Shizutetsu Hotel Prezio Osaka-Shinsaibashi

The breakfast buffet wasn't large, but it was kept fresh, and the salad and pasta were a pleasant surprise. Breakfast spaghetti? It was tasty, so why not. The hotel group is from Shizuoka, known for green tea, and the welcome drink and breakfast teas were delicious. Rooms were clean, with thoughtful amenities and laundry, and the subway wasn't too far. The Japanese side of us wanted a public bath, but the room's large bathroom made up for not having one. The American side appreciated the regular bath towels instead of tenugui/body towels. We both liked the lobby amenities, including face wash, razors, toothbrushes, and body scrubs. It's no W, but we'd definitely recommend staying here.

I had read the comments about extra fees and poor service and couldn't believe the same thing happened to me. If I could, I'd give it zero stars. The room was fully paid, but they may still add charges at check-in. Their pricing isn't transparent, and they gave no detailed explanation of the extra amount. Along with their attitude, it felt like they expected us to pay without a choice. Staff were very unhelpful and ignored our requests. We waited 1.5 hours just to be passed to another staff member, and they don't reply to customer questions through email or booking platform messages. For tourists, the only contact method they advised was calling a Japanese landline, which is extremely inconvenient. They kept pressuring us to leave or cancel the booking instead of explaining mistakes or clearing up the confusion.

On arrival, they asked me to pay extra room charges even though I'd already paid the full price quoted on the booking websites. The staff were impolite and unhelpful, repeatedly sending me to colleagues and asking me to explain what happened again without really listening. Their only offer was a "discount" on a charge I shouldn't have had to pay at all. Absolutely gangster behaviour. It took 1.75 hours in the lobby, with no decent communication. In the Google reviews below, you can see they weren't responding to the earlier negative reviews, which fits with their silence on enquiries through booking websites. They don't seem to think that lack of communication is a problem, and they refuse to address the issue, acting as if nothing happened. Pick this place if you want to spend about 2hrs in the lobby and ruin your Osaka experience.

There are two train stations you can use to get here. One route takes you through American village with its pub vibe, while the other goes through a quiet alley. The hotel itself is nice and peaceful. Try both routes for yourself.