The APA hotel chain is as standard in Japan as Premier Inn in the UK or Best Western in America, and like those well known chains, they offer a sort of security in that you know exactly what you are getting.
You have to have a sort of weird affection for any chain that mentions a paper crane on their website as one of their features. But it does deliver on that front and many more. For instance the claim 'ekimae' (meaning in front of the station) is certainly not misleading as you come out of the station and are literally about 10 metres from the hotel entrance.
It has a nice, expensive feel to it, with shiny surfaces and multiple lifts taking you up, up, up. The staff are polite and friendly and try to help with enquiries (though most times their English is limited). Saying this, you would be hard pressed to find a Japanese person who isn’t polite and friendly.
The hotel rooms are admittedly not the largest, but this is pretty typical for Japan, where space comes at a premium price. I stayed in a twin room with a friend, and if you don’t mind being in close quarters you'll enjoy it perfectly fine. The TV comes with your usual free channels or you can upgrade for ¥1000 for access to better channels. There is also free internet in the room via LAN cable (which you can borrow from the hotel). It is common in Japan to not have free Wi-fi access, but network access instead.
The rooms are clean and tastefully decorated and also come with a hairdryer, towels, combs, razors, a toothbrush and toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner and body wash, all of which is good quality, so it’s nice not to have to carry around all your toiletries. They also have microwave access if you want to heat up a midnight snack.
What really sells the place is that guests have free use of the in hotel onsen, which is also packed with plenty of toiletries for you to clean yourself with before entering the relaxing hot water springs. There are also robes provided for use in the onsen. Though be warned: travellers with tattoos may cause offense in the onsen and be asked to leave. However, my friend has several tattoos and as we were alone we could use the onsen.
The biggest downside to the hotel is the location. The main districts in Osaka are Umeda and Shinsaibashi, and although the APA is only a short subway ride away from either of these places, it’s always nice just to stroll out of your hotel and into the market place. But really this is only a small set back.
In all I would say you get what you pay for with APA; a perfectly pleasant hotel which, while a little small, is still great value for money. If you stay here, you are unlikely to go away displeased
