Swissotel Nankai Osaka review: a 5-star hotel in Namba, Osaka, Japan for traveling with a baby
When I was planning our Osaka trip with my 7-month-old,
the thing I stressed over most was hotel location.
When you’re traveling with a baby, transportation has to be easy,
and you really need plenty of convenient facilities nearby.
After a lot of searching, I ended up booking this Osaka hotel:
Swissotel Nankai Osaka.
We stayed in a
Swiss Executive Room for 3 nights and 4 days, paid with my own money, and here’s my honest review!
Swissotel Nankai Osaka Review: Best Hotel Location in Namba, Osaka, Japan
Swissotel Nankai Osaka
5 Chome-1-60 Namba, Chuo Ward, Osaka, 542-0076 Japan
Swissotel Nankai Osaka is directly connected indoors to
Nankai Namba Station, where the Rapi:t from Kansai International Airport arrives.
Nankai Namba Station is literally attached to the hotel.
That made such a huge difference when we were pushing a stroller
and hauling luggage around.
Honestly, I loved it from the moment we arrived.
From home to Incheon Airport to Kansai Airport to the hotel,
we never had to step outside,
and that was easily the biggest advantage of staying here in Osaka.
A hotel where you can leave home in Korea, deal with snow or rain,
and still check in without any hassle?
That’s exactly why this is such an easy hotel to recommend in Osaka.
The 3rd floor of the hotel building connects
straight to the Nankai Namba Station concourse,
and as you can see in the photo above,
it’s also connected to Takashimaya Department Store across the way.
There are convenience stores, dessert shops, and more right nearby, too.
And even if you head all the way outside from the hotel’s 1st floor,
you’re surrounded by famous restaurants.
Swissotel is a premium 5-star hotel brand under the global hotel group Accor.
It’s the kind of hotel that would satisfy just about anyone,
but I’d especially recommend it if you’re traveling with a baby
or bringing your parents along.
Check-In
Check-in is at 3:00 PM, and check-out is at 11:00 AM.
Check-in happens on the 6th floor.
Even if you have Accor Platinum status or above,
it didn’t seem like there was a separate check-in area.
The staff spoke English very well,
so checking in was easy even without Japanese.
Walking around the lobby, I noticed there was also a currency exchange machine.
There was also a beautiful oversized Christmas tree at the lounge café, SWISS GOURMET,
so of course I had to snap a photo of the baby there.
Official check-in starts at 3:00 PM,
but we arrived around 2:30 PM and our room wasn’t ready yet, so we waited and rested in the lounge for a bit.
It was nice that, as you’d expect from a 5-star hotel,
there was an executive lounge.
That said, since we were traveling with a baby,
we didn’t really get to enjoy the lounge much.^_
Hotel Facilities
Looking at the floor guide, the hotel has six restaurants,
a bar, café, gym, pool, spa, sauna,
banquet hall, boutique salon, and more.
There are a lot of facilities here,
but since we were traveling with a baby, we barely used any of them.
Before having a baby, I would’ve been the type to explore everything
and make the most of the hotel amenities.
So yes, that part was a little bit of a shame,
but honestly, I still love traveling with our baby so much.
Swiss Executive Twin Room
The room we stayed in this time
was a Swiss Executive Room.
The room categories here aren’t named things like Superior or Deluxe,
but rather Advantage Room, Select Room, Executive Room,
so it was a little confusing at first.
Also, even within the same room type,
the Twin Room is larger than the King Room!
So we chose the Executive Twin instead of the Executive King.
Our room number was 3218.
I loved that it was on a pretty high floor.
The club lounge is on the 33rd floor,
and between the 32nd, 33rd, and 34th floors,
there are hallway stairs, so you can access the lounge
without needing to take the elevator.
For a hotel in Japan, the room felt very spacious!
Tiny rooms can be tough when you’re staying with a baby,
so I really appreciated how roomy Swissotel Osaka was.
Next to the twin beds,
they had already set up the baby crib I requested in advance.
I’ve listed the baby items you can request from the hotel further below,
so check that section if you need it.
Across from the beds, there’s a TV, desk, and shelving.
The shelf and desk run long across the wall,
which made it incredibly convenient for spreading out our stuff.
When you travel with a baby, you end up carrying so much gear,
so the more surface space you have, the better.
There was also extra storage built into the TV console,
which was great for all the little things.
Because of my Accor status, they gave us welcome fruit.
If it had been sweets, I probably would’ve devoured it,
but since it was fruit, I was too lazy to peel it and ended up not eating it at all.
