Trinh T.
Yelp
Inter-Continental Osaka is an upscale hotel in Osaka near the Osaka Train station that provides a very Western experience. The hotel also contains many residence rooms which include a separate kitchen, dining, and washer & dryer. This hotel is nice - very nice - and as long as you're willing to pay for it you'll have a great experience.
My Overall Rating - 5 Stars (Atmosphere, Service, Facility, Return)
Atmosphere - The Inter Continental Osaka towers above Osaka and is a short walk from the main train station. The hotel lobby is located on the 20th floor. It's open, colorful, and provides great views of the skyline. It has an upscale feel and you'll feel like you're in a Western hotel. 1 Star.
Service - The staff are very helpful and speak English very well. On our 3 night stay, they forgot to put a Nespresso machine in our room. The eventually put one in but every time I called the front desk, concierge, or some other employee they would apologize for the missing machine. Even upon check out that reminded me. Note - the pool is an indoor lap pool and you need to wear a shower cap if you wish to use it. SPA staff was also great & extended our checkout to 2 PM. 1 Star.
Facility - It's honestly one of the nicest hotels I have ever stayed in. We were upgraded to a two-bedroom residence (almost 1000 sq. ft.) with two bathrooms, a kitchen, dining room, a laundry machine. Each room had a 40+ flat screen TV that allowed you to switch between both English & Japanese languages. Each night stand had lighting controls to control all the lights in the room. But perhaps the best feature was the bathroom. The Japanese Toto toilets were heated, water/dryer equipped, and probably would have made me breakfast if I programmed it. The tub & shower were combined into one unit. But not like tub with a shower - it was a large room (think sauna) with a tub and separate shower controls. It's unique to Japan and something is a great experience. 2 Stars.
Will I Return? - Yes. Not only is the Inter Continental Osaka in a great location a few walks away from the main Osaka train station, it's also a superb luxury hotel that will rival those in the west. I hope I get a chance to return. 1 Star.
My Yelp Rating Scale (Sum of all parts):
1 Star - Atmosphere - Is it a cool dive? Perhaps an upscale place? No matter the type, atmosphere plays a big part and I'll give a star if I like it or thinks it has great charm.
1 Star - Service - You can have a great meal with bad service. But that's also what can make a five-star joint drop to four. It's important to the dining experience that service is great and on point.
2 Stars - Facility - I'll award up to two stars for the facility, since this is the main reason we go out. Sometimes the extra star is given for value, but it's really all about the facility.
1 Star - Will I come back? - If I know for a fact I'll return, I'll give this a star. A place has to make an impression for me to return.
Each Category can be given up to 1 star except food (2 stars) because I consider all these categories important to the overall dining experience. I will sum them up to provide my final Yelp score.