Location, location, location—the InterContinental’s 20th story perch above the spectacular Grand Front Osaka entertainment and commercial complex, right in the heart of the Umeda district, certainly has that in spades. The 272-room hotel oozes chic from the art-filled reception area to the stylish French restaurant Pierre to the über-cool Adee cocktail bar with its spectacular view across the Yodogawa River. Its pool is a stunner, as is the wedding chapel, complete with a rock-face waterfall 20 stories above the streets of Japan’s mercantile mecca. Less formal than Osaka’s Ritz-Carlton, warmer than its St. Regis, the “Interkonchi” (as the locals have it) is a dynamic addition to the city’s hotel scene.
3-60 Ofuka-cho, Kita-ku, Osaka-shi; 81-6/6 374-5700; InterContinental Osaka website; doubles from US$261
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