As my husband and I had never visited Japan before, we did not know what to expect from the Sheraton Miyako when we arrived for our honeymoon; however, the moment we entered the lobby, we were far from disappointed. As we stepped off the elevator, we were immediately greeted by the staff who promptly checked us in with no problem. After loading our luggage onto a cart, they escorted us to our room and were very friendly and hospitable all the while. As soon as we stepped into our standard room, we could see that it was spotless and everything was perfectly in its place.

Although its gym wasn't complimentary, something that slightly disappointed my husband who is a personal trainer, the Sheraton Miyako did not lack in much else. Its restaurants were numerous and there was a conveniently located gift shop right in the lobby. Its location in Osaka is quite ideal, as well. Just below the Sheraton lies the subway line, which we found came in handy on more than one occasion. The train station was located right next door, as well as handy convenience stores and even more restaurants. Both Dotonbori and Den Den Town were in walking distance, as well as a beautiful Shinto shrine, and despite the fact that a Pachinko arcade sat directly across the street from the Sheraton, we found our nights in the hotel were peaceful and undisturbed.

All in all, the Sheraton Miyako was our perfect hotel. The location was excellent, the food was lovely (including room service, which was delivered promptly and excellently presented), and the service we experienced was leaps and bounds beyond any we had experienced before. I would highly recommend this hotel, as well as the beautiful Osaka in general!

Our first stop in Japan. Arrived at the hotel at around 11am, it was good that they allowed us to check in (though it is not unusual that I get checked in as early as 9am with no charge when I travel for work in Japan).

We were given a tiny room which frankly made it a really unpleasant stay, given that our 3-yr-old boy likes to jump around. We only realised how small our room was when we walked past other rooms that were being cleaned (but it was too late as we were going to check out). I feel the hotel staff should have either (1) allocated a bigger room as we were 3, or (2) told us they only had a small room available as we were too early for the bigger rooms to be ready.

Location wise it was quite convenient. A department store next door (which was comparatively cheaper than those in Tokyo - though too bad we only realised that after we had arrived in Tokyo subsequently). A selection of restaurants on the top floor of the department store. BTW, we had our first dinner at a restaurant there that specialises in noodle, great food. We couldn't find one that was as good as that for the subsequent 9 days.

The day before we checked out, we approached the hotel to ask if it was possible to send 1 of our luggages by courier. It took quite a while before they could understand what we wanted due to language barrier. Anyway, eventually we elected not to use the courier as it was considerably more expensive than I had expected - it would cost about USD125 for a suitcase versus USD30 that I had expected.

Finding the hotel was easy, it's directly connected to Uehonmachi station and has easy access to Namba. Finding the front desk was another matter, it's hidden away in a corner on the second floor. Check-in was busy and took a long time, compounded by the hotel payment policy. I have no problem paying for the room in advance but I couldn't understand why I was asked to pay a deposit equal to 130% of the room charge. Did they think I was going to steal the towels? Never got a satisfactory answer. Service was generally poor and superficial; lots of staff running around shouting greetings, but not very much in the way of actually helpful service. The room itself was nice; very clean, well-equipped and quite spacious by Japanese standards. Not very well insulated though and you can hear your neighbors moving around. Breakfast was averaqe; tasty but a limited selection and served in a cramped area. At check-out time, upon informing the clerk that I'd had a beer from the minibar, I was asked three times if I was sure that was all I'd taken.(At least they didn't go and check.) Overall, the hotel looks nice but lacks substance. I wouldn't really recommend it.

The SMH is a nice hotel, which with a little bit of investment would be a great one.

Firstly the rooms. Not over impressive! Extremely dated decor, with horrible black marks across the ceiling where the AC pumps out: yuk! However nothing that a lick of paint wouldn't solve. Beds were fine, but the room had a sofa-bed settee that must have been 20 years old!!

Bathrooms were standard and well appointed. TV was good and the fridge proved handy.

The hotel is conveniently located next to the subway, and it was easy to get a cab.

Did not try the restaurants as they looked expensive compared to what was available locally.


Sheraton need to invest a few yen and turn this average hotel into somthing much nicer.