By the window next to the bed,
there’s a sofa and a small table.
We used that area a lot for diaper changes
and for eating takoyaki we brought back at night.
The beds were slightly separated,
but we pushed them together and used them like one large king bed.
First order of business: baby testing out the hotel bed~~
Let me show you the bathroom and toilet area.
The counter space next to the sink is wide,
so it was another great spot to spread out our things.
We needed room for bottle-washing supplies,
and thankfully there was plenty of space.
There’s a bathtub, and the glass panel can be folded
open and closed halfway.
The layout has the toilet positioned between the sink and the tub.
The amenities were by Pürovel,
which is actually the name of the spa inside the hotel.
The Pürovel Spa is on the 11th floor.
Most disposable items were provided too, including toothbrushes and toothpaste.
The hair dryer is stored in the drawer under the sink.
The minibar area has a Nespresso machine,
electric kettle, mugs, and glasses,
and there’s a mini fridge below, which I somehow forgot to photograph.
The bottled water wasn’t in plastic bottles but in reusable glass bottles,
and they gave us six bottles per night!
Near the entrance next to the minibar, there’s a closet,
and inside you’ll find a safe, ironing set, slippers, and more.
They replaced the slippers every day during housekeeping,
but it felt wasteful, so I just kept wearing the same pair from day one.
You can control the room temperature yourself,
and even though it was winter, the heating worked so well that the room stayed nice and warm.
It was cozy enough that when the baby was playing on the bed,
she was just hanging out in her diaper.
For even more detailed hotel information, check here.
Baby Amenities
After booking the hotel, I emailed ahead to request baby items.
If they still have them available,
they’ll prepare them in your room at no extra charge.
I requested a bottle sterilizer because I saw that they had one,
but it turned out to be a steam sterilizer rather than a UV sterilizer.
It was a Pigeon product, and the instructions were so simple
that I could use it right away even though it was my first time.
You just turn it on and press the sterilize-and-dry button, and it handles everything on its own, drying everything thoroughly too. Super convenient.
You need to add 100 ml of water,
and it was easy because I could just measure it using a baby bottle.
This is about how much it holds.
Roughly three full sets of bottles and parts?
I also sterilized teethers, pacifiers, and straps in there.
And this was sitting on the bathroom floor,
but I had no idea what it was for, so I didn’t use it.
It’s a large plastic container with a lid.
I kept meaning to ask the front desk what it was,
but I kept putting it off and eventually never asked.
I asked ChatGPT later and it said it might be a baby potty.
A real potty? Seriously?
Hotels tend to be dry in general,
and in winter it’s even worse.
Since humidity matters so much for babies,
I definitely recommend requesting a humidifier too.
They also provide a baby crib,
but for our daughter, who is 72 cm and 10 kg,
it felt a little too small for actual sleep at this point.
So instead of using it for bedtime,
we mostly used it as a safe place to contain her for a bit.
These days she sleeps alone in a super single bed at home
and rolls all over the place,
so this kind of crib feels a little too confining for her now.^^;
The reality of a hotel stay with a baby.jpg
Even when we made a little border with pillows and blankets
so she could play inside it, we still couldn’t take our eyes off her for even a second.
I asked about bed rails, but they said they didn’t have any.
I’m not sure whether they don’t provide them at all
or if they had simply run out.
Anyway, our daughter slept really well at the hotel,
both during the day and at night.
Great City View
And the room had a great view too!
It was a wide-open Osaka city view.
In the distance, I could even see the Don Quijote in Dotonbori.
I’m not exactly sure which direction this was,
but I could also see an APA Hotel building.
The night view was gorgeous too.
There were a lot of things I liked about this Osaka hotel,
but after staying for 3 nights and 4 days,
the biggest takeaway was just how unbeatable the location really is.
It wasn’t only that getting to the hotel for check-in was easy.
It also made exploring Osaka city so much more convenient.
When the baby got sleepy, we could quickly come back, let her nap,
feed her, and head back out again.
Because the travel time was so short, the whole trip felt more efficient and much less tiring.
If you’re traveling to Osaka with a young child, with your parents, or even
with a friend who has low stamina,
your hotel can seriously upgrade the quality of your trip.
In that case, book Swissotel Nankai Osaka in Namba without hesitation.
After check-out, a staff member even helped move our luggage
all the way to the Nankai Namba Station concourse.
I paid for this stay myself, but I genuinely highly recommend it.
For my next Osaka trip, I’d book this place again without overthinking it.
I’ll share breakfast and the lounge
in a separate post next time!
Check room rates and detailed hotel information below.
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