Hotel S-Presso South II

Breakfast is simple, and it closes around 9:40 am, so make your reservation early. There are lots of restaurants nearby anyway. Staff are polite, though their role seems limited to putting food out at the buffet. Like many budget hotels, there is no staffed reception, just a camera and speakerphone. The doors, including room doors, use PINs or passwords, presumably because there are no physical keys to issue and return. Namba City and its train station are within walking distance. It was a great stay.

For a calm night's rest and a bit of elbow room without lots of extras, I enjoyed this place and would recommend it to self-sufficient, experienced travellers. It's a small, quiet hotel with a lovely design. The rooms are large and clean, with comfortable beds and pillows, and ours had two queen beds. The soap, shampoo and conditioner smelled lovely. There's good AC, big corner windows, a deep tub for soaking, a kettle and mugs, and a quiet little refrigerator. It's farther from the stations and sights than we'd expected, about a 10-15 minute walk to stations, but the walk is reasonable and the stretch is quiet. There's no daily cleaning. We stayed five nights and were offered a chance to schedule cleaning on day four. Towels are self-service, and there isn't laundry on site, though a few decent little laundromats are nearby. The blinds don't block all the light, so bring a sleep mask. There's no front desk, and check-in is online. Read the emails carefully and it's easy. Breakfast is substantial and free, and staff reply quickly and politely to email questions.

The room was functional, but quite dark. Its only window was very small and looked onto the next building's wall, less than a metre away. At breakfast, we had booked 9:30, but when we arrived almost all the food was gone and staff said breakfast ended at 9:30. They were unfriendly, and there's no reception on site. It might be okay for one night, but the price felt poor for what you get.

A quiet place with a cool concept, and very well located for Osaka Namba Station.