Review: the Conrad Osaka hotel, where moody rooms open up to sweeping views

This is our review of Hilton’s Conrad Osaka hotel in Japan.

After two nights in Nagoya (TIAD Nagoya hotel review here) I took the Shinkansen bullet train about 50 minutes west to Osaka. Both cities are broadly equal in size but Osaka attracts many more tourists and has a more developed hotel scene, with plenty of options from all major chains.

Nevertheless, a photo of the Conrad Osaka’s sky lobby immediately sold me that this was the hotel to be at. Unlike more recent international hotel developments, the Conrad Osaka occupies the top floors of this 40-storey tower with commanding views across the city’s skyline.

The Conrad Osaka is one of two Conrad hotels in Japan, the other being in Tokyo (see our review here) and opened in 2017. A third is currently under construction in Nagoya and will compete directly with the TIAD Hotel Nagoya (review here) for the top luxury hotel in the city.

Hilton provided my accommodation for review purposes but we paid all other expenses. The hotel website is here.

Where is the Conrad Osaka hotel?

Located on the Nakanoshima Island between Dojimagawa and Tosaboriwgawa rivers, the Conrad is in the middle of Osaka’s cultural hub. Attractions include the Children’s Book Forest, Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Nakanoshima Museum of Art, the National Museum of Art, the Osaka Science Museum and the Nakanoshima River gardens. Basically, you won’t get bored.

Just across the bridge you’ll find Kita/Umeda, the city’s northern downtown district with its extensive transport links, shopping malls and myriad hotels.

Kansai Airport is about 50km away, which takes about 45 minutes by car or at least an hour (and a change) by public transport. Fortunately, the hotel has a secret back door to the Higobashi Station at basement level which means you can be on a Yotsubashi Line train within five minutes.

It’s just three stops to Namba, which gets you to the famous Dotonburi entertainment and shopping district with its narrow lanes, neon signagne and overhead wires; Osaka Castle requires a change onto the Chūō Line.

If, like me, you arrived in Osaka on the Shinkansen then it’s just a 10-minute taxi from the Shin-Osaka station.

Inside the Conrad Osaka

A bank of lifts at the base of the building whisk you straight up to the 40th floor where you’ll find the hotel lobby, restaurant and other amenities. As I mentioned above, this features the most dramatic sky lobby I’ve ever seen with a huge spiral staircase winding down to a lower floor where the ballroom is:

and

Walk past two big art installations and you’ll see a row of check-in desks.

Each is adorned with a little bonsai, labelled with the species and age of the specimen. This Needle Juniper was 60 years old:

As I was a Hilton Honors Diamond member I also had access to the Executive Lounge on the 39th floor. Staff gave me a letter outlining the offering in the lounge, which consisted of breakfast, afternoon tea (3pm to 5pm) and evening cocktails (6pm to 8pm).

To make the whole process easier my luggage was taken at ground floor and brought to my room shortly after arrival.

Rooms at Conrad Osaka

I was given a King Premier View Room on the lowest floor of the hotel (33) which is basically a standard entry level room with a ‘better’ view. I say ‘better’ because it’s not as if Osaka has any particularly iconic landmarks. This isn’t Tokyo where you might want to see the Tokyo Tower or Skytree, and given that all rooms are on high floors the views don’t vary much.

All rooms are a minimum of 50 square meters which is at least double the size of your average London hotel room.

The room opens onto a moody entrance corridor clad in black wood.

Interestingly, the toilet was on the left here in a small water closet. It featured a TOTO Washlet, of course. The location makes it very discreet but does make it a bit of a trek from the bed at night.

Heading round the entrance you’ll find multiple floor to ceiling wardrobes featuring the usual amenities such as safe, ironing board etc.

The rest of the room is open-plan, but you can close off the bathroom with sliding doors should you want to. The bathroom is on the left with a large round bath tub and shower unit:

and

Toiletries are standard Mojave Ghost by Byredo, which you’ll find in all Conrad Hotels.

There were two wash basins and, on the right, a Dyson hair dryer.

The rest of the room featured a conventional layout with a large king bed on the left:

On the bed was a Conrad Osaka rubber duck and teddy bear which you could take home (although I didn’t):

A Bose Bluetooth speaker was on one side whilst the other featured a tablet with controls for the air conditioning and other room functions. I found this quite bright at night (despite a ‘black’ screen) but simply turned it around so it wasn’t facing me.

Opposite the bed was a luggage rack, TV and mini bar with Nespresso machine and milk frother.

The side console extended all the way to the window where it joined with a round desk / dining table:

A clever pop-up dressing table also folded up:

Whilst in the other corner there was a chaise longue:

Whilst the interior may be quite traditional and dark for some, it does mean the view is framed beautifully:

Pool, gym and Executive Lounge

The pool, gym and Executive Lounge are all on ‘lower’ floors, by which I mean the 39th and 38th floor!

