Hotel Review: The Ritz-Carlton Osaka, Japan

This luxury 5 star Ritz-Carlton hotel in Osaka is captivating at every turn.

If you love brand spanking new magnificent, stately five star hotels,  with restaurants galore, some of the finest food, a pool, gym, and everything else you could want from luxury, The Ritz-Carlton Osaka is for you.

This is the kind of hotel I could check into for a weekend and never leave. It’s big, with the facilities and opulence you want from an internationally branded five star hotel.

This hotel was renovated in 2018 and is just beautiful. Dark wood panelling, abundant fresh flowers & top hatted doorman take you straight into The Ritz-Carlton feel. It is absolute British elegance right in the heart of one of Japan’s  most fabulous cities.

Food:

Six glorious restaurants at The Ritz-Carlton Osaka offer everything from first class Japanese in Hanagatami, a huge, upmarket setting complete with 7 meter cypress sushi counter (made from the one tree). There are tasting menus available which are sensational, and a great way to indulge in legitimate Japanese, the way the locals eat it.

The signature Michelin star French restaurant La Baie looks like something out of a Jane Austen Novel. It is a classically romantic, elegant dining room where you could be forgiven for thinking you’d been transported to Europe mid-course. Food stars include gorgeous seafood as well as French meat specials. A French wine and champagne list is indulgent and broad.

Xiang Tao is Cantonese with first class dim sum,  and the magnificent and authentic Italian at Splendido is always busy. The bar  is quintessentially British, complete with English hunting pictures on the walls.

The bar is the perfect place to begin or end a night with a cocktail or wine for guests fortunate enough to be staying at this plush hotel. There are more than 150 whiskies on offer too!

This is the kind of hotel you can check into and quite happily not leave for several days.

The 291 rooms have been refurbished in cream & navy in a Georgian style, and are calming & spacious. There are even The Ritz-Carlton pyjamas for guests to wear during their stay. I do love a turn down service which this hotel has, complete with home made chocolates – hurrah. The beds are King size with comfy pillows, a large flatscreen TV, a desk and mini-bar.

The Executive Club

The Executive Club level is truly worth the upgrade as The Ritz-Carlton Club serves a seemingly endless array of freshly made food all day from breakfast to supper, with alcohol available complimentary almost all day. There are Japanese style fridges with dishes you would normally see in a vending machine (in Japan) such as sushimi, salads, and chocolate mousse  for snacks throughout the day.

The breakfast is excellent and includes freshly made eggs to order, fresh breads, yoghurt, salmon, neats, fresh juices and coffees.

The refurbished setting has jaw dropping views of Osaka and is filled with natural light, more fresh flowers & great staff. It is an instagrammer’s delight. They even have their own cocktail which is served upon arrival (You can check in up here too).

This gracious hotel has a well tended to outdoor garden & large swimming pool (luxuries in this part of the world), as well as the Japanese baths which are in the spa section of the hotel and a luxury & beautiful place to truly relax.

There are hot and cold plunge pools as well as dry and wet saunas and a gym.

I love a great bar, and the large British style wood panelled bar here with hunting images on the wall from the fields of England, is a brilliant place for a night cap but be warned.

Smoking is allowed in all bars and restaurants in Japan, which can take some getting used to, although here they have a special section for smokers, so it is not too bad for an Australian if you are not accustomed to it.

I didn’t get the chance to try all of the restaurants , but I will do on my next visit. Oh, and it’s right near the Osaka station.