Japan’s fusion of contemporary and the standard is nowhere higher expressed than Osaka. Recognized for its thriving meals scene, underground procuring malls, offbeat fashions and progressive, free-spirited atmosphere, this gateway metropolis to the Kansai area has turn into a vital cease on any Japan itinerary.
No surprise the key worldwide resort chains have expanded their footprint within the metropolis in recent times. Because the St. Regis debuted in 2010 (the town’s first luxurious resort in 13 years), there’s been a slew of latest properties throughout the funds spectrum, together with Marriott’s Moxy Honmachi, which opened in 2020, swiftly adopted by Aloft and W outposts from Marriott.
IHG’s Voco Osaka opened in July 2023, and 2024 will see plenty of extremely anticipated openings, together with a swanky 175-key 4 Seasons; a hipster-oriented Caption by Hyatt Namba outpost; and a new-build Doubletree from Hilton.
Hilton’s Conrad model slinked onto the scene in 2017 with its signature elegant however cool model underpinned by heat hospitality and elevated design requirements. However with basic luxurious stalwarts like The Ritz-Carlton and St. Regis providing loads of glamor, glitz, jaw-dropping views and famend service, how would this Conrad outpost stack up?
Here is the whole lot it’s worthwhile to know earlier than reserving a keep on the Conrad Osaka.
Getting there
Conrad Osaka occupies the thirty third to fortieth flooring of one in all Osaka’s flashiest tower blocks, Pageant Tower West, within the vibrant Nakanoshima space. It is a futuristic 2-mile city island that appears straight out of “Bladerunner,” particularly at evening with its neon-lit skyscrapers and looping elevated expressways.
Most vacationers to Osaka arrive at Shin-Osaka practice station, both through the Shinkansen bullet practice from Tokyo (round 2 hours and half-hour) or Kyoto (15-20 minutes). They could additionally arrive through the Haruka categorical practice (50 minutes) from the Renzo Piano-designed Kansai Worldwide Airport (KIX), set on a man-made island in Osaka Bay.
The Conrad is a 10-minute taxi experience from the practice station (2,200 Japanese yen, or $13). Metered taxis are plentiful exterior the station’s primary exit, however it’s helpful to have the identify of the resort in your telephone in Japanese. (We additionally discovered Siri on our iPhones adept at translating for our tax drivers throughout our Japan journey.) Taxis from the airport take about 40 minutes and value about 20,000 yen ($140), although you may as well take a practice from the airport to Osaka Station for 1,000 yen ($7) and name a taxi from there.
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Reserving
TPG paid $427 per evening for my normal (a Twin Deluxe or King Deluxe) room. Nightly charges at Conrad Osaka differ from $365 to round $829 on peak dates throughout spring cherry blossom season, fall leaf season towards the top of November and main Japanese holidays.
Normal Hilton Honors redemptions begin at 95,000 factors per evening. Since I’ve Diamond standing with Hilton (primarily based on the 120,000 base factors I gathered in 2023 by means of bonus level promotions and spending), I used to be upgraded to a Twin Premium View room. This could have price an extra $80 per evening for my journey dates in late November.
Along with the upgraded room, Diamond standing perks right here additionally embrace complimentary breakfast (buffet and a la carte) in addition to early check-in and late checkout (when obtainable). It presents entry to the Govt Lounge, which presents a variety of hors d’oeuvres and drinks, together with top-shelf liquors and wines, served from 11 a.m. till 11 p.m.
When reserving the Conrad Osaka, you may need to use one of many bank cards that earn probably the most factors for Hilton stays in addition to one which probably presents automated Hilton Honors elite standing for value-added advantages. These embrace:
- Hilton Honors American Specific Surpass® Card: Earn 12 factors per greenback on eligible purchases at Hilton resorts; automated Gold elite standing and the flexibility to improve to Diamond standing by spending $40,000 in eligible purchases in a calendar 12 months.
- Hilton Honors American Specific Enterprise Card: Earn 12 factors per greenback on eligible purchases at Hilton resorts; automated Gold elite standing and the flexibility to improve to Diamond standing by spending $40,000 in eligible purchases in a calendar 12 months.
- Hilton Honors American Specific Card: Earn 7 factors per greenback on eligible purchases at Hilton resorts; automated Hilton Honors Silver standing (with an improve to Gold whenever you spend $20,000 in a calendar 12 months).
