Goldeneyeuro

Had a 1-night stay here in May with 2 of my friends in their “Kyotsukikoto Japanese-Style Guest Room.” Wanted to spend a day exploring around the Arashiyama area and this was a splurge stay with me trying to maximize the amount of time we had there. It didn’t work out as well as I had hoped (our day started out late with delay after delay). No fault of the hotel though.



I couldn’t use my SNAs. Fair enough. The room thankfully was available when we arrived around 1:30 PM, with prompt and thorough checkin where we were served cups of tea. The main room area was large, had lots of space (sleeping capacity up to 5 people), great style and feeling of Japanese authenticity. There was a small outside area (a porch of sorts?) to the room and an onsen bathtub (which only my friends used). The hotel staff came by in the evening to move the table in the main room and set up the beds on the floor which were very plush and warm. Breakfast the next morning was off a set menu and delicious. Service throughout the stay was just right. There when you need it with exactly what you asked for, unintrusive otherwise. Helpful when I left something behind after my stay.



However, two very big drawbacks to the main room: there was very little storage space for small nicknacks like wallets and phones and the like. There was also only ONE pair of electrical outlets in the corner of the room. Want more outlets? Try the bathroom. Very much form over function.



Friends and I had events the next morning in the main part of Kyoto so we left soon after breakfast. We did explore as much of Arashiyama as possible but with only one afternoon, evening, and part of the morning, I at least want to come back and explore more. I also wish I could have spent more time at the hotel to enjoy more of it, and it begs the question of whether I’ll come back to this hotel or if I’ll just stay in the main part of Kyoto and go back and forth. This is a splurge hotel, and my room itself cost about 211,000 JPY for one night. I think even the base level rooms were about 140,000-150,000 JPY per night. It’s an excellent hotel and worth splurging for maybe once but it’s a hard sell for me to stay the second time around mainly because of the price. If it’s a lot cheaper or if I could find a good deal on points/points+cash I may consider it. I wouldn’t suggest staying here if you are planning on spending the majority of your time in the main part of Kyoto, however.

Pictures from my stay:

r0m8470

How does this compare to the Mitsui? We are planning a trip to Japan, with a stop in Kyoto in mid March. On all our previous visits, we stayed at the west and central side (HR Kyoto and The Mitsui). In both places, we were treated extremely well. We got upgraded to a suite at the Mitsui (lowly Plat,and no SNA used - for 2 nights!), and while no upgrade at HR (Koyo season), we were very happy with our stay.

The locations works for us since we don't plan on exploring the Higashiyama area this time - and choose to concentrate on Arashiyama and its outskirts. The cash rate and points are always high here, comparable to PH Kyoto, but seems more bookable. We like big breakfast at both the The Mitsui and HR Kyoto, and reading above, seems like it is quite simpler here.

The website mention free transportation - from where is that? Arashiyama station or Kyoto station?

nexusCFX

Free one-way transfer to/from Kyoto Station. FWIW, one time I went Roku -> Suiran -> Mitsui, and since I hadn't used my free transfer they told me not to worry about the taxi to Mitsui, they'd paid it.

I am a many time guest and they've always treated me well. I would not want to stay in a room below the YUZUNOHA category here as the onsen bath is the differentiator, and in the past I always gambled and won with upgrades, but with post-COVID travel demand I don't do that anymore. YUZUNOHA should be your baseline for booking.

For context, during my stay last month they upgraded me to the presidential suite. My prior visit in January was an upgrade to the TOGETSU suite, and in November 2019 which was my last pre-COVID visit, I got the GYOKUTO garden suite. So they are very good with elite guests and especially loyal guests.

The hard product is older, Mitsui definitely wins on the furnishings throughout the room. But in my experience the property in is in good condition despite the age. It's very like Conrad Tokyo in that regard, if you've ever stayed there you'll know the hard product is getting quite old but it's maintained so well that somehow it's still viable.

And of course the actual draw is location which can't be beat with respect to exploring the western side. If you want to actually have a peaceful experience in the bamboo grove, staying here to wake up and get over there for sunrise is the best way to do it. If it's chilly out you can run back to your onsen bath after. However, I wouldn't base myself here for an extended period if I was intending to see all of Kyoto. Last month with my family I had us here for 2 nights which was very good, and then we just moved over to The Chapter to save costs because it has a great location and it was 14k a night and we were out of the hotel all day anyway going around the city or going on day trips to other cities.

So it really depends on what you're planning to do, and also how you're planning to pay. Suiran is pretty bad value of points to cash because you don't book into the YUZUNOHA room (can email and ask to pay to upgrade), and the cash rates with deals like breakaway rate are not very expensive. Mitsui has decided to price itself in-line with the RC but you can see from my posts about staying at Mitsui that I don't think it's worth that at all. But it makes it a good value on points (although I would then say why not just redeem at the RC?)

whenismynextvacation

I stayed in back in November for four (4) nights. Was my FAVORITE hotel in Japan overall because of its location, which does have some cons to it (not ideal for day trips to other cities because you're not central to Kyoto Station). Everyone was super nice and accommodating. Service felt very intimate/personal--you almost always saw the same people over and over again, which allowed you to have real conversations. Didn't really get to try all their restaurants / amenities as I was out and about most of the time, but you're really close to a good coffee shop (Arabica), which isn't worth it because of the SUPER LONG lines, and an amazing local bakery (BREAD & ESPRESSO). The bakery has an AMAZING MILK TOAST. Highly recommend.

At breakfast, I've tried both Japanese and American set menus. Both are good. I'm stilling thinking about the milk toast they served in the American set. Really appreciated the a la carte/set breakfast because I really hate buffets (Prince Gallery and Mitsui both had buffets for breakfast).

Booked through FHR. Wasn't upgraded because hotel was at full occupancy. Doesn't matter because I booked the room I wanted and had an amazing view of the river/forest.