Namba Oriental Hotel Osaka

Namba Oriental has a fantastic location in the heart of the shopping/food/nightlife of the south side of town, or Minami area. Reading about this in advance, I was worried that the place would be loud, but these fears were unfounded as our room is on the 7th floor and seems to be completely soundproof.

The price (through Expedia) was $130 per night for 14 nights, which I think is pretty competitive for this area. We have full high-speed Internet access, and the room has amenities such as a mini bar, frig, coffee maker, and toiletries. Oh, and there is a scale too. I haven't tried it out for accuracy.

We are in a pretty small room, into which a double bed (very firm), loveseat, coffee table, desk, and small set of drawers have been efficiently placed. There isn't a lot of storage space. The closet is tiny (just over 2 feet wide) and filled by the silly pants press, which we certainly don't need (this is VACATION!).

The bathroom is small but adequate, with good water pressure in the shower and an oversized sink large enough for laundry (the hotel has a laundry service if you aren't a do-it-yourselfer.) The toilet is of the remote-controlled, high tech variety, housing a bidet and other things we Americans are clueless about.

The overheated lobby is often stinky with smoke, and the elevators smell of old ashtrays as well, though I have never seen anyone smoking in there. I think this might be due to poor ventilation and the bars that share the building. Our room (and the whole floor) are completely smoke free, another relief after reading other reviews on trip advisor which indicate the smoke may be an issue. It really hasn't been.

Overall I happy with the choice -- the location is a definite A+ and the room is a B.