Hotel Retour – Osaka

Located in the bustling heart of Osaka only a 4-minute walk from Namba station is Hotel Retour. As the name suggests this hotel pushes the theme of France from its name, room decorations and logo which includes the Eifel tower. This hotel pushes modernism and comfort to the forefront. I stayed in this hotel kicking of my snowy adventures in February. For its location like all the other Osaka hotels I have stayed at in this exact area it gets full marks 10/10. The hotel is only a 4-minute walk, and it puts the guest right in the heart of Namba near the famous cannel and bustling markets. The area is dotted with places to eat, drink and shop. Anything you need is close by and the hotel also has you covered too.

I booked my room via Booking.com for peace of mind, I was due to arrive in Namba quite late and didn’t want to chance finding a room. The hotel however has the usual electronic board for those walking in on the day, this displays the free rooms with the hourly or stay fee. A lot of hotels in the Osaka area have a late check in for stays so make sure you double check when this is as I have seen a few with check in as late as 23:00. The ability to book this hotel online was nice so I will award it a 9 for ease of access the only thing it needed was the live room checker feature, this is one of my favourite features and makes life less stressful when hotels are far apart and I travel by foot.

For amenities there is a great selection of beauty goods, drink bar including alcohol and hot drinks each guest is allowed a free drink, cake bar and selection of teas. This hotel certainly surprised me for variety of freebies the free cake was a reason I chose to stay here originally. But the drinks bar was great, and the selection of teas also included onion consommé perfect during the cold snap that hit Japan this weekend. For ammonites I award a score of 8 taking the total to 26.

The room I received was clean and on the small side which is seemingly the norm with most central Osaka hotels. The space was very nicely handled, and the room was very modern. The theme of timelessness and France was represented in the feature wall. Cups and eating utensils were wrapped so guests can take comfort in how clean things are. For comfort and cleanliness, I award an 8 taking the total to 35.

For food I arrived too late for dinner, but the cake was nice and the hot chocolate was a welcome change from the usual soda bar. I will award a 6 for food taking us to 41.

My overall enjoyment of this hotel surprised me from the freebies in the lobby to the pleasant warmth of the room. The bath was great and I enjoyed using the freebies that the room provided such as the skin products and free bath salts. The bath I had smelt great and every bath in the hotel has jets and adjustable lighting. The toilet was automatic and included a heated seat. for this category I award a 7 taking the score to 48.

For rebooking I will award a 6 for a final score of 54/70 which Is an amazing score nearly putting it even with Rsoe Lips just a few minutes’ walk away. There are so many hotels in Osaka and a lot of them are in a cluster around Namba. Hotel Retour is a great choice if you are in the area, as someone who wants to experience many different hotels rebooking is hard whilst the hotel offered some great perks I believe there is more in this area up for offer and would most likely book a new hotel if I stay in Osaka again.