Matsubaya Ryokan — Hotel in Kyoto

If you want to immerse yourself in the full Japanese experience this is the place. The location was built about 130 years ago, it is earthquake proof build with steel but they did wrap wood on the exterior to make it an old Japanese look.

Tatami bed was also an experience. It’s a thick comforter, over bamboo floor that are utilized for multipurpose (living, dining and sleeping space) for the Japanese back in the days.

The stay of this hotel really does take you back to the time. Although an issue I did run into was my comforter was a bit old and flatten out in the middle of it while the side is fluffier (I have slept in these before and the age of the comforter does matter, and I guess this place is a bit aged so are their comforters?) and so the whole night I felt my spine/back to the floor, which was a bit hard on my spine, lead me to not having too well of a sleep through the night. I ended up sleeping on the small corner edge of the comforter bc it was fluffier and less flatten which was unfortunate, kind of lead to my back pain.

I wished they would offer extra comforter to make up for the older flattened comforter.

The outside light does shine in early on because the window/sliding door is to the outside and it’s the traditional Japanese door where the sun does light in early. But that can’t be helped.

Other than that, the staff are super friendly and speaks English. One of the front desk lady told us she was from Texas and was super helpful.

Breakfast is an add on that needs to be booked in advance, and is down on the dining hall floor. There is also laundry here although you do have to go to the front desk to buy detergent.

This review was written on our first of the 6 night stay, so I may add to it later on as well if anything...

The room is very clean and has enough space. It also has a TV, a refrigerator, and a nice bathroom.The only problem was that the day before check-in, I discovered that I had missed booking a room for the next day, so I immediately rebooked it, which meant that I would have to stay for 4 nights in total including my rebooked reservation. This was explained when we arrived at the hotel. However, on the second day after our stay, we were suddenly notified that we needed to change rooms... Checking the order (in Chinese and English) on the platform showed that we had booked the exact same room type. Unfortunately, the front desk's English was not very good. We couldn’t fully understand the more complex questions in Japanese. It ended up being replaced, which caused trouble with packing. And we made multiple reservations for the same room type (and presented the order in Chinese and English). The front desk was obviously aware of the problem (he said what was going on), but still emphasized many times that we had booked different room types, leading to a change.Moreover, the room after the change is more spacious than the one on the first day, and the bathroom space is also larger. It is difficult not to think about whether it was a mistake on the first day or whether there was no suitable room before making another arrangement?If there is a situation like booking separately, please confirm the room type with the hotel.Other than that, the...

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Matsubaya Ryokan. The staff were amazing and spoke perfect English, which was great after our 26 hour day of travel. We managed to stay in contact and so they were able to stay open 15 minutes late to accommodate our delayed travel.

The room itself was a great part of the experience. The futon were surprisingly comfortable and incredibly warm. The shower was very strong and as long as you don't come out of the shower dripping wet, the towels were adequate.

The breakfasts were our favorite part. We stayed five nights and did not have the exact same combination of foods once. They had two options, Japanese or Western. I only ever ordered the Japanese since that's why I'm here. The western breakfast looked fine if you're exceptionally picky, but I can eat scrambled eggs, toast and fruit at home.

Be sure to spend an evening renting a bath. Each bath is extremely private and very relaxing. They have two options: Yuzu and Rock Salt. I went with the Yuzu, which had a very nice fragrance. Keep in mind that these baths are small since you're not meant to stretch your legs out.

They are only a 10 minute walk from Kyoto station which opens up a lot of day trips. It's not an impossible walk to the Imperial Palace and Gion either.

Overall, it was a great experience and I really appreciate the level of service...