Mercure Tokyu Stay Osaka Namba review: one of my top hotel picks in Osaka, Japan
We’re basically loyal servants of Accor, so even in Osaka, Japan,
we started by looking only at Accor hotels.
That’s how we ended up booking
Mercure Tokyu Stay Osaka Namba.
But the location, room condition, and service were so satisfying
that I’d honestly recommend it even if you’re not an Accor member.
It was that good.
Location of Mercure Tokyu Stay Osaka Namba
The Mercure hotel in Osaka is near the Dotonbori area,
It’s incredibly close to the main Dotonbori river area where the famous Glico sign is,
so it was a perfect base for hopping between restaurants and food spots.
At the same time, it’s not right on one of those super-busy streets,
so it was surprisingly quiet too.
The Google rating was 3.9, which honestly made me a little nervous before the trip,
but after staying here, I liked it so much
that I genuinely don’t understand why the score is that low.
Room Rates
Room rates usually range from the high 100,000 KRW range
to the 400,000 KRW range depending on the season and day of the week,
but on weekends, you should probably expect to pay around 300,000 KRW, or about $220.
You can compare prices across different booking sites here.
Check-in
Check-in starts at 2 PM, which is earlier than a lot of hotels,
but we were on an afternoon flight, so we arrived in the evening.
The first-floor lobby has a really distinctive design.
The front desk staff spoke English pretty well,
so check-in went smoothly. They were incredibly kind.
We also got a room upgrade through our membership,
and they explained the hotel facilities in detail.
Elevators
There’s also a luggage scale and a cart in front of the elevator room on the first floor.
We didn’t need to use it since we had some baggage allowance to spare,
but it would be really useful if you need to hit a strict weight limit.
There are three elevators,
and each one has a different lighting color.
Overall, the hotel has a younger, trendier vibe
that probably appeals more to younger travelers than older guests.
On the second floor, there’s the Centre M breakfast restaurant, a lounge,
and a gym, but our schedule was packed,
so we didn’t even get a chance to check out the lounge or fitness center.
Superior Twin Room
We originally booked the most basic room, the Standard Queen,
but we got upgraded one level to a Superior room.
It seems the Superior category didn’t have a queen-bed option,
so we were given a twin room instead, which was totally fine with us.
I had requested a quiet room in advance,
so we ended up in Room 1019 at the very end of the hall.
It was a bit far from the elevator,
but it stayed wonderfully quiet the entire time, so I was very happy with the room location.
There are three magnets on the door,
and you just choose the one you want and stick it outside the door for housekeeping or DND.
Mercure Tokyu Stay Osaka Namba Room Tour
At Mercure Tokyu Stay Osaka Namba,
the Superior room is 25 square meters,
which felt pretty spacious compared to hotels I’ve stayed at in Tokyo and Fukuoka.
First, here’s a quick look around the room.
I always assume hotel rooms in Japan are going to be tiny, but that wasn’t the case here. Of course, it was still smaller than most hotels in Korea.
Even though it was a twin room, the beds were pushed together,
so it felt more like one big king bed. Honestly, I liked it even better.
As you can see, the room is definitely on the darker side.
One unusual feature was that the room had both a drum washing machine and a microwave.
We didn’t use the washer, but I did think the microwave would be handy
if you picked up something from a convenience store to eat later.
In the end, though, we didn’t use either one.
There were disposable slippers and a shoe brush.
There wasn’t a proper closet, just a hanging rack.
If we had been upgraded one more level to the Privilege Twin, there would have been a closet too.
There was a luggage rack, but it was on the smaller side.
That said, next to the sink outside the bathroom,
there was another large shelf where you could spread out your stuff.
Drinking water was provided in cans, and even when we asked for extra,
there was no additional charge.
The sink-side amenities were Elemental Herbology
hand wash and body lotion, and they smelled really nice.
There were drip coffee bags, tea bags, sugar, and more,
and the electric kettle was from BALMUDA.
If you open the lower drawer, there’s a toothbrush set inside,
and the rest of the disposable amenities are available for self-service
across from the first-floor reception desk.
The red pouch next to it held the hair dryer.
The hair dryer was decent too. It had a pretty solid airflow.
The bathroom layout had both a bathtub and a separate shower booth, which was a huge plus.
The toilet was completely separate too. I don’t have a photo of it, but it’s shown in the video.
The shower amenities included shampoo, conditioner, and body wash.
The bottles looked a little worn, but there was no issue using them.
There weren’t any bathrobes, but there was indoor loungewear instead.
A lot of Japanese hotels seem to provide pajamas or robes like this.
It made my shoulders look hilariously broad, but it was comfortable,
so I happily slept in it. It was a one-piece style.
Since we booked a rate with breakfast included, we received 4 coupons total for 2 people over 2 nights.
This was just the general hotel information sheet.
We also got welcome drink vouchers,
but we were too busy and didn’t use those either. Definitely did not get to enjoy a proper hotel staycation vibe.
There was also a tiny welcome snack set on the table in the room:
a snack and one can of a drink.
One can only? Really?
It was some kind of fruity, slightly odd Milkis-style drink,
and I didn’t like it much, so honestly, even if they had given us two cans, I probably would’ve left them behind.
The snack was cute, though—very Osaka, with the Glico runner on the package.
The view outside the window looked like this.
I never expect much from the view at a city hotel in Japan anyway.
The room felt really dry, so I asked for a humidifier,
but when I said “humidifier” in English, they didn’t understand at all,
so I looked it up in Japanese and asked that way.
For reference, humidifier in Japanese is “kasitsuki.”
Breakfast at Centre M on the 2nd Floor
Breakfast was included for both days, but we only ate there once.
The breakfast restaurant isn’t huge, but there always seemed to be open tables,
so I don’t think you’d have to wait long, if at all.
The breakfast spread wasn’t massive,
but it still had local Japanese options like takoyaki, Osaka-style kushikatsu, and curry,
along with Western breakfast items including bread, so it was more than enough for a simple, satisfying meal.
The yogurt was especially good with toppings.
I loaded mine up with kiwi and loved it.
That said, my husband said the coffee wasn’t very good.
Still, we put together a pretty generous breakfast plate.
Final Review
I had absolutely nothing to complain about during the entire stay.
From the room condition to tiny details like how quickly the elevators arrived, everything was comfortable and easy.
If I had to name one downside, it would be that the room felt a little dark.
Other than that, the location was great for both shopping and eating, and we had a genuinely pleasant stay.
This photo was taken after we successfully completed our mission in Osaka—buying baby items—
and were heading back to check out of the hotel.
My husband and I are actually pretty picky when it comes to choosing hotels and restaurants,
but this place worked for us in so many ways,
so don’t let the Google rating scare you off. It’s worth trying for yourself.