Waldorf Astoria Osaka

We recommend the Waldorf Astoria Osaka to business travellers who want to stay a stone's throw from the station without sacrificing palace comfort. The spa and indoor pool will also appeal to couples on an urban weekend, far from the noisy izakayas of the centre. Families will find non-smoking rooms and disabled access thought through from the design stage, but the address remains above all geared towards an adult and hurried clientele.

The Waldorf Astoria Osaka occupies the south tower of the Grand Green Osaka complex, recently delivered north of JR Osaka station. The architecture fits into the renewal of the Umekita district, conceived as a new business and leisure centre for the city. The interior volumes, glass and generous ceiling heights, bet on natural light rather than on heavy decor. Without a detailed floor plan, we retain a vertical architecture, resolutely contemporary, far from the traditional ryokans of Osaka.

The hotel has a restaurant and room service, without the names of the tables or a signature chef being specified at this stage. We therefore remain cautious until the menu has been tested on site. Breakfast and room-service meals allow us to function without going out, useful after a long-haul flight. It is impossible for now to judge the gastronomic level of the address.

The Waldorf Astoria Osaka rises in the Grand Green Osaka district, just north of JR Osaka station. We reach it on foot from the Shin-Umeda platforms and the Hankyu and Hanshin lines, without changing sector. Itami airport is about thirty minutes by car, Kansai more than an hour. The district, just risen from the ground, mixes new office towers and urban gardens, far from the bustle of Dotonbori.