Osaka
Japan


The Experience

While most Japanese hotels play upon the visually minimalist culture projected in the ‘90s, the Ritz-Carlton takes a very traditional approach, bringing the idea of the grande dame hotel to Japan's "second" city. The air of an old European home is created through a white-gloved staff, 450 oil paintings, Georgian-style interiors and other period pieces dating to the 19th century. Yet the hotel -- like many in Asia -- is located in a shopping complex-cum-mall named Herbis Osaka. While this may be an inherent disconnect, it does serve as an excellent location, close to Osaka Castle and the train station.

The Rooms

Rooms are a throwback to old hotels in Boston or Paris, with thick drapes, armchairs, mahogany side tables and porcelain lamps, creating an atmosphere that may be luxurious but is about as non-Japanese as possible. At 460 square feet, even the standard rooms are large by Japanese standards, and located on the 24th to 37th floors, they offer excellent views (book rooms facing west with a view of Osaka Bay). To have a more local experience requires some planning, as the two Japanese suites, with tatami mats, multitub washing area and ryokan-inspired layout, are booked well in advance.

The Service

Attention to detail of both the European and Japanese varieties merges here. Staff are highly efficient and quickly take to everyday tasks like booking high-speed tickets to Tokyo or transfers to Kyoto. In one of the more unique touches, there's a soap butler, allowing guests to choose between artisanally made bars that are hand-cut in the room and meticulously explained.

The Highlights

It's fitting that the only Japanese resident to be officially certified by the Chinese government as a tea evaluator should work here: The Ritz has one of the top-rated Cantonese restaurants in Osaka. But the restaurant options span a full international range, from traditional Japanese to French and Italian, offering casual fare up to exotic options like the $1,000 omelet, served in the main dining room of La Baie and including lobster, caviar and Dom Perignon (only one reservation per day is accepted). Even the eggs, it seems, have a waiting list in Osaka.

-- Rob McKeown

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