- Hilton Honors American Specific Aspire Card: Earn 14 factors per greenback on eligible purchases at Hilton resorts; automated Diamond elite standing.
The knowledge for the Hilton Aspire Card has been collected independently by The Factors Man. The cardboard particulars on this web page haven’t been reviewed or supplied by the cardboard issuer.
The vibe
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From the second you step into the foyer on the fortieth flooring, you may get an inkling of the dramatic design that awaits. A 3-story, curving wall of home windows frames metropolis views, and fashionable art work graces the partitions. Alcoves and streamlined furnishings in glistening silver and walnut tones lend the house a up to date aptitude.
All eyes are drawn to the foyer’s centerpiece sculpture: a collection of white, stacked microbead spheres by famend Kyoto-based artist Kohei Nawa. The Conrad is residence to greater than 300 artistic endeavors. With a spiraling white staircase that descends from the foyer to the occasion house (a slight trace of Guggenheim), the property feels extra like a contemporary artwork museum than a resort — albeit one that does not take itself too significantly.
The resort’s public areas are designed to make you’re feeling like you’re floating above the town with ambient lighting, hovering ceilings, partitions and flooring that shimmer with eye-catching textiles, materials, beads and gem stones. There is a noticeable sense of openness, due to the dearth of pillars.
Behind the check-in desks, the foyer’s slick 40 Sky Bar and Lounge will enchantment to followers of the New York Bar at Tokyo’s iconic Park Hyatt resort with its reside jazz, stellar views, craft cocktails and cinematic atmosphere.
Standout options
- Excessive-end services — like distinctive eating, a vacation spot bar and a tranquil pool — lend the resort resort-style enchantment.
- Fashionable, spacious rooms mirror the quirky, offbeat character. They provide luxe parts comparable to deep-soaking tubs in each room, nods to conventional Japanese design within the origami-inspired artworks and knockout skyline views.
- The unfailingly heat, unpretentious workers remembered names and private preferences, they usually tried to attach with visitors at each alternative.
- The omakase sushi menu at Kura was immaculately ready with a contemporary contact.
- The resort’s uptown location is good for walkers, and it locations many of the metropolis’s primary sights inside a 10-minute taxi experience radius.
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Caveats
- The decor within the rooms and hallways is darkish and moody; the black and vermilion coloration blocks is not going to enchantment to vacationers in search of an air of understated magnificence.
- The resort’s charges fluctuate from daily, and it may be comparatively costly in comparison with its luxurious rivals close by.
- There are not any out of doors areas and few pure decor parts, like flowers or foliage, which may begin to really feel oppressive for longer stays.
- The resort’s open-plan rooms and grown-up facilities imply there are higher lodging choices for households.
The room
You will discover extra artistic endeavors alongside the darkish, low-lit corridors that result in Conrad’s 165 rooms and suites. Flooring-to-ceiling home windows make sure that metropolis views are the room’s primary attraction, and deep-soaking round tubs (normal in each room) will present sybarites with one more reason to remain in and luxuriate.
There are 11 room sorts to select from, starting from 568-square-foot normal rooms to the two,368-square-foot Conrad Penthouse (from $4,305 per evening). Throughout all classes, every room’s fashionable design riffs on conventional Edo interval artwork types with shiny black lacquer cupboards, daring pink accents, and a smattering of Japanese emblems and motifs.
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Round parts predominated in my room, a nod maybe to Japanese Enso (Zen) circles. Beside the mattress, white, round recessed lights gave the room an city edge, and a spherical picket desk (with plentiful, well-positioned shops and USB ports) created a extremely useful workspace. There was additionally a curved grey upholstered chaise, primed to absorb metropolis and mountain views over morning espresso.
Comfy beds, accented with brown leather-based headboards and frames, have been dressed with high-thread-count white sheets, down pillows (buckwheat choices can be found) and snuggly duvets.
Along with the tub, with a black tile encompass, the spacious rest room additionally featured a gray-tiled walk-in tub/bathe mixture (as is sort of typical in Japan). It had elegant double vanities and refillable bottles of Byredo Mojave Ghost tub merchandise (no taking these residence with you).
