Intercontinental Hotel Osaka

Intercontinental Hotel Osaka

The escalators from JR Osaka Station's north exit lead straight into Grand Front Osaka's north tower, and the lift ride up through those 32 floors is the shortest commute most guests will have to a room with the entire Kansai skyline pressed against the glass. InterContinental Osaka opened here in 2013 with 272 rooms, suites and residences that lean on stone, wood and shoji paper rather than generic marble, and the top-floor residences add full kitchens and their own terraces for anyone staying long enough to want a kitchen table. What separates this tower from the rest of the district is Pierre, its Michelin-starred restaurant, sitting alongside a traditional Japanese bathhouse, spa, sauna and indoor pool, a combination the neighboring business hotels simply do not carry. Staff move between Japanese, English, Chinese, Korean, French and German, which matters here given how many guests arrive for meetings at Grand Front or day trips out to Kyoto, Kobe and Nara before circling back for dinner. Families traveling with children under twelve can share existing beds at no extra charge, though an additional bed runs 12,000 yen a night, parking below the hotel is 6,000 yen a day for one of 59 spaces, and a 10,000 yen daily deposit is taken at check-in against damages. There is a chapel on site for anyone planning a wedding, and a conference hall for anyone who isn't. Pets are not permitted. None of this suits a traveler hunting quiet or looking to save money on parking and extras, but for someone who wants to step off a train from Kyoto straight into a room above the city lights, it delivers exactly that. Attached to Osaka Station via Grand Front Osaka, this 272-room tower pairs Michelin-starred dining at Pierre with a traditional Japanese bathhouse and skyline views over Kansai. Business travelers and day-trippers to Kyoto or Nara fit best; pet owners and budget parkers should look elsewhere.