room, and I recovered it to beryllium rather comfy and large for a coagulated night’s rest, arsenic I was inactive battling pitchy lag.

There are broadside tables connected either broadside of the bed, with lamps, outlets, an alarm clock, and lighting controls.

Mounted connected the partition other from the furniture is the room’s flat-screen TV, which is placed optimally for viewing from the bed.

Between the furniture and the model is simply a tiny array with a chair. I spent immoderate clip moving present during my stay, and recovered it to beryllium comfy for abbreviated stints of work, but not truthful overmuch for longer periods of time.

Against the model is simply a padded bench, which I accidental mightiness marque for a bully spot to work a book.

The presumption from the country wasn’t peculiar by immoderate means, arsenic it conscionable looked retired onto the neighbouring gathering and the engaged roadworthy nearby.

In the country of the country is simply a closet, which is wherever you tin bent much garments. There’s besides an ironing committee inside.

On the different broadside of the seat is simply a tiny pantry, with a beverage kettle connected apical and a mini-fridge tucked underneath. Instead of a java maker, determination were nifty single-use drip java packets, which I hadn’t encountered before.

The bath is tucked into the country of the country betwixt the furniture and the door. Inside, you’ll find a azygous LED-backlit vanity, a Japanese toilet, and a walk-in ablution with a seat inside.

It’s worthy noting that there’s a model from the ablution to the bedroom, but you tin propulsion down a unsighted if you’d similar a spot of privacy. The rainfall ablution had fantabulous h2o pressure.

Overall, I was pleasantly amazed by the room. While it wasn’t the astir luxurious country I’ve stayed in, it was modern, clean, functional, and comfortable.

If you’re successful Osaka for enactment oregon arsenic a tourist, you’ll person everything you request successful your room; however, for families, it mightiness beryllium a spot cramped.

Courtyard Osaka Honmachi – Breakfast

Breakfast is served successful STITCH, the hotel’s main eating venue, from 7–10am daily. I enjoyed complimentary meal arsenic portion of my Platinum Elite benefits, but it different costs ¥3,800 ($38 CAD) per person.

There is an exterior entranceway to the restaurant, arsenic it’s besides unfastened for luncheon from 11:30am–3pm, and for meal from 5:30–11pm. It’s worthy noting that you’ll get a 10–20% discount connected luncheon and dinner, depending connected your status.

STITCH is rather tiny compared to your modular edifice restaurant, with a fig of tables acceptable up crossed 2 rooms connected the 2nd level of the hotel. The champion seats are by the windows, but determination isn’t truly overmuch of a presumption to soak in.

I was precise pleased with the buffet dispersed astatine the Courtyard Osaka Honmachi, which was so overmuch amended than galore North American buffets astatine higher-end hotels.

The immense bulk of the options disposable successful the buffet were Japanese cuisine, which I surely didn’t caput astatine all. For blistery items, determination was an udon noodle station, dumplings, grilled fish, dumplings, Western- and Japanese-style eggs, karaage, minestrone soup, blistery dogs, and caller tofu.

Courtyard Osaka Honmachi – Hot buffet selection
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For acold items, determination was a enactment of baked goods, yogurts, smoked salmon, acold cuts, cereals, a afloat crockery bar, and caller fruits.

Courtyard Osaka Honmachi – Cold buffet selection
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Better yet, determination was an full array astatine the rear of the buffet country dedicated to section and seasonal specialties, including takoyaki, kushi katsu, and overmuch more.

Courtyard Osaka Honmachi – Local specialty buffet items
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On the southward-facing broadside of the edifice is the beverage area. There was a bully enactment of juices, smoothies, teas, and java available.

I thoroughly enjoyed the meal each morning, and coiled up treating 2 friends from Edmonton who happened to beryllium successful Osaka astatine the aforesaid time. They remarked that the meal served astatine the Courtyard Osaka Honmachi enactment the 1 astatine the Moxy Osaka Honmachi to shame.

Courtyard Osaka Honmachi – Other Facilities

On the bid into Osaka, I was speechmaking up connected the edifice and its facilities. One point that peculiarly caught my oculus was the open-air nationalist bath, which I hoped conscionable a agelong mode of saying that there’s an onsen (Japanese blistery spring) on-site.

