Hotel Monterey Kyoto — Attraction in Kyoto

Good location, a short walk away from Subway Karasuma Oika. However, encountered several issues.

First, room was prepped with amenities for 1 when I had a party of 2. Meaning, we were staying in a solo room and charged for two heads. Okay... Then, found out that if you wanted to use the Onsen, it was an EXTRA 1700 yen on top of the room fee. 'Are you kidding?' is what I thought. In my experience, when a hotel advertises they have a bath, its usually free. They were not joking.

Figured, whatever, came all this way to Kyoto so I might as well enjoy. Wasn't exactly impressed by the Onsen. It was large, but that's about all it had going for it. The jaccuzi on the men's side was broken, oh well! The lounge, however, was very nice. Spacious with a great view.

The most irritating thing that really sullied my mood was when I went to ask if I could go down to my room to change clothes to use the lounge space again. I figured I had already payed nearly 2000 yen to use the bath that should have been free, what harm could it do to ask. The guy looked at me dumbfounded. Well, no. If you want to use the bath area INCLUDING THE LOUNGE more than ONCE a day, well then you should get the one day pass plan, for 2200 yen! Only 500 yen more! He told me,「いや、もちろん有料です。」("No, of course there's a fee (to reenter)"). Aside from the snark, what a rip off! Give me a break.

I will not be coming back to this hotel again. I much prefer Mitsui's and Dormy's hotels. At least they have good deals and great customer service. Can't say the same for this hotel. Maybe it's for rich old...

It's great. It smells good when you come in. It smells great. The hotel is relatively new, very close from Karasuma Oike, and there is a new style building nearby. Unfortunately, I don’t have time to go for a walk. Many people recommend it. The main store of Inoda Coffee is within walking distance nearby. I think it’s okay to walk to Gogan Shrine. I took a walk there after dinner. There is a bus stop at the door, but for buses in Kyoto, please read the navigation carefully.You must swipe the access card to enter the floor. This is good, traveling alone ensures safety.The room is quite large for a Japanese hotel. A 24-inch suitcase can be spread out no problem. The front desk staff are also great and can help solve any problems.There are free umbrellas that can be borrowed in the lobby on the first floor. It rained two days out for three days, so having them was a big help. Some necessary items were also provided to be taken out. The zipper of my suitcase cover suddenly could not be opened. I had to cut it off after a long time. At 11 o'clock in the evening, I successfully borrowed scissors from the lobby and opened the box. The restaurant on the second floor looks good, but it's a pity that I didn't try it this time because I had arrangements. There is a paid hot spring place upstairs, if you are interested, you can check it out. The hotel is very quiet, the windows are closed tightly and the curtains are drawn,...

Good location. Metro only a minute away, city centre about 10 minute walk.Friendly service. But our check in took far too long. We arrived too early, around 11am, so had to leave our luggage and return later. Came back after 5pm and had to take a number and wait 20minutes to be served. To then only be told our room is not ready. Very frustrating. We had to wait another 20 minutes. Which we thought was not great as obviously they will not clean our room well enough. We waited in the bar. And were offered nothing as a sorry.The rooms are small and dark. And very hot and stuffy. We did not sleep well first night as the air con is not sufficient. Maybe blocked up with dust, which added to the stuffiness. Thank goodness had an opening window.I like a firm bed, but this was so firm it felt almost like sleeping in the floor. Pillows were too firm also. One high firm pillow, one low firm pillow. So I suffered from stiff back and neck the following mornings.The shower, oh dear.. must be made for tiny Japanese people. We are tall New Zealanders. So this was uncomfortable. The shower head was odd, did not sit in the wall socket well and only sprayed water over to the back wall, which then soaked the floor. Showering was messy. It was however nice and quiet, so...