Excellent location!! Front of hotel near Takase River. Walking distance to Pontocho Alley, Higashiyama, Geisha district, great shopping malls, Samurai museum, Nishiki markets and more!! Lovely quiet lounge area on Lv 3 where free daily refreshments can be enjoyed after 2pm. Evenings has an exterior fire pit, weather permitting. Staff are Wonderful throughout the hotel. Foyer area , level 1 you will find Blue bottle Cafe which makes great coffee (oat milk available) Masters Bar/restaurant with great food & prompt service. A few other shops too ( dessert, Incense sticks)

Difficulty getting a taxi on morning of departure, even after booking with staff the night before.

Awesome Pontocho/Gion location near Keihan and Hankyu train stations. Beautiful new hotel with good-sized rooms and comfortable beds. Great value for the price (we booked early and got a good rate.) Lounge with free drinks available from 2PM to 9:30. The rooftop bar and restaurant looked nice with a great view of Kyoto but we didn’t try it as there are so many other places around. The front desk was unable to secure me a taxi reservation but I easily got a cab at the corner of Shijo across the road from the Hankyu station as there is a taxi pickup location there.

No complaints!

Overall, the hotel is good enough, as a perfect location, not so expensive price, and even better if you are a fan of Cardcaptor Sakura. Personally, the most important reason for me to choose this hotel this time is that it is modified from an elementary school, even though if you walk in the hotel now, you even cannot imagine except the outside look of the hotel. You can feel it used to be a school. More importantly, this elementary school is the model for Tomoe school. The location of the hotel is great, kawaramachi is a great location not only it is close to gion, but also you can feel the quiet atmosphere in the morning but enjoying late night life at night at the same time. However, kawaramachi station is kind of hard for traveller with large suitcase as it is very hard to find an lift or escalator in the subway. You might need to consider how to move your suitcase up and down. The room is large with very interesting room planning, which is kind of hard to see in other hotels. However, at least the room I stayed in did not provide a suitcase stand so I had to put my suitcase on the ground, which was annoying.

For breakfast, there are three choices, with 2 Western and 1 Japanese. However, the Japanese one is in limited order so you have to wake up early to try it. On the other hand, they only have three choices with a few buffets, which means if you stay in the hotel for more than 3 days, you will be lake of choices, which is unbelievable. Personally, if I stay in the hotel next time, I would prefer to go to Family Mart to buy some food for breakfast instead of choosing 1 from the 3 choices, even though they are delicious. Also, when you check out, you will deposit your luggage in the lobby, which is on the 8th floor. However, you will only need to take your luggage at the ground floor. You might have to wait for a while because the hotel staff on the ground floor is a little hard to find.

Best possible location for exploring Kyoto markets during the day and bars at night. Large comfy rooms and a nice bar. Beautiful view of the mountains from the bar and from rooms. Rooms and beds are large and comfy.

The hotel is a bit more expensive for what it is - you can get the same quality cheaper closeby.

Beautiful room designed perfectly for all the little details to be exactly right. Huge shower room with a wonderful rain overhead shower with high pressure as well as a handheld if that's your preference, plus a huge tub. Great Japanese toilet that flushes itself but not obnoxiously or before you get off it. Comfortable bed, and a nice small couch and table to sit at and work or eat. Tea kettle in the room, as well as wonderful amenities - including Epsom salts and tiny, wonderful hand lotion! I'm super sensitive and generally don't use any products other than my own, but used the shower products here all four days of my stay and had no issues. Staff is incredibly friendly and helpful at both the front desk and reception. There is functioning heat AND A/C in the room, controlled individually, even in winter, so if you want it cool while sleeping in the winter and the heat in most places is too hot, this is a good place for you. I was sorry to leave and would absolutely love to stay in this super comfortable, high value hotel again.

Breakfast is good, but could be better. I had the Japanese breakfast 3/4 days and the eggs benedict one day. Japanese was better. I probably wouldn't let this stop me from staying again, but I would love it if they improved their Western options in the buffet as well.

