There are a lot of very good things about the Sheraton Miyako Hotel Osaka. I had a mostly comfortable 6 day stay here in a Premium King room on the Starwood Guest preferred floor. The best parts of the hotel are the convenient location and transportation links, good hotel (not restaurant) staff, and comfortable bed.
The worst parts of my stay were the unresponsive air conditioning, confused restaurant staff, and a surprising lack of certain room amenities/features. Also, be aware this hotel often has obnoxious tour groups staying there, which sometimes detracts from the tranquil atmosphere. I originally wanted to give this place 5 stars, but the shortcomings detracted a bit. Still, it's superior to the dated Sheraton Miyako Hotel in Tokyo.
The location is quite good. The hotel is directly connected to the Kintetsu train line's Uehommachi station, which is great in the sweltering Kansai summer (or rain). The Tanimachikyuchome subway stop, slightly further away, is also accessible on foot via an underground path. Convenience stores, the Kintetsu mall, and many fast food restaurants are very close-by. Also, airport buses to both Kansai and Itami airports stop right here on the 1st and 2nd floors respectively. Finally, there is also a direct bus to the cool new Abeno Harukas mall/area, which I recommend checking out. To be clear, this area is not the most bustling neighborhood which some tourists may be interested in (i.e., Namba or Shinsaibashi), but you'll appreciate the quiet, and those neighborhoods are only 2-3 train/metro stops away.
I checked-in in the evening and the front desk handled everything very well, sending me quickly on the way to the Starwood preferred guest floor. There were no problems with English communication anywhere in the hotel. The lobby areas on the 1st and 2nd floors were pleasant and attractive.
I'll start off the room review by stating that the worst feature of the room is the slow, unresponsive air conditioning. The Osaka summer can be brutal, and even with the AC set to High mode and to 15C, it took far too long for the room to be comfortable, even in the evenings. This is a big problem and should be fixed immediately!! I had to keep the room at 15C my entire stay because the AC is often ineffective at keeping the room a pleasant temperature.
1 other room problem was that there is no 3 pronged electrical outlet (to charge your laptop with), which was a bad surprise. (They only have the 2 prong outlets common in Japan). I called the front desk to see if they had an adapter, but they only stated that they did not. I was not at all satisfied with how this was "handled". This is unacceptable for a hotel of this class. I've stayed at 2/3 star hotels that were able to help me, so it was quite sad that the Sheraton could not. So bring your own travel adapter if you plan to use a laptop.
Other problems - There was no electrical outlet at all near the bed, which is a bit odd these days? And even with all of the lights on, the side of the room closest to the door was a little too dark. I would have preferred a brighter setting, but at least the side closer to the window had good lighting.
Thankfully, the rest of the room was better. Unlike most Japanese hotels, there was a good amount of space in the room, and comfortable furniture, with a good sized desk and desk lamp. Everything seemed clean and housekeeping was proficient every day. The king bed was very comfortable, and it was great that different types of pillows were offered. I slept quite well each night. The large TV was useful and had multiple foreign channels, although some of the channels didn’t seem to be HD.
I had a problem with the free Wifi on the 2nd day when it stopped working for about 1 hour in the morning, but it eventually worked again. It was generally surprisingly quite quick. 2 free bottles of water are provided daily, and there is a small refrigerator and safe. There is a free coffee “tray pod” machine, as well as tea. Also, it was useful that an iron and ironing board were provided, as was a closet and hangars.
Another nice thing was that, for a large hotel, the soundproofing was actually decent; I could occasionally hear some outside noise or noise in the hallway, but usually it was fine, and other Japanese hotels are simply much worse in this area. (Some of this is a function of being in a quieter neighborhood than, say, Umeda or Dotombori).
The bathroom was a good size and provided plenty of Sheraton amenities. There is a decent amount of space around the sink for your items, although it may be too small for 2 people. The shampoo, lotion and all were quite good. The bathrobe was comfortable, and the shower was a good water pressure. The bidet’s old fashioned remote controller was “interesting” haha.
1 night I ate at the restaurant Eu on the 2nd floor. There are discount meal sets for guests. I attempted to order 1 of theses for dinner. Unfortunately, the server apparently had no knowledge about the guest discounts and initially seemed confused. I had to speak with the poor server at least 3 times about my order. Staff training could be improved in this area to prevent misunderstandings and wasting time.
Thankfully, the cocktail bar on the 21st floor had much better and less confused service, and was a good experience with the friendly staff. The cocktails were a bit better than I expected.
Checking out on my last morning was quick and easy before I caught the bus to Kansai International Airport.
In the end, despite some problems, the stay was mostly enjoyable. On my next trip to fun Osaka, I would consider staying again. You should consider it too... just try not to come to Kansai in the blazing summer though.
Booking.com
