L’hôtel Hankyu est un bel hôtel situé dans le quartier Umeda d’Osaka, et qui occupe les derniers étages d’un gratte-ciel, autrement dit des chambres on a une vue fantastique sur Osaka et même au-delà. Les chambres sont assez grandes pour le Japon, avec de grandes baies vitrées pour bien profiter de la vue. Les salles de bains aussi sont immenses, avec douche et baignoire. Accès à internet gratuit dans la chambre. Quand on séjourne à cet hôtel, on a le choix entre prendre son petit déjeuner au restaurant style américain, ou japonais. Au petit déjeuner à l’américaine, on vous sert à table (ce n’est pas un buffet) et c’est copieux. Et le jus d’orange est même pressé sur place. Mais il est servi à partir de 7h, ce qui ne facilite pas les choses si l’on a un avion à prendre de bonne heure. De plus, le menu du service en chambre est varié. Mais la seule fois où j’ai demandé le service en chambre, le serveur s’est confondu en excuses pendant tout le temps qu’il débarrassait le plateau dans la chambre (répétant sans arrêt je suis désolé, je suis désolé), pour des raisons assez obscures. Quant à moi, je suis désolé de devoir dire que mes attentes en matière d’hôtels au Japon sont assez limitées, étant donné la prolifération d’hôtels chers aux chambres minuscules et aux restaurants qui proposent de piètres imitations de plats non-japonais. Au moins, l’hôtel Hankyu International change agréablement de tous ces hôtels-là.

The Hotel Hankyu is a beautiful hotel in the Umeda section of Osaka. It occupies the top few floors of a skyscraper, which means that rooms have fabulous views of Osaka and beyond. Rooms are quite large for Japan, with large windows so that you can enjoy the view. The bathrooms are huge as well, with both a bathtub and shower. In-room internet is also free. Guests have the option of taking breakfast in either an American or Japanese style restaurant. The American breakfast is served (not buffet), and plentiful. The orange juice is even freshly squeezed. It opens at 7am, though, which makes it tough if you're trying to make an early flight. The room service menu is also varied. The one time that I did order room service, though, the waiter apologized profusely the entire time he was moving the food into the room (saying I'm sorry over and over again) for reasons that weren't quite obvious. I'm sorry to say that my standards for Japanese hotels are rather low, given the proliferation of expensive hotels with tiny rooms and restaurants that serve mediocre imitations of non-Japanese food. The Hotel Hankyu International is a refreshing change from this.

The Hotel Hankyu is a beautiful hotel in the Umeda section of Osaka. It occupies the top few floors of a skyscraper, which means that rooms have fabulous views of Osaka and beyond. Rooms are quite large for Japan, with large windows so that you can enjoy the view. The bathrooms are huge as well, with both a bathtub and shower. In-room internet is also free. Guests have the option of taking breakfast in either an American or Japanese style restaurant. The American breakfast is served (not buffet), and plentiful. The orange juice is even freshly squeezed. It opens at 7am, though, which makes it tough if you're trying to make an early flight. The room service menu is also varied. The one time that I did order room service, though, the waiter apologized profusely the entire time he was moving the food into the room (saying I'm sorry over and over again) for reasons that weren't quite obvious. I'm sorry to say that my standards for Japanese hotels are rather low, given the proliferation of expensive hotels with tiny rooms and restaurants that serve mediocre imitations of non-Japanese food. The Hotel Hankyu International is a refreshing change from this.