Kansai Airport Spa Hotel Garden Palace

Twin Room with Tatami area (Room 416?): Pro: The room was pretty spacious compared with other hotels in my opinion. The massage chair is a nice gimmick but for me that's pretty much it. The massage itself is pretty lousy which is not really a surprise. But better to have one, than to miss one I guess ;) The opportunity of a private onsen experience incl. sauna is great, you can just book it at the reception. What we also liked was, that when we checked in we could immediately choose the departure time for our shuttle bus the next morning. It worked flawlessly Contra: The rooms could have been a little cleaner in my opionion and I am not a clean freak. For example the big lamp bulb in the small bathroom was probaly never dusted in its life ^^ But ok for a night I guess Also the location is ok for a quick trip to the airport and nothing else, but otherwise I think you wouldn't book it anyway.

On our last day in Osaka, our flight was not until 11:30pm at night, so we decided to book a hotel close to the airport to relax at all day. We chose this place because I saw they had a private onsen and it was only like 10-15 minutes away from KIX airport and provided a shuttle. Check in was okay .... the lobby was filled with so many Chinese tourists so we couldn't even make our way to the front desk. Once we got to the front desk, they gave us our key (old school key, no swipe cards here! lol). When we opened our room, unfortunately, it smelled like straight old people/elderly home. The smell was so bad I literally gagged. Fortunately, there was a spot on the bed where the AC air hit so I sat there and due to the AC, I couldn't smell the rest of the room as much. The bathroom likewise smelt really old and the toilet had a sewage smell. Like most Japanese hotels, the bathroom was very tiny. The reason for the 3 stars though, is the private onsen. We loved how it came with a sauna, a nice and clean (and big) onsen bath with private showers, AND it came with some oil, face mask stuff, hair dryer, etc. One hour here was more than long enough and relaxing :) There is not too much to do near the hotel, but we ended up venturing out to get dinner. While we were able to catch a taxi there, there was no taxi's to be found nearby to take us back to the hotel lol (luckily, it was only a 15 minute walk back). If you are hungry, I would recommend going to the Yoshinoya nearby to the hotel. While we enjoyed the onsen and the convenience of the proximity to the airport, we would not stay here overnight or for a trip. The room smell was horrible, and the room was very small.

Due to early flight back, no choice had to find one hotel that is near the airport and transport. This hotel fit the bill, it it near the airport (20mins by car) and got shuttle to airport (free). Shuttle service only certain timings only, can out the website first. There is no public transport to the hotel, either u walk from the train station or taxis/cab. Nearest place of interest only Rinku outlet, a short distance from the hotel. The place seems to be favorite of the locals for a short get away. It got its own public bath house as well as private which you can book and pay per hour. Lastly, experienced my first slight earthquake (very minor) here, hehe.