KYOTO Guesthouse YULULU — Hotel in Kyoto

This is the worst hostel I have ever seen. The place is EXTREMELY crammed in space. The description of the hostel is purposefully misleading. It's not possible to see the overall layout of the bunk beds because of the way they took the photos. If there was a way to upload actual photos in reviews, let me know and I will do so. The bunk beds are not in a room, rather in between a VERY narrow hallway, which is not built for this purpose. Generally, bunk beds in a hostel are located within a room with some space to keep stuff in, or move around. Because there is not an actual room where the beds are in, there's no way to even do simple things like changing clothes. Basically, the owner put a bunch of bunk beds in a small area not meant for this to make extra money without any regard to the comfort of the occupants. Additionally, they did not even have the decency to make our beds when we arrived, we had to do it ourselves. This reminds me of shady hotels in 3rd world countries, and I am from a 3rd world country originally. Not what I expected from Japan.

When asked about this, the receptionist guy pretended to not understand English well to avoid answering any questions. Then a random guy appeared out of nowhere, decided to act like a white knight and tried to bully me into accepting that the beds are indeed placed in a room. When I explained what people generally accept as a room, and showed pictures of bunk beds in hostel rooms from google, he changed his tactic and said the most ridiculous thing. He said that I signed up for a bed and so it doesn't matter if it's in a room or not. So I guess the idiot thinks people should not get complementary stuff (like toiletries) when they book a room if they are only paying for the bed, or when ordering food in a restaurant, it doesn't have to come in a wrap/container/plate because you only paid for the food. It doesn't make any sense. Obviously it's accepted worldwide that some things come standard with a hotel booking, but the white knight probably had other reasons to take the owner's side.

I am not writing this to rag on anyone, but simply to point out the discrepancy in what's written in the ad and the real situation so people can make an informed decision. Please rethink before you...

This is the rudest encounter I’ve ever had with any accomodation service. Avoid avoid avoid.

I booked this place through booking.com, and when booking there was no mention of any late check-in rule. After I already paid, they messaged me saying that it is not possible to check in after 8pm. I would be arriving at 8:30 due to a long train but they were not accommodating, just told me I was an “unworthy visitor” for not reading their rules (How could I when it wasn’t written?).

I asked them to cancel it from their end, because if I cancelled it they would still charge me the full amount. Of course they refused, and only when I got into contact with booking.com customer service, they “generously” offered to waive half of the fee. When I strongly worded a reply, they said “Oh you’re so difficult, I don’t want to meet you so I’m going to cancel it. Don’t book accommodation in Japan like this.”

Of course they don’t want to change their profile description, I can’t imagine how many people they’ve managed to rip off and scam because of this rule. There is even a review on booking.com saying one person was left stranded in Kyoto because they cancelled her stay without any explanation when her train was...

Positives: |•Authentic ryokan feel with paper sliding doors |•warm welcoming friendly staff great English and helpful for bus routes |•beer on tap ¥300 and use of kitchen with free tea and coffee ice or hot! |•given free sake to try |•warm communal area with manga graphic novels |•fantastic fast wifi |•washing machine use ¥200 |•great air conditioning in 2person room |•locks inside and outside sliding ryokan paper dorm door|•they hold bags for you complimentary until 4pm which is a nice touch as 10am check out is so early |•great location 3mins from subway and bus stop and close to eateries and shopping centres ||Negatives: |•after walking around Kyoto sights all day a hard floor and futon bed doesn't suffice we struggled to sleep tbh, that's why we didn't score it higher than a 3.5! |•paper thin doors and walls mean u can hear everything!!! |•3.2miles from JR Kyoto! Easier to access using subway ¥210 to Karasuma Oike from JR Kyoto |•check out is at 10am and...