Very nice and calm area of Osaka but only a few minutes by foot to see the Dotonbori district with food, visit Amerikamura on the way. There is also a metro station directly to Osaka castle 2 minutes from the hotel. We were able to do laundry in the hotel which was great and not too expensive. The staff was very polite.

Unfortunately when we arrived we were a little early and it is not possible at all to go into the room before 14:00 even if they are ready already. You would need to pay an additional fee.

Firstly, I want to start this review with some context. I’m not normally a big reviewer, however, I recently spent 30 nights in Japan, and the reviews on hotels were helpful for me when I was planning my trip, so if my experience helps the next person then great! Together my partner and I visited 32 different parts of Japan, staying in 19 hotels, giving me (I think) a good basis for my review. We stayed in Osaka for 5 nights, using it as a base to explore Nara & Kobe. The Osaka Excel hotel was a brilliant hotel in a vibrant, exciting and fun city. The hotel is close to the tube network, meaning it's possible to explore the city really easily. It's a great location for exploring on foot too, with Dōntonbori, Namba and other popular locations in Osaka all within 30mins walk. The hotel is in a very safe area, which was quiet at night. There are two lifts to get you to the rooms, but we didn't ever have to wait too long for them so it wasn't an issue for us, however may be annoying at busy times - not that we experienced this at all. We also used the laundry facilities at the hotel, our clothes were clean but they didn't really dry - we had to air them in our room (this wasn't too much of an issue as we had time here for them to dry!). The room was comfortable, a good size, with a nice shower and bath, we had space to open our cases and the bed was a good size. It was a really great hotel to base ourselves in for our time in Osaka - which ended up being our favourite city of the trip! We would stay here again - it was everything you need for a hotel base!

The laundry facilities could be improved, but it wasn't a deal breaker, just something to note. Overall nothing to really complain about!

Good location and public transport accessibility. The district was relatively calm and not as crowded as Osaka/Umeda stations area but we could find very good shops and restaurants.

The housekeeping service was not efficient. On the first day, when I requested an eco-friendly light service as they explained on the guide, they only emptied the trash and replaced the towels. They did not replenish the consumed instant coffee (only two sticks available per day) and drinking water. The next day, I requested the regular cleaning service and these issues were resolved. If this is the hotel's basic policy, fewer guests would opt for eco-friendly light house keeping service.

- Delicious breakfast - Spacious room with window, able to get fresh air

- My room soundproofing is not too good, I can easily hear people chatting at the hallway, maybe because my room is facing towards the middle of the four elevators. In my first night (midnight)there was a group of young people wandering at the hallway talking loudly - When I tried to call the front desk to file a compliant and ask for follow up the staff that was on duty cannot speak English at all so I think it will be great to have more staffs who can speak fluent English

the hotel was easy to access from kansai airport, we took the nankai line (airport express) to namba-nankai and switched to the midosuji line - got to the hotel within an hour. the hotel was a short walk from exit 13 (stairs) / exit 18 (lift access) of hommachi station and about 15 min walk from the shinsaibashi area. the room was spacious and there was enough space to open 2 large luggages and 2 smaller carry-ons.

reception was at level 16 so you would always need to go up to reception before going down to the rooms. the aircon in the room was set to 20 degrees at the cool function, but it was still warm during the summer heat.

The room was quite big for Japan standards and beds were very comfortable. The location was easily accessed by metro and walkable distance to the busy Dontonbori area. The street the hotel is on is relatively quiet at night compared to a few parallel streets over where there are covered shopping streets, ideal for souvenirs. Vending machines and laundry facilities are available on a couple of floors in the hotel.

We found the room a bit warm on a couple of the nights as the temperature on the AC didn’t go down as low as we would have liked. The toilet, shower and sink were all separate in our room as well which was a bit of hassle.

Location and hotel room amenities overall. The view from restaurant level was also nice but we really expected more from this hotel. I don't mind paying premium for accommodation but I have expectations with that price point.

- lack of parking facility - having to go up to reception level to go down to room levels. Yep, it is weird but for those counting steps, then every step counts...just not me - staff spoke and understood English but disorganised, if we didn't check out early - we wouldn't have known our prebooked taxi to airport actually wasn't booked by staff. So in that sense, we were lucky I was paranoid. - breakfast buffet was weird. I expect better local selections than that confusion

This hotel is in an exceedingly lovely area. A short 8 min walk to Shinsaibashi area, and to many of its shops and restaurants. It’s close to Midosuji subway, making it easy to get to places such as Namba or Umeda or Shin Osaka. The hotel is new and common areas are lovely. It has washing machines and microwaves. Downstairs there is Starbucks, 7/11 is nearby. If you have suitcases, take subway exit 18 which has a lift. You exit just near the 7/11.

The temperature was very hot in winter and aircon controls didn’t really help to keep it down. May be I should have turned on a cooler. Common areas were also really hot. Bigger problem is staff, third time we stayed there due to convenience and value, but the daily rate is climbing up yet the staff greetings and service remain poor. They’re cold and unwelcoming. Dirty coffee cup remained unwashed on two nights. Same with water glasses. That’s unacceptable.

Room was a good size, with very comfy beds. Separate shower/bath and toilet. Location was good - a little walk from the main area but also quiet so that worked well.

The shower stepping straight into the bedroom was a bit weird. We would have liked to have had a drink in the bar area, which was quite quiet, but too expensive and didn't seem to do happy hour. Very under utilized for such a nice spot. Bed was quite hard and pillows very uncomfortable.

Good location, spacious rooms, courteous check-in male staff who spoke English and was very helpful and pleasant. The male staff manning the lobby lifts, all the breakfast restaurant staff (males and females) as well as the female staff who assisted us to arrange for some of our luggages to be sent up to Kyoto were all awesome! They made us feel very welcomed! The hotel also helped to provide a little surprise for our son who was celebrating his birthday! It really brightened his arrival at the hotel. We are very grateful and want to say a big thank you to all the excellent staff at Excel!! Dōmo arigatō gozaimasu!

Taking 2 separate lifts up to the hotel room. Inconvenient if one forgets something and the rest of the family are waiting. But not a big issue! No coffee and tea provided at the lounge. We stayed at a total of 4 hotels in Japan on this trip. Some hotels provide coffee machines, tea bags, hot water and ice at a conducive lounging area. Including some grooming essentials for hotel guests. That would have been an added nice touch. But again, not a big problem too!