Life_Platinum

Another very informative post, RTWSTARALLIANCE. Sound as if you were treated the same way I was last year when I was stuck into Room 6002, a smoking room. We've just returned from China and suggest that you try some of the Starwood Properties in this emerging country. Starwood treated us far better than we have been treated in Japan. However, we're planning another Japan trip.

motytrah

The Hyatt Osaka or the Hyatt Kyoto? I was at the Hyatt Kyoto back in September. I was very impressed with the Rooms.

websterlewis

I was speaking about the Hyatt in Kyoto.

I agree the rooms are great, and for the most part very similar in size and layout - which unlike the Westin Miyako - you have a pretty good idea that what you are getting is to a more than acceptable standard. The lobby area in Hyatt Kyoto is also a great plus point -overall it is really nicely re-designed hotel.

If you don't have Starwood Platinum then I would recommend Kyoto Hyatt above the Westin, whatever level of Gold Passport membership you have as the overall experience is likely to be better.

For me, the Westin Miyako, still wins out for the reasons stated in the above thread. However, in a city where hotels can get full very easy, whenever I go to Kyoto for a week I usually end up staying in both hotels due to one or the other (usually the Miyako) being full and especially in summer when the heat in Kyoto is full on, it really is good to have two great hotels to chill out in.

Apologies for going on about the Hyatt in a Starwood thread about Miyako Kyoto, but I guess for many on Flyertalk the choice in Kyoto is between these two hotels.

HLS2002

I stayed at the Westin Miyako last week, and I had a terrible room on the 7th floor. It was tiny, and it looked like a 1960s room in a roadside motor inn somewhere in Kansas. There was no room for a desk. The lighting was exceptionally poor. Everything looked old and worn. The TV was maybe an 15"/$75 set. The "Heavenly Bath" involved nothing heavenly, not even a bowed shower curtain rod. The towels had the old Westin logo on them. Needless to say, there were no Molton Brown products. There was no in-room safe, not that I felt my iPod was in serious danger of being stolen in Japan.

To make matters worse, we were SPG plat. We foolishly made the reservation without using the number, though, so I can't fully complain about this aspect of the stay. That said, we did present the SPG Plat. card at check-in, and this seemed only to cause confusion. It took foreful negotiation to get access to the 10th floor lounge (i.e., "it says right here on the card that I'm absolutely entitled to lounge access"). As far as getting a better room, they said they were all full with some company retreat.

I'm thinking about writing a serious complaint letter to the GM. At a minimum, I'd like to challenge him to post pictures of the room I had on the hotel's web site. The lobby is kind of nice, but otherwise I don't have much good to say about the hotel. While waiting around for somebody to show up at the concierge desk one evening, I noticed pictures of the GMs past with famous and quasi-famous guests. Naturally, I wondered what kind of rooms they had.

It was kind of helpful that the hotel would transport bags to and from the train station, although charging an admittedly very nominal price (Y200/bag each way) was kind of annoying. I never used the free shuttle bus service since it was always easier to take the subway (and the service only runs from 8 to 18h., I think). The lounge wasn't so great, with no Internet terminals or anything. On the bright side, I may have polished off all their cassis de dijon.

RTWSTARALLIANCE

FYI. Floor 8 is now a SPG/Executive Floor. The Hotel felt a need to add another non-smoking floor to Executive level.

LapLap

I can't post a direct link - but if you make a dummy booking here for one person: https://hotel.reservation.jp/westinm...?sid=561919968

And press on the rooms priced at around ¥10,000 this is probably a glimpse at the sort of rooms you described (no sign of these in the English language website )

HLS2002

Good call, LapLap. Even though a few months have passed now, I'm going to complain to the GM about getting the ¥10k room as a plat on points.

LapLap

I'll certainly urge you to - they've had plenty of time to update their website - they don't show these rooms to those booking in English at all (they're obviously ashamed of them). Only allowing Japanese reading customers to see them is extremely unfair.

