M's Hotel Kyoto Station Taruya — Hotel in Kyoto

Our stay - 22/11 - 28/11/2023

About the check in - when we arrived we couldn't enter using code provided in the confirmation in email. Lucky a staff member let us in. Easy check in, handed over our passports and was given a pin for the room. This hotel is keyless. It was nice not having to worry about a key. Amenities are in the lobby, help yourself basis. No bathrooms on ground floor you need to use the one in your room.

About the hotel - Our room was dated, no window but it was in a convenient location not too far from the station and economical. Decent wifi. The bed was on the smaller side for 2. It was firm and we liked it. Small room, but we spent most of the time exploring and only slept there so it was fine. They change the sheets and collect the rubbish every 4th day of your stay unless you put up the DND sign.

Facilities - on ground floor is the reception (usually unmanned), a small room with a few coin operated washing machine/ dryer combos, filtered water & a microwave. There is a separate smoke room next door.

What's nearby - lots of resturants and convenience stores in close proximity as well and vending machines on the street.

Check out - self check out go to reception and enter your information. We were able to lock our luggage near reception upon check out. They provide bike locks with locks. First come, first serve basis. The hotel doesn't take responsibility for loss/ damage. Our luggage was still there when we returned.

We enjoyed...

This hotel offers great value with its large and spacious rooms. 2 of us stayed in a deluxe double room. Located a 12 minute walk from Kyoto station, it is in a quiet residential area with lots of izakayas, dining options, and the kyoto aquarium just a stones throw away.

The toilet was large, the biggest throughout the Japan trip having stayed in 7 different accommodations. I really appreciated that!

Check in would have been challenging if the staff were not on site, as other reviews mentioned. We arrived at 1pm to drop luggage off and were stuck outside in the blaring heat for awhile, trying to key in the check in code emailed to us (which was not meant to be keyed in then). Fortunately there was a staff around to let us in after a few minutes. Would have had a mighty different experience if otherwise.

Free ice cream was available at the front desk but after the 1st night, it was empty and not refilled for the next 3 nights. There was a crazy queue for laundry from evening to night, and multiple alarms were set to check back but there would be a queue forming long before the previous cycle ended. Only 2 machines available. I ended up washing around 1.30am, having kept an eye on it and making 4 trips between 8pm and 130am.

Overall, it's a great location and comfortable space for a...

M’s Inn Taruya opened just a few months ago so everything is new, clean, and modern. It’s slightly off the beaten path, in a quiet residential area (can get very dark at night but safe) so it takes quite a bit of walking and luggage dragging to get from and to the train station. Within walking distance to Kyoto Tower, Toji Temple, AEON Mall, and very close to Aquarium, Railway Museum. Room size is slightly more spacious than your average Japanese chain hotel room, but I would say the bathroom is typically small. They have electronic locks with key pads for the building entrance and each room. Each room has its AC/heater that you can adjust the settings to your liking. Very nice bedding & duvet. It’s a small simple inn for those who don’t need the luxuries like room service, room phone, closet, hotel breakfast, daily room cleaning, parking, etc. but there’s a laundry room & coin exchange machine on site. There’s usually only one staff at the tiny front desk, but sometimes you won’t be able to find anyone when they’re doing other duties and you’ll have to use their desk phone to talk to someone off site and leave a message. Overall, we had a...