Smile Hotel Premium Osaka Hommachi

The room had plenty of space and everything we needed, and we had no trouble using the laundry room. Staff were kind whenever we had questions. My wife and I stayed at Smile Hotel Premium Osaka Hommachi for three days while visiting Osaka and Kyoto. It’s in a peaceful area with restaurants and convenience stores nearby, and Dotonbori is about a 10-15 minute walk away. We had a great stay, 10/10, and I’d highly recommend it.

Kim at reception stayed with us while we booked a Shinkansen from Kyoto to Mushima, checking the date, time, and number of passengers and helping print the QR codes. We were nervous about booking, so her patience really put us at ease. All the staff we met were helpful, and I’d recommend the hotel for a short stay. It’s also within walking distance of the surrounding area. To get there from Kansai airport, you can take a train, airport bus, or taxi. We hired a van and driver through Klook so someone would be waiting to handle our luggage and get us to the hotel without trouble. We were given a room on the 9th floor. It was a bit small, as expected, but we could move around with two large suitcases and two cabin bags. The bathroom was small too, but having a bathtub was nice for soaking after a long day of walking and exploring. Check-in was quick: we wrote down our names at reception and got our keycards. On level 1, there was a vending machine for drinks like water, and complimentary toothpaste, shavers, and similar items were available near reception if you’d forgotten yours. Breakfast was served a la carte in the dining room on level 2. The laundry was there too. The washer took 500 yen coins for 30 minutes, and you could add more for extra time. The dryer used 100 yen coins, with the same option to add time. Higashiguchi was the nearest station, about a six-minute walk away. A Family Mart beside the station sold water and snacks, and you could top up an Icoca card there.

The staff were friendly, the WiFi was strong, and the rooms were fairly generous. We stayed five nights at the Smile Hotel in Hommachi in January 2025, and its location was another strong point. It works well as a basic, cost-effective place for a short stay, but I wouldn't recommend it for a longer one. The amenities, including in the bathroom, are very basic, there's only one chair in the room, and eating your own food in the lobby lounge isn't allowed. There are dedicated smoking floors, so make sure you book a guaranteed non-smoking room if that's what you need.

Clean and central, with plenty of restaurants nearby and lots of places within a 10-20 minute walk. Still, this is a very basic hotel. Don't expect usual three-star items like face wash or cleanser, and the amenities seem to stop at toothbrushes and qtips. There isn't water or a coffee dispenser either, though there are laundry facilities. The location is good, but I probably wouldn't stay here again.