I'm furious for you - I hate seeing discriminatory practices, especially in a supposedly international hotel chain. There was a definite policy in not publishing this photo in their English website

LapLap

Sorry - that link wasn't any good. Best I can come up with is this one
http://www.westinmiyako-kyoto.com/shukuhaku.php

If you don't change anything and just press the large pinkish button near the centre you should come to another page with a list of rooms and prices next them. Click on whatever is underlined to the left of a 10,000yen price tag and a photo of the room should pop up.

I wish I was technically savvy enough to provide a link directly to the photo of a single bed room.

Traviss

Just stayed here and they had a notice up at the station office that the Kyoto Station remote Check in/Luggage storage transfer facility is going to close as from November 30th, 2007. Not sure if this is temporary or permanent, my Japanese not good and couldn't quite get the staff to understand my question there to find out more, but just a heads up to anyone planning trips there...



T

schriste

Unfortunately this is also mentioned on the Westin Miyako Japanese website:

http://www.westinmiyako-kyoto.com/en...kin/index.html

FlyMan

I wonder if they also stop the shuttle bus service from Kyoto Station. I hope not...

iahphx

I wouldn't think so, because the shuttle is popular. I suspect the "office" at the train station wasn't utilized that much, and the cost of staffing it probably wasn't justified.

You can get to the hotel from the train station by subway, but I think most visitors would much prefer the simplicity (once you find the stop!) of the bus.

andymo99

A few comments having completed a stay at Westin Miyako Kyoto a day or two ago.

We had a two nights C&P stay.

1) Very crowded at check-in, but they had a dedicated Gold/Plat line. I went straight to that and someone (bellhop? front desk staff) pointed me to the end of the lone regular queue. I explained why I chose that line and was permitted to stay.

2) "Upgrade" didn't strike me as much of an upgrade. Was on 8th floor (SPG). First room was fine, except when we noticed overnight that the A/C wasn't working. We set it to 15 C (the lowest it would show), but the temp was a constant 24 C. The next morning, they sent someone to look at it who informed us that it was fine. Well it wasn't fine for our tastes. We left a note for the manager at the front desk. Upon our return, we were offered a new room, which turned out to be a Junior Suite exactly as described above by RTWSTARALLIANCE. It was a nice upgrade to our original room. The AC certainly worked! We actually couldn't figure out how to make it warmer, but we weren't about to complain!

3) Shuttle to Kyoto station still operates every half hour (on the 15 and 45) until 5pm or so. First come first served, and it seats ~24.

4) The executive lounge was pitifully small for the number of people granted access. Both mornings, the woman running the show there was totally overwhelmed, and she wasn't really qualified to be handling things there. She'd send people down to the restaurant on the second floor, where the wait was even longer. Anyhow, they urgently need to knock out a series of rooms to convert into a lounge that can accommodate the number of people who are given access. Same thing happened in the evening for happy hour snacks/cocktails.

Globehopper

During a November 2007 stay I asked the person working at the remote check in and a manager about this as well, and was told that the reason for the checkin desk permanently closing was due to that portion of the station being redeveloped for other uses. I was also told that the other hotel (can't recall the name) check in desk at the station (a few steps away), would also be closing as part of this same redevelopment.

Attempting to check in at this remote check in was somewhat pointless, the person simply directed us to the hotel's check in facility. Fortunately, once there, we were ushered to the lounge (they need to invest in a directional sign from the elevator) for check in.

We found the quality of the hotel rooms underwhelming, having been offered two types of junior suites, and a large 2 room suite. Staff at the hotel though, was generally very hospitable.

Hotel shuttle bus was a hit or miss affair and sometimes would deviate off its route, missing an intermediate pickup point (where naturally we were waiting).

I'd love to see the Hotel Granvia become a Starwood hotel, as it has a more convenient location. I find the Miyako a bit remote for my travels.