I knew that this hotel was old - I've been to Kyoto many times. However, I didn't realize that it was decrepit and in such disrepair that the room was barely habitable. Further, I never would have anticipated the poor service from both the hotel and from SPG.

Room

We were given a room that was referred to as "a luxury suite". There was nothing luxurious about it. Unfortunate, since the price was close to $500 USD/night. First, the room was so dirty that we never even sat on the couch or chairs. The carpet was stained.  Second, the AC/Heat in the room didn't work at all - a hotel employee brought us a fan, but it stopped working after the first day. Third, there were no accessible plugs in the room. A hotel employee literally moved the dresser and beds to find one - then strung an extension cord through the room and taped it to the floor - like you would do when given a presentation in a a meeting room. Fourth, the internet didn't work at all. This list could continue...................but these examples suffice.

Service

The hotel employee who brought the fan and strung the extension cord told us that she would talk to the manager about our issues and that we would hear from him. We didn't. So, we went to the front desk and asked to speak to the manager on duty. We were told "no". The manager was in a locked office and would not speak to us. When we persisted, he came out and listened to us for a moment - then turned his back to us and walked away. After several more attempts to speak with him, the front desk clerk went to see him, then came back and told us he would give us a discount on the room. We asked for the amount of the discount and made a note of it. When checking out, the discount was not applied. Again, we asked to speak to the manager on duty and were told "no". Finally, seeing him in the lobby, we went and spoke with him. He said "we decided not to give you a discount because your room is fine". I asked him to come to the room with me to see the issues - he did. Then, he said again, "there are no issues, your room is fine". Frustrated, we left and called SPG when we returned. This was over a month ago and we've had no response - not even a phone call.

Overall

I am Platinum Premier with Marriott and rather new to using SPG properties. I am rather stunned by both the quality of the hotel and the service both at the hotel and though the SPG Customer Service Department. While I realize that the price of the hotel was driven by the time of year - it was Sakura - that doesn't remove the hotel's responsibility to ensure that the room is clean with everything in working order. 

I would not recommend the hotel and would most definitely not stay again.