A top quality hotel and we are frequent flyers! Starting from the location, everything about this property is exceptional. The cleanliness, clean lines and the ambience of the bar lobby is very impressive. The room is spacious and lay out excellent. Lucky to have this space in Japan. The staff are the cherry on top with their hospitality, courtesy making us feel very special. I would return here in Spring and every year.

The gym. There needs to be more equipment there. Only treadmill and basic cardio equipment was not enough. A good spread of weights and other equipment will help

This is a beautiful hotel located in the historic center of Kyoto. Nestled on a quiet street just off the main road, the hotel offers a peaceful atmosphere, though evening traffic in the area can still be quite busy. The location is excellent — several train stations and bus stops are within walking distance, making it easy to explore the city. There is an incredible number of shops and restaurants in the vicinity, and many popular landmarks are within walking distance. Others can be reached quickly and comfortably by public transportation, especially by bus, which is very convenient in Kyoto. Check-in was very quick and smooth. The staff were extremely polite, professional, and genuinely friendly. Our room was spacious by Japanese standards, well-equipped with everything we needed, including a Nespresso coffee machine. The bed was exceptionally comfortable, ensuring a great night's sleep. Room service was excellent — prompt, discreet, and attentive to details, which made our stay even more comfortable and enjoyable. Breakfast was not overly varied but everything was absolutely delicious, with high-quality ingredients and careful preparation. We stayed for five days and never got tired of the breakfast offerings. The hotel also features a rooftop bar and lounge with impressive views of the Takase River and the cityscape — a perfect place to relax in the evening. The interior design combines modern comfort with subtle traditional touches, creating a warm and refined atmosphere. Overall, this hotel offers a perfect balance of location, comfort, and hospitality. Excellent value for money. Highly recommended for anyone visiting Kyoto.

nothing

The hotel itself is beautiful in the perfect location for exploring Kyoto. The lobby, longest bar in the world I think, and the breakfast room are a pleasure to the eye and for comfort as well. The breakfasts are lovely, you want to linger; it's fascinating to have the formal Japanese breakfast (included with your room if you booked breakfast included. Do!) The staff was very helpful; when I had complicated requirements, we used Google translate to good advantage. For example: I needed to buy a used SILK kimono and the woman at the reception told me where to go and then wrote a small card for me to show the staff at the store to verify if I were in the right place and what I needed. Most tourist kimonos are polyester (and beautiful too) but the request I'd had was for used silk. Authentic, in other words. We were able to walk to so many sites, shopping, & markets, When you want to explore further afield (further than you can walk) the "GO" taxis are plentiful and excellent. You might even luck in & get one of the "4 clovers" rated taxis as we did unknowingly. So many charming extras at this hotel: the lounge with free wine/snacks for happy hour(s) plus the marshmallow roasting fire pit in the atrium patio. (sorry to spoil your surprise!). I was delighted by the people paying hundreds of dollars a night for a room getting so excited to get a free cold can of pepsi or a glass of cold white wine whenever they want from the fridge. Whomever thought this up is a genius!

Nothing. We loved it!

I don't want to ruin the surprise, but the check-in sets the tone for this incredible hotel in central Kyoto. The lounge on level 3 became our rendezvous for our extended family of 7, enjoying complimentary afternoon drinks in a calm, relaxed space. You are only metres from the popular restaurant strip and close to train stations and bus stops for easy access to all parts of Kyoto.

We had evening drinks on the terrace bar. It seemed strange that, as a hotel guests, we were all required to purchase a drink each in order to be allowed to sit on the terrace.

The hotel is super clean and the bed is very comfortable. The staff are friendly and helpful and efficient. Quite a few activities happening in the hotel. Yoga classes, Geisha show, etc. The location is perfect. Everything is 15 mins away on foot. The hotel also offers pajama sets that are quite comfortable! Love that the toilets have a built in bidet. I would definitely stay here again.

The double room I booked was too small for a couple. The closet space is very narrow for a couple. We thankfully managed to move to a King Deluxe room which was much more spacious and better equipped for a couple with more closet space.