Minn Gion Sanjo — Hotel in Kyoto

Let’s start with the few positives… the rooms are large, have washing machines to do laundry, are generally clean and the private onsen and sauna you can book for private use with your family is lovely. Additionally it’s only a minute walk to two konbinis, a nice family restaurant, and the subway station.

However there is zero service. The front lobby is always empty with the “we’re away from the desk for a moment” sign up. We stayed for a week and not once saw any staff (until at least 10:01am, literally 1 minute past checkout as we were changing our babies nappy they knocked on the door asking us to leave… first time we saw staff the entire week!!) instead you have to use a tablet to call a call centre to do everything.

Checking in? Got to call the call centre. WiFi not working? Got to call the call centre.

And if it was just that, it would be an okay value proposition. However as other reviewers have recently highlighted the main issue is that the hotel stinks. Like mould. The entire bedroom and all linen and pillows smelled so bad we couldn’t sleep. Same as other reviewers, all the call centre offered was fragrance to mask it. We bought laundry powder and washed all the linen - but everything still smelled horribly. The entire basement floor that we were stuck in reeked from the moment you get out of the elevator - same as others have mentioned. The provided air purifier did nothing to improve the smell either.

To give you an idea of - imagine a sick cat pissed on your pillow that’s how everything smelled. If only there was any staff on site to talk to about this… oh wait

Lastly the WiFi is extremely temperamental. As you can see in the attached photo even with full WiFi bars/connection, it often won’t work. The hotel was by all appearances mostly empty and yet internet speeds were horrendous.

Do yourself a favour, book anywhere else. If you look through other reviews you’ll see this isn’t an...

Absolutely love this place. It was our first time in Kyoto and we stumbled upon this place and booked because we wanted the convenience of a washer/dryer after 5 days of travel in Tokyo, and it was a plus that it was cutely decorated. We were so surprised upon arrival to find the place was basically like a one bedroom apartment (so much room!) equipped with everything you’d possibly need to make yourself comfortable. We enjoyed all of the room we had with separate spaces for toilet, shower/bath, laundry, kitchen/dining, living room (couches + tv) and also bedroom! Theres also a private onsen to reserve but we unfortunately did not have the time to book. Although the place is mostly self-served, including check-in, we were greeted by staff during check-in and check-out and we were completely blown away by the customer service. I also wanted to add that although these rooms may accommodate multiple travelers, it is important to ensure you’re booking with the correct number of travelers in your party as the base rate may differ a tiny bit.

Kyoto now holds a special place in our hearts and we can’t wait to come back. We’ll definitely be booking this place again when we do! Thank you so much for helping make this trip a...

Loved this hotel as it it extremely great value for those travelling as a family. Location, price, and amenities all made sense. The space in the room is plentiful. The addition of a washing machine in the bathroom for use is fantastic.

There is an onsen that can be booked in the basement floor of the hotel at a fairly decent rate (Did not try)

Check in and out was extremely smooth. Consistent with the other Minn hotel I've stayed in.

Only thing is room was a little dusty and sometimes some cleaning is missed during the turnover. They do not change your towels daily nor is any cleaning provided for short stays. Totally fair for a apartment hotel concept.

Will definitely rebook if I am back in the future. (Try booking from their official website for a good discount to their usual rates especially if you book...