Mercure Tokyu Stay Osaka Namba

The rooms were lovely and spacious and the location was fantastic. A couple of the staff were really helpful, but others were really unhelpful. We asked for a taxi to be called as on our eSIMs we can’t call local numbers. They told us they couldn’t call a large taxi for us and they needed two days notice. So fine, we called an uber, but then went to meet the uber and there was literally a taxi rank around the corner less than 20 meters away that they didn’t mention. As ALL customers, we were given welcome drinks. We went to get them at the restaurant attached, and they had seats spare, but told us “sorry, you can’t drink here, here are cups, bye”. Literally given sake in a plastic cup with a lid. We asked if we could borrow a vacuum to vac down our travel vac bags, we had a small portable one, but it isn’t very powerful. We were told no, you can come to the lobby and do it, so of course we didn’t drag all of our bags and spread them across the lobby to do that. Organising forwarding of bags was also really difficult for them. They just seemed to find everything that is usually simple really hard to help with We did leave a ski helmet in the lobby and didn’t notice it was missing until the day of moving on, a lovely gentleman helped us and must have searched for 10 mins to find it. It wasn’t like they were all bad, but they definitely weren’t really helpful in the way that commonly we are used whether in Japan or elsewhere and it left a bad taste in the mouth. We wouldn’t come again.

Overall, I’d say this hotel is really great. Whenever you visit Japan, people usually warn you that hotel rooms are very small — but at Mercure Osaka, the room size is actually quite decent. It’s not huge, but definitely comfortable enough, and I felt relaxed throughout my stay. The location is one of the best parts. It’s right in the middle of a big shopping area with brand-name stores all along the street. You can walk around, shop until you’re tired, and easily pop back into the hotel to rest — super convenient. Getting here from Kansai Airport is also very easy. You can take the train straight to Namba Station — there are options like local trains, express, or even reserved-seat trains for a more comfortable ride. It’s only about 30 minutes from the airport to Namba, and then less than a 10-minute walk from the station to the hotel. Very convenient for traveling around Osaka too. The price is on the higher side, but honestly, I think it’s worth it. The atmosphere, cleanliness, and overall comfort are really solid. I stayed for two nights and felt like I got a full Osaka experience. If you’re looking for a place with great location and good comfort, I’d definitely recommend Mercure Osaka. The price might feel a bit high at first, but considering the location, it’s actually pretty reasonable.

While its location may be convenient, beware of the construction/demolition work and noise nearby. If you like being woken up and enjoy the rhythmic sounds of both a demolition excavator smashing concrete slabs and metal scaffolding taken up/down, then this is the place for you. The attached pic was taken in mid December 2025 and it looks like they have a few floors to go. Bonus points for the fact that this was an 'upgraded' room for a Gold member. Even better, when I called Front Desk about the noise, the 'duty manager' informs me that "oh...the noise isn't from our hotel so it's not our problem". After much back and forth, his solution was "If you want to change rooms, you will have to pay for an upgrade". I guess I must have missed the 'no demolition noise' option when I made the booking. Per the other reviews, if you also want to enjoy the worst customer service I've ever experienced, then this place is for you. Also as per the other reviews, it is dark. This is fine since during the day you'll be blinded by glare in a dark room, and at night you'll have a dark room with ambient lighting over a few select spots. Highly recommended if you value dark moody emo ambience over the ability to see. The best part of the coffee from the cafe/bar downstairs was the cup.