Karasuma Kyoto Hotel

Satisfactory Hotel for visits to Kyoto

The hotel is good--very much like a standard business hotel. The staff is very friendly. The location is near the activities center of Kyoto--near Karasuma and Shijo "dori" (streets), about a third of a mile west of Karawamachi (sp?)--the epicencter of night-time activities in Kyoto--with lots of restaurants. There is upscale shopping on Shijo between Karasuma and Karawamachi streets. The hotel is adjacent to the N-S subway line Shijo station and not too far from bus stops on Shijo. (Note, there are a lot of busses on Shijo including several going to major tourist sites such as the Golden Pavilion and the Silver Pavilion--but the stops for various busses are not all in the same location, so one needs to scout out where a particular bus stops. Further, the stops can be more than a block from the listed intersection--e.g, both east and west of Karasuma.)

Good Location but Bad Mattress

I loved the location, right in front of south exit of the subway. Kyoto does not have much subway network so you might be wasting money to ride two stops from the subway, but the buses are just as terrible, because of the volume of the traffic. I would like the Kyoto station area but all the reasonably priced hotels were sold out. This hotel looks great at the lobby but you will be disappointed when you get to the room. I got a smoking room on 14th floor because they didn't have a non-smoking room for a bigger bed for two. We left the window open for three days and it still smelled strongly of smoke. And maybe because it's a smoking room, it was very dirty looking. But the bathroom was clean but very small. The biggest problem is that the mattress is really bad. I could not lay down on the side because my rib cage was feeling the spring in the mattress. After all day of walking around in Kyoto a good night sleep is necessary... Although all the shortcomings, I would still recommend this hotel simply because the lack of good priced hotels in Kyoto, and it's location.

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Nice surprise

This hotel was actually a nice surprise. The rooms are ok (nothing special), but the location of the hotel was fantastic. It is literally right next to a train station. This station can take you to just about any attraction you want to go to. That made getting around Kyoto fairly easy for us. The staff also spoke English very well and were full of helpful information for getting around and seeing some of the sites. The only complaint I have is their map. Don't trust the distances. The Nijo Castle looked pretty close on the map, but it ended up being almost a half hour walk. I recommend using the trains and buses as much as possible (so yes, buy an all day pass for both, it will be cheaper). I would definitely recommend this hotel to anyone staying in Kyoto though.

I would stay at Karasuma Kyoto Hotel again.

Excellent service. Great location-just steps away from the subway and two subway stops from Kyoto Station. Very clean bath and toilet facilities. Overall, a good deal for the cost.

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Decent hotel for the price

This hotel is located in central Kyoto right of the subway. The rooms are very small by western standards but this is typical for Japan. Overall, given the price, it's a reasonable place to stay.

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For business travelers, only

The room furnishings were showing signs of wear. We only had an ancient hot plate and tiny metal pot to make "tea". It plugged in next to the TV, which caused us distress every time the little pot of water boiled over. The front desk staff was attentive and tried hard, but lost our room key anyway, which they insist you return each time you leave the hotel to go out. There are no 24 hour food stores nearby, and the hotel's restaurant was insanely expensive, even for Kyoto.

A nice hotel for busy traveler.

Friendly staff, central location made our stay in Kyoto very pleasant.

Good location

A good location within walking distance of the main shopping district, on the subway, and not far from the train station. Hardly traditional, but nicer than expected, and a lot more convenient than the quiet traditional ryokan we stayed in last year.

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