FUGASTAY Shijō Ōmiya — Hotel in Kyoto

We went in 2014, and spent three weeks on a trip that took us from Tokyo with Kyoto, Osaka, Takayama and Hiroshima being the main centres we visited. As usual we didn't go on a commercially-run tour and - having done all the research thoroughly before we left Australia - we managed our own tour. Our Japan Rail Passes were such a boon !! Kyoto, as the ancient capital, was a vital segment on this trip and so our choice of accommodation was very important. This little place was central to everything we wanted to visit in Kyoto, and we were taking a friend who really preferred cruise boats and was nervous about travelling around for this length of time by land (she genuinely LOVED it) and so we deliberately didn't choose a more traditional style of Japanese accommodation: a bit disappointing for us as we would have preferred that.||It was within walking distance of the Imperial Palace, and close to major cross-city bus routes - so very central to the places we wanted to visit, like the masses of cherry blossoms along the river. It was very comfortable and warm, and facilities were great. Staff were young, friendly and helpful. We would definitely stay here again if we were to...

This was one of the bigger rooms we've had on our trip throughout Japan. The room and common areas were clean and well maintained. It was about 1km from the nightlife hotspots but still a nice quiet place with plenty of izakayas to try out - one of the best ramen places we've tried was 400m away (a block or so down from the century 21)

The front desk girls didn't speak English so it was a little tough asking for help with calling places/advice on where to go for food/drinks but were able to give simple answers for basic questions with google translate.

It's quite far from nishiki market and most places we were interested in checking out were at least 750m away - which on paper doesn't seem like much, well rested also doesn't seem like much, but after exploring the whole city on foot all day/hiking through the trails in arashiyama and such, it gets a little exhausting come evening.

It would have been nice to be a little closer to the nightlife along the river - but nothing the actual hotel did wrong/could've done different. Just...

First,y, I will stay here again. No doubt. ||My biggest complaint about this place was that it was, well, hard to find. Putting the address into google wasn’t the best plan, with us ending up getting off a train at the wrong station. Then when we passed the details to the taxi driver there was a bit of polite confusion. ||When we arrived the staff were warm, pleasant and welcoming. The hotel itself is sharp and modern, well layer out and for the money - excellent value. ||The neighbourhood while quiet itself is just lovely to walk around. ||The room was a twin - with full sized beds. The bathroom was very clean and up-to-date, ||The hotel may be small, but this is a great spot to stay that’s not a giant cramped matrix of rooms. ||Outside there are several near-by convenience stores and...