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A very helpful function, the 2 picket display screen doorways supplied flexibility to shut off the house as wanted but additionally allowed for extra space and lightweight throughout the day — in addition to views of Osaka’s trademark skyline from the bathtub.
Simply off the principle entryway, there was a big water closet with a separate self-importance and conventional Japanese rest room (with a heated, automated lifting seat and an array of controls and flush choices).
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A black lacquer cupboard housed a Nespresso espresso maker and numerous native teas, and the minibar was nicely stocked with a number of gentle drinks, wine, beer and spirits. There was a big protected that would accommodate laptops. Inside the big closet within the entryway, there was an iron and a steamer together with two plush robes and slippers for visitors to make use of when sauntering all the way down to the pool and spa on the thirty seventh flooring.
The 2 lacquered bedside tables have been geared up with a Bose Bluetooth speaker in addition to a pill, which managed temperature and blackout shades, and supplied lighting choices for each temper. In the event you did not need to fiddle with it late at evening, you could possibly additionally management the room’s options through the nicely labeled and intuitive lighting and shades console by the mattress. Total, the room’s performance was glorious.
There was turndown service every evening of my keep, with complimentary bottles of water replenished and good treats like native cookies and contemporary fruit.
Meals and Drink
Breakfast (served from 6:30-10:30 a.m.) is included for Hilton Diamond members at Atmos, the resort’s informal all-day eating restaurant. (In any other case, count on to pay 5,000 yen, or $35, for the mixed buffet and a la carte expertise.)
The buffet choices are manifold, spanning the whole lot from noodle, curry and meat dishes to smoked fish, baked items, contemporary fruits, matcha granola and smoothies. The a la carte menu choices embrace basic Western-style egg dishes, in addition to signature fusion fare just like the Okonomiyaki Benedict (a twist on the standard Japanese teppan-cooked pancake).
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C:Grill serves such delicacies as caviar-topped oysters and lobster, in addition to seafood-centric prix fixe menus for lunch and dinner; meals is served round a full of life L-shaped counter with distant views of Osaka Fort.
The resort’s not-to-be-missed culinary spotlight, although, is Kura the place omakase sushi is artfully ready behind a minimalist cypress counter. Kura additionally presents interactive teppanyaki grills (prix-fixe dinner menus price 24,000 yen, or $169) serving seasonal Japanese meats and greens. Each C:Grill and Kura have been filled with locals at lunch and dinner throughout my keep, which speaks volumes given Osaka’s foodie-focused tradition.
After we have been launched to our sushi chef, the extremely choreographed omakase expertise (9,000 yen, or $63, for lunch) started with an amuse bouche, adopted by sashimi of the day, 12 items of nigiri sushi, a sushi roll, pink miso soup and matcha ice cream dessert. We loved excellent sushi throughout our Japan journey, and this expertise was among the many most memorable.
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A pre- or post-dinner cocktail within the suave 40 Sky Bar and Lounge is a should, with plush fashionable furnishings, beautiful metropolis views, a scene-setting crystal bead sculpture, reside music and cosmopolitan vibes. I liked my Takoyaki within the Sky (3,500 yen, or $25) signature cocktail made with gin, dry vermouth, blue curacao, lemon juice, egg white and takoyaki. A canopy cost applies for non-hotel visitors (1,600 yen, or $11, per individual).
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Facilities and repair
The swimming pool on the Conrad is the whole lot a metropolis resort pool ought to be: It is lovely and spa-like, however it’s giant sufficient to swim laps (whereas taking within the city panoramas). It is the right temperature, and the luxe supplies and ambient lighting are a far cry out of your normal resort pool. There are many plush loungers for studying or napping whereas sipping on fruit-infused water, and workers are continuously checking in case towels want replenishing.
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Health fans is not going to be disenchanted with the gymnasium’s spectacular vary of weight machines, free weights and cardio gear. Although the resort was busy throughout my keep, the gymnasium was by no means over-subscribed.
I did not have time for a spa remedy, however the spa was an uplifting haven — all blonde wooden and stark, white, pebble-inspired finishes. It was a welcome distinction to the resort’s overriding darkish and glittery atmosphere.
