Ikoi-no-ie — Hotel in Kyoto

I have edited this review after speaking with the owner of the facility. My former review was made after I had been awoken by a loud family in the early morning hours for a second time. I was agitated, exhausted and made a disrespectful review about the facility. I want to remedy that.

I will start with the location itself. I do not ride subway because I am afraid of earthquakes and being trapped underground. With that in mind, if you're like me, you will have to walk thirty minutes each direction if you want to get to the attractions here. If you're not like me, then Gojo station (yes, like the anime character), will help you get around Kyoto with ease. It is right up the road from this facility, along with a 7/11 so you can get snacks whenever you want.

The facility itself is in a nice home, which is traditional in style. There are a few rooms on the ground floor, which is where I am staying. Even with the double door closed, if people are loud, you will hear them. However, if you let the staff know that your neighbors are being loud, they will reach out to them and encourage them to be quieter. They were more than happy to accommodate my complaint of noise, which made me happy.

The room itself is fairly small, but that should be expected. It is bigger than my last hotel, so I appreciate that. The tatami mats are firm and supportive. The futons are thin, but if you need more support, you can tell the staff. They will help you out and supply extra bedding so you're comfortable. Once I got extra bedding, it was easier on my back. I have back problems and struggle with my lower back and tail bone area so the tatami and thin futon bedding was rough. If you're younger, it might be okay.

The room itself can sometimes have a musty smell. I think it might be because the building is older, but I'm unsure. I honestly got used to it. If you don't like it, you may be able to get an air freshener from Daiso.

The bathroom is bigger than most hotel bathrooms here, which is a plus. I was happy I wasn't bumping my elbows everytime I went to the toilet.

Overall, this place is a small business that tries their best to bring good service. They listen to your complaints and act accordingly to them. Honestly, you can tell they care a lot about their business and I find that admirable. I'm accustomed to American businesses, where they don't care about their guests as people and just want a quick buck. This facility is not like that. They are humble and good natured. I encourage giving them a try if you need somewhere to...

I visited this place for 3 nights during my trip in Kyoto in April 2015. For me, I was like 13-15 mins walk from Kyoto St. The address that was given on their website or on TA was not a place to check in. The alley was so tiny and dark. So,I did have a difficult time to find the place at night. When I arrived by Google navigated, I saw the A4 sign that we have to walk to another alley to do our check in. I was curse at that time.||||The private room I got was decent size and also have a second floor for sleep pad. This Guest House have a few bldg. So, you wouldn't know which one you will get until you show up. So,this one I stayed have 3 floors with bathroom and toilet downstair which have washing machine front load there but it was broken,hair dryer was good power enough to make my thick hair dried.Also toilet on second floor with wash basin in front.|||| The living room on ground floor was big,the share fridge was big and also have ice maker. The kitchen was decent size with stoves(I never cook, so can't really tell its work or not). The air con in room working very well. You just have to wait for 10 mins after turn on to get right temperature. ||||The cleanliness wasn't so good. All towels and bed sheet were full of stain. The Sleeping pad was very soft and tin. I do agree with other comments about tin wall. I could hear full conversations easily from room next door. My first guest house experienced was good in case of meeting new people. I have chatted with a few couple in the living room and enjoyed the conversation. The sleep quality was quite low here for me even I have umichi,sake or red wine every nights before bed.||||All staffs were very friendly and helpful.||||Likely,if I go to Kyoto again next year wouldn't stay in this place coz it was too far walk for me. After whole day walked around on tourist attractions point by point for minimum 8 hours. I needed some place that closer to Kyoto ST and able to sleep better.||||P.S. I will upload pics later. I already moved all my pics...

What a deception this was. Our reception on arrival was great. The hostesses dressed in kimonos where extremely help-full and polite. After checking in one of the hostesses brought us to our guesthouse, which was at another locations since the Ikoi-no-ie has several addresses around the block where their guests are staying.

At first glance it looked nice, our guesthouse had a shared living room and kitchen to prepare and eat your own food. Great. From there it started to get a bit awkward upon entering our room. Me and my girlfriend booked a room for two persons. And yes, our room had two futons, but since this super small room had two levels, one of the futons was on the first, and the other one on the second level because it was impossible to fit both futons on one floor.

During the night we found out that the ‘unusable closet doors’ were actually functioning as walls between the next room and ours. During our travels through Japan we stayed in quite the number of traditional guesthouses and hostels with the minimum of privacy, but at the Ikoi-no-ie privacy is basically non existent.

The next morning it was also impossible to take a shower, it was constantly occupied since there was only one bathroom for roughly 20 guests to share. And when we were finally able to squeeze ourselves through, the bathroom was quite the disappointment. It was dirty, especially the tub, and the shower-head couldn’t be hanged up. It kinda made me feel like livestock stored away in a minimum amount of space for a...