Cross Hotel Kyoto — Hotel in Kyoto

This is a newer hotel in Kyoto that is well-located, well-managed and definitely a great choice for our first visit to Kyoto. We booked the western suite, which is located on the top floor (9th) in the corner with a stunning view of the city, the river and the mountains in the distance. Electric curtains open to reveal the view each morning. What a lovely way to begin the day! The suite itself is enormous, with a large walk-in closet, entry vestibule, separate toilet closet, and then a spacious bathroom with sauna, dressing area, separate shower / bath area and dual sink vanity.

The hotel staff was wonderful, handling a large number of check in and check outs. We stayed 4 days but most people seem to stay fewer for some reason. Saturday was crazy there with a massive number of check ins. They handled this well except the lobby bathroom was totally disgusting. I reported it and I'm sure they took care of it immediately.

The breakfast area is frantic / crowded but efficient and there are many options. My parter said that they need an omelette station and a noodle bar, but I was happy with the tenderloin, fruits, etc. The eggs were a bit strange I must admit, with gooey scrambled eggs or overcooked fried eggs as the two choices. Overall I was satisfied with the breakfast and he was not.

The concierge, as others have mentioned, is amazing, handling a variety of requests for us in an efficient manner.

The location is great, 5 minutes walk to TWO subway stations so we were able to easily get to Fushimi Inari without transferring trains. Google maps was great with transit and helped us figure out how to take the #32 bus from the corner to Philosopher's Path, but I think we could have also taken the #5. We were even able to take a train (well, two) to the bamboo forest.

There are TONS of restaurants nearby, from fine dining to KFC. Amazingly many are booked up for dinner so reservations are a must. ATM's are everywhere too... we used the one on the way to the Sanjo subway station at the 7-11.

Uber works great as an on-demand taxi platform here, and we used it to get back to the train station at the end of our stay. It was 1,550 yen and well worth it with our bags. We were able to specify a pickup in front of the hotel doors.

The elevators are fast and efficient and did a good job handling the guests. We never had to wait long and appreciated they required room keys for floor access to provide security.

We added our Suica cards to our iPhones and were able to get all over Kyoto on transit from the hotel easily. Just tap the iPhone on the entry gate and you're on the subway or bus. We even used it for the Shinkasen high speed trains. So easy once we figured it out.

Overall this was a delightful stay and we would definitely return again. Highly...

Unfortunately we did not have a very good hotel stay experience here, not because the room or staff were bad, but simply because of the location of the room that we were put up in.

The rooms and amenities are actually very good for the price that guests pay for. We stayed in a Deluxe king room which came with breakfast, and the spread was decent and filling, but it is very monotonous. Most items are repeated everyday, and the few items that do change will just be rotated every 2 days. It gets really boring after eating the same stuff for a week, and mind you, we stayed 12 nights! We ended up skipping the breakfast for several days.

Another major and serious reason for us skipping breakfast was we overslept on several days, especially over the weekends. We were on a free and easy tour, hence had the luxury to sleep in. Imagine if you have a timetable to follow and with insufficient sleep, that may be pretty agonising.

We were given room 90x, facing the back alley across a small stream (think the entire stretch is called Pontocho Alley) where there are many small eateries and clubs/pubs, even a maid’s cafe. The room’s view is great as my photos showed but that’s also where the agony started. Some pub/club’s loud throbbing music could be heard nightly, starting around 10pm and playing till at least midnight. It got even worse on Friday and Saturday nights as the music continued all the way till 3-4am. For the first weekend, we tolerated the noise, but over the second Friday weekend, we were fed up and called concierge to complain when we were still kept awake at 2am. The staff said they will check, and called us back within 2 mins, offering to switch rooms for us. We refused, simply because it’s difficult to shift all our stuff in the middle of the night.

We asked if the staff could call the police and we did hear sirens nearby later, but only at 4am. The music stopped after that and we managed to fall into an uneasy sleep.

We know that it is not an easy situation for the hotel, bearing that there is nothing much they can do besides complaining to the local authorities and putting guests in rooms away from the source of the music as much as possible.

This is a very nice hotel with nice rooms and amenities and ambience, but do remember to request for a room facing the main road or sides. Depending on the room you get, you may have a...

Cross Hotel was the choice among numerous hotels for a 4-day, 3-night trip in Kyoto. I made a careful decision by referring to the price, location, year of hotel construction, and reviews before choosing, and I felt that it was a great choice from the moment I checked in. It takes about 15 minutes by taxi from Kyoto Station (¥1700), and there are Sanjo Station and Gion-Shijo Station nearby, so access by subway is excellent. The overall atmosphere of the hotel was modern and simple, and in the lobby with comfortable sofas in a good atmosphere, you can drink Italian Lavazza coffee and green tea for free at any time, and you can bring and use as many amenities as you want, so it was good to pay attention to environmental protection. The room condition was also very clean and comfortable like a new hotel, and even a Dyson humidifier was placed, so I felt careful consideration. It was also nice to be able to enjoy a variety of menus in a restaurant with a nice atmosphere for breakfast. The best thing is the location of the hotel. You can walk to nearby tourist attractions or stations, so accessibility is very convenient. I left my shopping bag in the lobby on the day I checked out, and I was impressed that they kept it well. I couldn't find it due to Osaka schedule, but I'm going to ask if I can get it by courier. I was very satisfied with the 4 days and 3 nights and it was a great choice. Accommodation is the most important thing on a trip, so I will definitely visit again next time, and I highly recommend it. One of the most important tips is that if your next itinerary is Osaka, you don't have to go to Tokyo Station from the hotel, you can directly go to downtown Osaka on the Keihan subway line from Sanjo Station, which is a 5-7 minute walk from the hotel. There is no better accessible hotel than this one. After returning to Korea, I requested the hotel to deliver the lost item, so it was sent quickly by EMS mail, and I received it within a week. Once again, I sincerely thank...