Recently we had the opportunity to visit Japan and while we were in Osaka we stayed at the lovely ANA Crowne Plaza. This post is an honest review of our time there. We were hosted for 2 of our 4 night stay.
Where is the ANA Crowne Plaza?
ANA Crowne Plaza Osaka is located in Kita (北, “North”) district, also known as Umeda (梅田). Although it is a business district, it is the perfect location for a family stay. It is a centrally located travel hub and it is within walking distance of JR Osaka Station. We easily walked from the station to the hotel upon arrival on our first day. Each trip afterwards we used the hotel’s FREE shuttle bus that was a quick 5 minute ride between hotel and station.
How to get to the ANA Crowne Plaza Osaka
The hotel’s address:
1-３-１ Dojimahama, Kita Ward, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture 530-0004, Japan.
When arriving by train, the easiest way is to take the free shuttle bus. If you are like us, and like to walk to get your bearings you can add the hotel’s address into your phone’s maps and walk.
And if you are arriving by plane, the hotel is about 30 minutes by car from Itami Airport (Hanshin Expressway Ikeda route → Umeda Exit).
Checking in at the hotel
We found our check-in experience wonderful. The bellboy spoke excellent English and we found out later that he was from Sydney, Australia! The reception staff were also excellent and their English perfect. We didn’t have any concerns about being understood! The bellboy showed us to the lift and chatted with us making sure we knew about breakfast and other elements of the hotel. We immediately felt ‘at home’ at the hotel.
Our Room
The first two nights we booked a double room with the divan sofa, that Master 11 slept on. The hotel staff were happy to supply extra bedding for us. The next 2 nights we had a twin room.
What are the rooms like?
We were lucky to be booked into one of the highest floors with a great view. The rooms were very comfortable and quite spacious with all the amenities that we needed. As we are only a family of 2, we had more than enough room and think that these rooms are equally suitable for a family of 4.
The bathroom was huge by Japanese standards and came with a bathtub!! Who doesn’t love a bathtub on holidays!? As you would expect in a 4 star hotel, there were plenty of luxurious extras too!
The mini-bar was fully stocked with all our favourites and we wanted for nothing in our bathroom.
Of course they offered free wifi and we took advantage of that in the early evenings when we were resting to write up our experiences of the day and add them to our Instagram account.
The Restaurants
ANA Crowne Plaza Osaka boasts a number of eating establishments including a Michelin Star restaurant. On this stay we chose to try the Cafe in the Park for breakfast as they have a gorgeous buffet. Other establishments include: DOJIMA Teppanyaki Restaurant, Japanese Restaurant TANKUMA KITAMISE, KARIN Chinese Restaurant, Maison Tateru Yoshino, Shunka Shuto and The Library Bar.
Cafe in the Park
My family loves a buffet. The great thing about buffets is that everyone can choose their meal based on their own tastes and how hungry they are on the day… I feel like its a good option for fussy eaters. Master 11 loves the pancakes and waffles, but the restaurant had a wide a varied menu of both Japanese and Western food.
Cafe in the Park offers breakfast, lunch and dinner options so we also booked in for their Saturday night ‘Mediterranean’ dinner. The cafe offers a buffet breakfast from 6.00 am to 11.00 am which includes seasonal fruit, savory appetizers, Japanese side dishes, warm vegetables and more. For both the breakfast and dinner that we enjoyed we were super happy to see that the chefs would cook eggs (for breakfast) and seafood and meat (for dinner) exactly to your specifications and deliver them to your table (or you could wait and watch them being made – which we did for the enjoyment of the ‘show’.
Swimming Pool and Fitness Centre
The hotel also offers a pool and fitness centre including a sauna! (I told you this hotel was lovely!) We went for a quick scout to check it out on our first night. Even though we had every intention of visiting the pool later in our stay, we unfortunately just didn’t get time! We were far too busy enjoying the sights around Osaka to actually get wet this time. It is definitely on our list for our next visit!
The fitness room is open 24 hours a day! The pool is open from 7am – 9pm and adult entry is 1,500 yen (including tax). Child entry is 1,500 yen (including tax).
Things to do around the ANA Crowne Plaza
The hotel is ideally located if you want to visit the many sights in and around Osaka. Only two subway stops from the hotel is the stunning Osaka Castle! This was our first stop after checking in.
We found so many delicious restaurants in the area too. In fact, you will be spoiled for choice here. We also loved wandering through the streets – we felt safe both daytime and nighttime in this area.
Booking your stay
To book your hotel room for a family of 4 or more I recommend approaching the hotel directly so you can organise a double room and fold out bed. Click here to see their latest specials that may suit you and your stay in Osaka.
A huge thank you to ANA Crowne Plaza Osaka for hosting 2 nights of our stay.
Want to learn more about travelling in Japan?
8 Tips for Travelling with Kids in Japan
