Kyoto U-BELL Hotel — Hotel in Kyoto

Check-In|Check-in time is 3pm. We arrived at 2pm and was immediately given room key. Pleasantly surprised as usually Japanese hotels aren’t flexible with timing. My request for Kyoto Tower view room not entertained though due to high occupancy. We were accorded a room on the 3rd floor which was good since that is one of the 2 floors for the laundry rooms. |Do take note for booking.com customers - Confirmation email states the city tax being ¥500/pax/night. It is only $200/pax/night (for now before the increase in March 2026), and you settle it at a machine then only given the room keys. ||Room|Well designed room. Comfortable large bed and pillow. Love the duvet - fluffy and thick yet not heavy. Not happy that the sliding window is opaque. It can be open for around 4”. ||Onsen|Nice enough design for an inner city onsen. Large, and I was lucky there was hardly anyone. As mentioned, you can check the crowdedness from the TV. ||Breakfast|Reasonable variety for the price. Some tables look out to the Japanese garden. It is popular with tour groups so breakfast was a tad busy. ||Location|Quiet with nothing much in the vicinity but easy access to the hub like Kyoto Station. It is a pleasant area though. There is a bus stop right in front (Jujo Takedakaido). However, it only services bus 84 which stops running quite early. Other stops and the subway station (Jujo) are short walk away. Subway exit 4 has elevator to street level. A konbini a short walk away (near bus stop for bus 16 from Kyoto Station). Huge carpark for inner city. ||Shuttle Service|Timing isn’t extensive. They should extend their station pick-up and not end the service at 7pm for guests to return from dinner. We used the shuttle service from the hotel upon our check-out. ETD meant to be 10am. However, despite at least a couple of empty seats (not counting those you can flip open along the aisle) the driver left 7 min earlier. Good for us since that gave us more time at Kyoto Station but I don’t think it was a proper thing to do as he wasn’t following the schedule. I won’t want to be a guest who amble over right before the ETD to find shuttle nowhere in sight. ||Conclusion|I would return if the room rate is reasonable. Usually I stay at Shijo Karasuma which is really vibrant. This round I just wanted to try this hotel out for the extra experience...

I have mixed feelings about my stay at this hotel. On the positive side, the rooms are notably spacious and well-equipped, far exceeding the typical size and amenities offered by most hotels in Japan. Additionally, the rates are very affordable, and the breakfast service is impressively organized and pleasant.

However, there are areas that could use improvement. The service lacks a customer-focused approach, and the check-in process was not as smooth as expected. There was no option to pay for early check-in, and the staff didn’t seem particularly motivated to assist with alternative solutions. Additionally, the hotel’s location is not ideal; it’s situated in an unappealing area with no convenient shops nearby. Although the metro is just a 2-minute walk away, allowing you to reach the city center within a few stops, the surroundings make it less appealing for those who prefer to have amenities nearby.

Furthermore, the hotel seems to be popular with large tour groups, which can affect the experience. During my stay, two busloads of tourists arrived, leading to long lines and a noisy breakfast area by 7 am—an environment not well-suited for those seeking a quiet start to their day.

Overall, while the hotel offers great value and excellent room quality, a few adjustments in service, guest flow management, and perhaps a more central location would significantly enhance...

Very nice, new hotel with a free bathhouse attached. The bath area is small with just two baths, but not complaining because it's free. No complaints about the room, it was perfectly nice and modern and was a little bigger than standard for Japanese hotel rooms I'd say.||||The location is fine but there's not in the surrounding neighborhood. It's a very short walk to Jujo station though and there's a bus stop directly in front of the hotel so you're not far from anything. ||||The Wifi was very bad, it frequently went up and down like a roller coaster. This was actually the only time in the last several years I've traveling in which I've encountered iandequate hotel Wifi, I thought most hotels had gotten it together on that, especially newer modern hotels like this, but apparently not.||||Also should note that housekeeping only cleans rooms once every four days, they say it's a Covid safety measure but I imagine it's probably just a labor shortage thing. I also was made to pay a 200 yen per night tax on my reservation when I checked in, I imagine this is a prefectural or city thing which the hotel has no control over but it surprised me as I don't remember ever having to do that...