Signature therapies embrace a 110-minute Gemstone Therapeutic massage (34,500 yen, or $242) which contains historic methods and gemstone-infused oils; an 80-minute Japanese Natural Ball therapeutic massage which makes use of Japanese herbs to advertise detoxing (27,400 yen, or $192); and a 110-minute Radiance facial (35,400 yen, or $248) that features a triple exfoliation remedy in addition to the added bonus of a foot therapeutic massage with shea butter and crystal gem stones.
For Hilton’s Diamond members, in addition to visitors who go for an executive-level room or suite, the fashionable art-filled Govt Lounge is a helpful perk obtainable from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
A number of espresso and afternoon tea (from 3-5 p.m.), in addition to wine, beer and cocktails (from 6-8 p.m.) and a rotating number of hors d’oeuvres are served all through the day. It is particularly handy in case you are in search of a cushty place to work or calm down earlier than check-in or after checkout (visitors may use the lounge for half-hour after they try).
Out and about
With glorious public transport and plentiful taxis, it is easy to profit from even a brief go to to Osaka. Located on the epicenter of the enterprise district, between the Tosabori and Dojima Rivers, the Conrad’s central location is good for exploring the town’s most touristed neighborhoods.
The Conrad’s gleaming Pageant West Tower can also be residence to the Kosetsu Museum of Artwork — a repository for Japanese and East Asian antiques and artworks — and Osaka’s famed “Palace of Music” live performance corridor. The resort additionally sits instantly on prime of the Watanabebashi subway station, and it is only a 10-minute stroll from Umeda, the town’s business coronary heart and transportation hub.
Many of the metropolis’s primary websites are round a 10-minute taxi experience away, together with Osaka Fort, the flashy neon-lit Namba (Osaka’s leisure and eating district), in addition to the famed road meals of the Dotonbori district; the district is greatest recognized for the well-known Glico “Working Man” signal, one in all Osaka’s iconic landmarks.
Alternate options
Behind its modern, monolithic black facade, the 337-room W Osaka (charges from $345 or 46,000 Marriott Bonvoy factors) runs wild with a boisterous coloration palette (together with loads of signature W purple). It has eclectic options and parts like a neon-tunnel entryway, disco-style elevators and DJs enjoying within the Dwelling Room foyer house. Excellent facilities embrace the Moist pool, which opens onto a patio with a leafy courtyard bar and extremely praised eating places that span teppanyaki, sushi and basic French cuisines.
For a extra budget-friendly keep, Marriott’s Moxy Osaka ($154 or 20,000 Marriott Bonvoy factors) is near Honmachi Station and has all of the attributes that made Moxy TPG’s greatest funds model for 2023. Its compact, well designed rooms begin at 204 sq. toes and have a light-weight, vivid, streamlined aesthetic. There’s additionally a stylish wood-paneled bar space, a handy grab-and-go snack bar and a small health middle.
For IHG members, good redemption charges ($427 or 73,000 IHG rewards) abound on the in any other case expensive Intercontinental Osaka. It has light-filled rooms (that begin at 421 sq. toes) and trendy areas that basically come to life within the night. There’s additionally a wonderful lap pool, a lavish spa with an onsen and one of many metropolis’s greatest fine-dining eating places, the Michelin-starred Pierre.
Accessibility
As you’d count on of a Hilton property, the Conrad Osaka complies with native accessibility tips. There are wheelchair-accessible routes to succeed in all the principle areas of the resort from the foyer, together with the swimming pool, eating places, health middle and spa. Hallways and elevators are geared up with visible alarms, audible alerts and braille.
All rooms are geared up with 32-inch-wide bed room doorways, and accessible rooms function seize rails in the bathroom and a roll-in bathe.
As with every resort, it is all the time advisable for visitors with accessibility wants to succeed in out to the resort earlier than their keep to verify the provision of particular options.
Testing
From the second you step out of the elevator, the Conrad Osaka exudes fashionable luxurious and concrete aptitude. The resort’s art-filled areas, memorable Japanese delicacies, life-style facilities and real, impeccable service from the entrance desk workers make it straightforward to calm down and be entertained in model no matter your temper.
There are robust, arguably extra (classically) luxurious contenders within the $350-per-night value bracket, however for Hilton loyalists seeking to bookend busy days touring Osaka with upscale lodging, an excellent breakfast, enjoyable dips within the pool, a stellar cocktail bar and glorious on-site eating — the Conrad is price its price ticket (or factors redemptions as charges climb).
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