My K House — Hotel in Kyoto

TLDR: 10/10 overall stay. When I'm back to Kyoto I'll try to book this place again. Traditional Japanese feeling with enough western comfort to be delightful, friendly staff, great location, I miss it already.

I absolutely adored my stay at My K House. I'm going to go over my (very few) minor issues off the bat because the rest of this review will be glowing.

My safe was closed/locked when I arrived, and every time I bumped or moved it the alarm went off for about a minute, an annoyance but not a trip ruining experience. The WiFi was also very slow, almost unusable at times, on certain sites (like Google Maps). Last tiny gripe is that the heating zone is only in the main area so if you have the kitchen/bathroom slider shut it can get very cold in there in the winter.

That all aside, this place was AMAZING. A fantastic mix of traditional Japanese lodging with western touches. Washer/Dryer combo in the room (dryer takes a bit but works), fantastic shower/bathroom with separate vanity and toilet. Tatami floors and very cozy. It backs out to a very quiet one way alley and sits over a very cozy bar on site.

Check-in is down the road (1.5 or so blocks) but on check-in they walked me down and explained the property. Keyed entry for main/elevator/room for safety but the part of town it is couldn't be safer.

Comfy beds, amazing Japanese style robes. I stayed 5 nights over Christmas and loved every one of them. Very walkable to two train stations, Nishiki Market, Gion, and a lot of Kyoto within 15-20 minutes.

The cleaning staff is also amazing. I'm someone who doesn't like to trouble staff at hotels, especially little boutique spots like this (I just don't feel good about it), so I only had them clean one day of my five nights and the place was spotless. I did bump into them on my way out a few days to go explore and they'd politely ask if I needed anything if I didn't want the room cleaned; one day I said a new towel or two would be great and when I came back there was fresh towels and fully restocked water bottles hanging from my door.

The kitchenette is well equipped and the fridge is mid sized enough to where I was able to do some grocery shopping and keep everything fresh. I actually got to cook a Christmas dinner (Japanese style) which helped me feel more at home so far away from home.

Each floor is only two rooms (the suite floor may be only one, unsure) so the place is incredibly quiet and you don't have people coming and going at all times of the day. The balcony overlooks the small side street and made for a pleasant place to sit and sip tea.

I will say one other minor thing may be (depending on your needs) that because the main space is all Tatami flooring there is no upright chairs inside, just a couple of seating pads and a low table. I didn't mind this but after five days I did kind of miss a chair chair. The patio furniture is good (and covered) but in late December it was a bit cold to spend any more than an hour out there. The beds are plenty comfortable to sit on with some pillows, though.

The only thing I'd note about the area is that if you speak next to zero Japanese this is just off the main tourist areas and is more traditional, so learn some basic words to help a ton! The "front desk" is also down at the check-in location, so if you have immediate needs you may need to look down there. Wasn't an issue for me on my stay and actually got me out to explore if I needed to pop down to ask...

This ended up being my favorite stay during my entire trip to Japan. Not only was it incredibly spacious and well equipped, it was super clean and well maintained. It had a lovely balcony as well as comfy beds. Plenty of storage room and convenient washer in the room with detergent provided. I really loved the Japanese style of the place and it was in a really great convenient location. Less than 10 minute walk to the main shopping area of Kyoto and Nishiki market and less than 15 minutes to the Gion district. The bus stop taking you to Kyoto station was less than a 5 minute walk. As a solo female travelor I felt incredibly safe as the doors into the property/elevator required a key to access. Staff was also very helpful in accepting and arranging luggage delivery service. Highly recommend and I would definitely...

If you bother to look at other things I have written, you will find I rarely, if-ever offer an unqualified 5-star review. Dear reader, here is one. My K House was fabulous, from the friendly gentlemen who checked us in to the staff who called four taxi companies trying to locate a cab for us. The rooms (We had two) were clean enough to eat off the floor, the shower had wonderful water pressure and each room has air conditioning. If you prefer fresh air each room has several windows with screens and a large sliding door with screen. We sat on the balcony with takeout two of the nights because we were just worn out from touring.

If I were to nitpick Due to the Tatami Matt flooring there are no chairs inside the room so if sitting on the floor is not for you that may...