Located next to the Osaka Station (railways) and the terminal for airport shuttle-bus, the large Hotel New Hankyu Osaka is my favourite when staying in Osaka. Not the cheapest one, and using the hotels restaurant or cafe might kill stronger economies than mine. But vending machines and coffee shops are all over Osaka, and alternatives are easy to find. In the station buildings next to the hotel there are a lot of small restaurants offering high quality local foods.

The only saving grace about this dated, smoke smelling hotel was its location next to Osaka and Umeda stations and right next to Yodebashi shopping tower and New Hankyu department store that has an amazing food court underneath, not to mention the hundreds of little shops and restaurants un the underground walk ways that connect all these stations. Diamuru was also nearby and the Lucua building had great fashion at reasonable prices.
there were winter sales with up to 60% off everywhere.It was truly mind boggling. In our group of10 people we had fussy children, a vegetarian and a coeliac so meal times could,be quite fraught trying to find something for everyone but with what was on offer in the immediate vicinity we managed no worries. Being gluten free myself was a challenge because wheat is in nearly everything, but when I mentioned that I had a kamuhgi arrigie people fell over backwards to help. And when all else failed I found that having plain rice and a stir fry dish of vegetables and meat was the safest option. I didn't seem to react to their soy sauce like I thought I would. The sushi was safe too despite reading somewhere that wheat and barley malt was in the sushi rice vinegar.
Lucky for us we were so busy doing day trips and sight seeing that we didn't have to spend much time in our rooms. Had airport bus right outside hotel door which was a bonus and there is a money changer in the walkway underneath the lobby. We also visited two ski shops nearby that were quite good and had some bargains on sale. One store was called IBC or Ishi and the hotel staff pointed us in the right direction. The second shop was right near Ishiguro in an adjacent building. Both were at street level and could be reached by taking the Whity underground walkway.

Overall, this hotel was comfortable to stay in, conveniently located and highly recommended for those travelling with young kids, as the limousine bus that departs from the Kansai airport stops just at the hotel. So it saves you from the hassle of dragging heavy luggage and taking the over-crowded trains.

1. Location
The hotel is about 50mins away from the Kansai airport by the limousine bus. It's in close proximity to Yodobashi Umeda, Osaka Station, Umeda Station, Daimaru and Mac Donalds. Being in the central area, expect lots of people & crowds.

2. Convenience
Awesome place as it was just a stone's throw away from convenience stores like Asnas, which we frequented like almost daily, to get our breakfasts, mineral water or snacks. And you don't have to travel by subway or train to get to this hotel. The limousine bus takes you straight here.

3. Economical room rates
We stayed a total of 6 nights and paid about 11,000yen per night, which was considered to be very reasonable for accommodation in Japan. we checked out on the 5th day, went to the countryside, leaving our luggage with the hotel concierge. And then checked back into the hotel for a last night. We decided to upgrade to a bigger room, which was only about 2,000yen extra.

4. Service of concierge & reception
Being in Japan where the service standard is known to be impeccable, the hotel service was great and things we requested for like, extra towels or pillows, were attended to promptly. Checking in and checking out was a breeze. Done in like 10mins max. Trust me, I've stayed in hotels where the checking in and out were a disaster.

5. Comfort & space constraint
The hotel was clean and comfortable to stay in, except that the rooms in this hotel were known to be very cramped. I had expected it but was taken aback to see how really cramped it was. We stayed in the twin room, which had 2 beds and with 2 huge luggage bags, we hardly had decent space to walk around. The room ended up pretty cluttered as we had lots of bulky winter jackets draped all over the chairs and beds. Room was very warm but perfect for us, as my kids, 5 and a 7yr old were with us and could stay warm after a chilling day out. On our 2nd check-in, we upgraded to a slightly bigger room and it was just awesome. We should done this right from the start. So much more spacious and comfortable.

6. Wi-fi connection
Hotel provided us with a router where you had to key in the password and internet connection was great. So whenever we were back in the room, we had complete internet access and could stay in touch.

6. Food
Can't comment on this as we did not have breakfast included in our stay.
There was a lovely restaurant just at the hotel lobby and the cakes and pastries looked really tempting though.

Overall, a really pleasant comfortable stay with this hotel. If you are travelling with young kids, go for the slightly bigger room, which has 3 beds and a small coffee table area.