The 20 metre pool was very large, with a single lane at the back for lane swimming. The hotel does insist you wear a swimcap and provides one when you check in at the spa reception.

Changing rooms are separated by sex and each features its own onsen-style bath area with a hot pool, cold plunge pool and showers as well as a dry sauna. In typical Japanese fashion, you should not wear swimsuits in these but enjoy them in the nude (and with a small towel).

The pool and spa are open from 6am until 10pm whilst the gym is available 24/7.

Onto the Executive Lounge, which appears to be a victim of its own success. This is a pleasant space but simply cannot cope with the volume of people using it, particularly in the evening during the cocktail hours. Beer, wine and a good range of hot and cold snacks were on offer when I went, although it was so busy I couldn’t get any decent photos and had to come back before check-out.

To mitigate this issue they sometimes operate under a reservation model where you can book one of two slots. This wasn’t in operation during my stay but they did open up the adjacent board room as an overflow area.

Breakfast and dining at the Conrad Osaka hotel

There are four food and beverage outlets in the hotel, all on the 40th floor.

Atmos is the all-day buffet restaurant whilst C-Grill has seafood specialities for lunch and dinner and Kura offers an eight-seat teppanyaki experience. Also popular was afternoon tea in the 40 Sky Bar Lounge which was busy every day.

Breakfast is served in Atmos whilst I was also able to experience the seasonal tuna bar at C-Grill.

Breakfast at Atmos

Breakfast at Atmos is available to anyone with access to the Executive Lounge, which means you get the full hotel breakfast rather than a smaller selection.

Atmos works on a hybrid basis with both an extensive buffet as well as an a la carte menu with signature dishes for breakfast. This included items such as avocado toast, okonomiyaki (savoury pancake) benedict, a range of egg dishes and noodles.

I went for the okonomiyaki benedict which was fabulous:

You can supplement this with anything from the buffet, which includes things such as roast beef:

A selection of excellent pastries:

Fruit, salads, kimchi, smoked salmon and mortadella:

Cold Japanese specialities included tofu, natto (fermented bean), seasoned nori and other things.

Dinner at C-Grill

Over the summer, C-Grill offers a pop-up Maguro Bar serving an exclusive tuna menu (maguro means tuna in Japanese) at its counter.

Every other week, the restaurant takes delivery of a fresh tuna which the chefs delicately fillet. That means you can enjoy your tuna sushi whilst staring directly into the big black eyes of the tuna head behind the counter!

I enjoyed a phenomenal tasting menu which I am told was also what presidents and prime ministers were served at the 2017 G20 Summit at the hotel! Highlights included the signature tuna rolls inspired by Mexican cuisine which came as nori tacos:

I was able to compare different cuts and ages of Bluefin tuna:

…. as well as some divine wagyu steak:

Conclusion

Conrad Osaka offers everything you want and need from a city hotel: spacious rooms, fantastic views, an incredible lobby, excellent pool and spa facilities and a great selection of restaurants.

I can’t imagine why you wouldn’t want to stay here, although you do pay for the privilege with room rates frequently above £400 per night. A points redemption will set you back 95,000 Hilton Honors points per night.

You can find out more, and book, on the Hilton website here.

PS. If you are not a regular Head for Points visitor, why not sign up for our FREE weekly or daily newsletters? They are full of the latest Avios, airline, hotel and credit card points news and will help you travel better. To join our 65,000 free subscribers, click the button below or visit this page of the site to find out more. Thank you.

---

How to earn Hilton Honors points and status from UK credit cards (April 2025)

There are various ways of earning Hilton Honors points from UK credit and debit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

There are two dedicated Hilton Honors debit cards. These are especially attractive when spending abroad due to the 0% or 0.5% FX fee, depending on card.

You also receive FREE Hilton Honors status for as long as you hold the debit cards – Gold status with the Plus card and Silver status with the basic card. This is a great reason to apply even if you rarely use it.

We reviewed the Hilton Honors Plus Debit Card here and the Hilton Honors Debit Card here.

You can apply for either card here.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 30th April 2025, the annual fee on the basic Hilton Honors debit card is halved from £60 to £30. The sign-up bonus is also easier to earn – you need to spend £1,000 either in the UK or abroad within three months. The usual bonus rule requires you to spend the full £1,000 outside the UK.

There is another way of getting Hilton Honors status, and earning Hilton Honors points, from a payment card.

Holders of The Platinum Card from American Express receive FREE Hilton Honors Gold status for as long as they hold the card.  It also comes with Marriott Bonvoy Gold, Radisson Rewards Premium and MeliaRewards Gold status.

We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here and you can apply here.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

You can also earn Hilton Honors points indirectly with:

• American Express Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• American Express Rewards Credit Card (10,000 bonus Amex points)

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

and for small business owners:

• American Express Business Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• American Express Business Platinum (50,000 bonus Amex points)

The conversion rate from American Express to Hilton Honors points is 1:2.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which can be used to earn Hilton Honors points.