Fortunately, my suspicions were correct, and determination are abstracted antheral and pistillate onsens located connected the 2nd level of the hotel, conscionable down the hallway from STITCH.

As you whitethorn callback from erstwhile reviews and articles, I’m precise overmuch a bathing enthusiast, and I coiled up spending rather a spot of clip successful the onsen. It’s unfastened regular from 5–10am, and past again from 2pm–1am.

Bath and look towels are disposable astatine the entrance, and you won’t truly request to bring thing other speech from slippers. You’re expected to beryllium nude portion utilizing the facilities, arsenic is emblematic successful onsens successful Japan.

Once inside, you’ll person the enactment of bathing indoors oregon outside. On 1 morning, it was raining outside, and I recovered it to beryllium peculiarly refreshing to soak successful the blistery excavation portion chill raindrops splashed around.

There are besides ablution booths adjacent for washing up aft you’ve had a soak, arsenic good arsenic hairsbreadth dryers and amenities successful the alteration room.

One edifice payment that I’ve ne'er encountered before, but anticipation to again, is complimentary bedtime ramen (I’m not kidding).

As agelong arsenic you are a Marriott Bonvoy member, you tin popular by STITCH from 10:10–10:50pm for a escaped vessel of ramen, which is expected to assistance you slumber well. There’s a constricted proviso of ramen available, and erstwhile I showed up astatine 10:05pm, I was promptly turned distant and asked to instrumentality 5 minutes later.

Inside, you’ll find the toppings, bowls of noodles, h2o for boiling noodles, and ramen broth acceptable up on the meal buffet counter.

The ramen was rather tasty, and I enjoyed the acquisition of sitting successful a quiescent country listening to a chorus of slurps portion I enjoyed my bowl. I can’t accidental if I slept truthful good that nighttime due to the fact that of pitchy lag oregon the ramen, but I deliberation it’s harmless to accidental that some worked good successful my favour.

In the lobby, there’s a abstracted seating country which functions arsenic a concern café to the back, known arsenic M18. It’s reserved for guests with Platinum Elite presumption oregon higher oregon who wage an other interest (¥1,000 ($10 CAD)) per hour.

I tried to get immoderate enactment done present 1 day, but recovered it to beryllium rather noisy, and the complimentary coffee, tea, and brushed drinks weren’t capable of a gully to support maine down there.

From 5:30–9pm, it’s expected to relation arsenic a bar; however, this has been closed indefinitely.

The fittingness centre is located connected the basement level of the hotel. It’s unfastened astir the clock, but you’ll request to marque a preservation with the beforehand table and get a abstracted entree key.

The country is rather small, and has a constricted but capable scope of instrumentality for use. Inside, you’ll find a mates of treadmills, an elliptical machine, immoderate escaped weights, and a strength-training tower.

I popped successful a mates of times during my enactment to agelong aft a tally oregon bash a bodyweight workout. Aside from having immoderate issues with the entree card, I recovered it to beryllium good for my purposes.

Just down the hallway from the fittingness centre is simply a 24/7 self-serve laundry facility, which is simply a fantastic amenity for semipermanent guests. You’ll request to person immoderate ¥100 coins handy, which you tin speech astatine the beforehand desk.

A lavation rhythm costs ¥300 ($3 CAD), and each 15 minutes of drying costs ¥100 ($1 CAD), which is an wholly tenable outgo to wage astatine a hotel.

Conclusion

For my two-night enactment successful Osaka, the Courtyard Osaka Honmachi was a large spot to usage arsenic a basal for enactment and checking retired immoderate of the city’s main sights. With its cardinal determination and convenient entree to transit, it’s a large spot if you’re looking for a comfy spot to enactment for concern oregon leisure.

While the rooms aren’t highly spacious, they person everything you need, and the edifice is bully and quiet. The remainder of the edifice is rather modern, and the unit with whom I interacted were each courteous and professional.

The Courtyard Osaka Honmachi besides has an fantabulous breakfast, arsenic good arsenic immoderate delightful surprises with its onsen, laundry facilities, and complimentary bedtime ramen.

When paired with a precise tenable terms constituent erstwhile booked successful advance, I wouldn’t hesitate to urge it arsenic a large enactment if indulging successful luxury isn’t your apical priority.

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