The Royal Park Hotel Iconic Osaka Midosuji

This hotel is in a decent location, very new, clean, and tidy. Walking to Shinsaibashi shopping street isn't too far, but also not super close. The best way to get there is to go downstairs to Honmachi Station, take one stop to Shinsaibashi, or two stops to Umeda Station. The hotel rooms are spacious, and the executive room is quite nice, with drinks and food available until 9 PM. The breakfast, however, isn't as good as the one on the 15th floor, but it's acceptable. The room was clean, the internet was decent, and the bed and pillows were fantastic.

The hotel room was tiny, yet the price was exorbitant. They claim it's a 'designer hotel,' but I couldn't spot any design elements except for an ornament in the lobby. The red pillows in the room were actually quite creepy. The front desk guidance was also completely disorganized. This was, by far, the worst service I've experienced in all my trips to Japan. It simply doesn't justify its price or its five-star rating; I'm baffled why Trip.com gives it such a high score. The hotel breakfast was almost exclusively Western, with limited options, mostly unappetizing bread. The glasses weren't even clean. More importantly, the staff openly discriminated between Westerners and Asians. During check-in, they only helped the white guests in front of me with their luggage. While I was halfway through breakfast, a Japanese female server aggressively came up to me and told me I couldn't wear slippers and needed to go change my shoes. I was rushing for a flight and didn't have time to go back to my room. A little while later, she came back, even more aggressively, telling me to change my shoes with an extremely rude attitude, even rolling her eyes. It took a long explanation in English for her to finally walk away, visibly annoyed. Initially, I wasn't that angry, just thought the service was poor. But then I looked up and saw an elderly white man across from me wearing hotel slippers, and she didn't say a word to him; in fact, she even bowed and greeted him! Haha, is this how you provide discriminatory service?! That immediately set me off. And I quickly noticed at least 4 or 5 other white guests wearing slippers at that time! It's absolutely infuriating. If slippers aren't allowed, why don't they inform guests when they enter the restaurant for breakfast and enforce it consistently, instead of making someone change halfway through their meal? And if slippers aren't allowed, why the double standard – Westerners can wear them, but Asians can't? This 'fierce' big sister at the restaurant is clearly a bully who picks on the weaker. With service like this, I will never return and wouldn't recommend it to anyone. And honestly, is your hotel's terrible, cheap breakfast really that high-class? If you enjoy being discriminated against and getting eye-rolls, this is the place for you.

The hotel's location is good, about a 10-minute drive to Shinsaibashi. The hotel doesn't offer free parking, but after a discount, it's 150 yen per hour or 2100 yen for the whole day. The lobby is on the 15th floor.

Facilities: The facilities are comprehensive, with all daily necessities provided in the room, so there's no need to buy extra or bring your own. Each floor has self-service washing machines with both washing and drying functions, which is very convenient. Just prepare one-yen coins, or you can exchange them at the front desk. Hygiene: The hygiene is excellent, very clean overall. If you need your room cleaned, you need to put the cleaning sign on the door before 2 PM; otherwise, it won't be cleaned. Environment: The environment is superb, right in the city center, very close to Shinsaibashi and Umeda commercial districts, just one subway stop away. The subway is the Midosuji Line (red line), and it's about a 700m walk from the hotel. It's also quiet despite being in a bustling area. The hotel surroundings are very peaceful, with a 7-Eleven and a coffee shop right outside, and many restaurants and cafes nearby. Service: The service is great, and the staff are all very nice.

Great value for money! It's only two blocks away from the subway station. There's a ramen shop, a teppanyaki place, and a convenience store right outside. The area is really nice.

When I booked, I chose this place because it looked close to the subway. However, with luggage, it's at least a good ten-minute walk, so it's not as close as I hoped. It's not too far from the main shopping areas like Namba and Shinsaibashi, but not exactly close either. The room is tiny; it's hard to open a large suitcase. The strict 3 PM check-in policy is quite inconvenient. For 1500 (yen?) for three people, including breakfast, it's an acceptable deal.