Sybaritic Single sings for his supper
Sometimes, booking the finest suite is becomes a terrible nuisance, and the Sybaritic Single is once again reminded of it the hard way.
After enjoying delightful Japanese hospitality in Tokyo and Kyoto, the Sybaritic Single arrives in Osaka. Remembering his not-so-perfect stay at the city's Ritz-Carlton, he consciously decides to give the new Four Seasons Osaka a chance, intrigued by its modern ryokan concept called Gensui: a hotel within the hotel. The entire 28th floor has been transformed into a modern riff on a traditional Japanese ryokan inn, with 21 tatami rooms and suites.
Arriving by the Four Seasons surprisingly modest river boat, the Sybaritic Single is welcomed in an uncomfortably warm private lounge with three tables and a bare bar counter. True to himself, he asks for a glass of champagne only to be reminded that the Japanese floor stocks local drinks only - warm sparkling sake is served as the closest alternative. Unable to finish it, he insists to be shown to his suite promptly.
“We need a few more minutes as we are arranging the flowers, and since you reserved the largest suite we got nowhere else to accommodate you”.
A few minutes turn into two full hours and a saving grace, a chilled bottle of Ruinart Blanc des Blancs, is waitig inside the grand suite. The flowers are, indeed, quite nice but there’s no way they took this long to arrange. The ceiling is low, ambiance austere, lights are dim and the futon is way too hard - way less comfortable than his Aman quarters in Tokyo and Kyoto.
His worst disappointment, however, is the room service - a universal Four Seasons menu of uninspiring dishes. He immediately summons the executive chef who insists there must be a special Gensui menu and checks the iPad menu himself a few times. Moments later, he admits there must be a system glitch and there’s no Japanese menu. The Sybaritic Single orders the most boring green salad and wonders if he is the only Gensui floor guest asking for a special treatment.
The chef goes over and above the following morning with the most lavish Japanese breakfast with generous servings of caviar and truffle (who’d imagine these ingredients being native to Japan) as well as some nice champagne, but the Sybaritic Single has made up his mind already: Four Seasons are known for their traditional mattresses, classic global luxury aesthetics and midnight club sandwiches - but do err on the safe side with anything outside the box!
