nol kyoto sanjo — Hotel in Kyoto

There are so many things to write about this hotel, but I think it's best to leave it to the future visitors to explore and be surprised.||Location: 4/5|Cleanliness: 5/5|Space: 5/5 (Hibaburo Deluxe for 2)|Scenery: 2/5 (Our room was facing the front of the hotel. The window shade can be opened but there is nothing interesting to see except the shop buildings in front of us. We keep it closed with the paper blind like in their photos, to allow sunlight to enter.|Staffs helpfulness and friendliness: 5/5 (English speaking)|Other extras:|- Washer and Dryer in the room. Detergent provided.|- Small kitsch with sink, plates and utensils provided and a microwave/toaster oven. Fridge and freezer (don't remember).|- Free sake tasing at the lobby|- Occasional events such as free Macha tasting when we arrived.||The hotel used to be a Japanese wine distributor. They preserved old front and that's why it still says "シンキ” in front. I thought that was interesting.||The hotel's address has a different street name listed although the street itself is called Sakaimachi-dori which I thought was another interesting fact, explained by one of the staffs to me.||It is located within east walking distance from Daikokocho and some shopping street, and also very close to Nishiki Market. However it is far away enough from the tourist crowd which makes it very pleasant. Every evening when I walked back from the busier areas we saw many locals walking on the streets and very small amount of tourists. We felt really peaceful.||Around the hotel there are many small shops, restaurants, cafe and even supermarket. We were here for 4 nights and during our last day here we could still discover shops we wished we had knew before.||The kitchen, though small was well equip. There was even an inductive stove and some pans. The oven was a multi-function unit where it can be used as an oven or micro-wave. Though they don't change the linens everyday, they did changed our tower and cleaned up the room daily, and also clean the dishes. ||We really enjoyed having our own washer and dryer in the room. We managed to not pack as much clothing during this trip as we usually do.||The hotel is a bit far from the closest subway station for us because we were carrying 3 large suitcases and carry-ons. So we decided to just take taxis to and from the hotel from Kyoto station. It was about 1500-2000 yen one way and no tip...

This place rules. Have stayed twice now. It's perfect for what it is, which is a chill, relaxing place to base your local business from. ||It's not crazy expensive, yet has an excellent location and wonderful perks like cedar tubs in room and a free sake bar in the evenings, which - yes - you can take up to your cedar tubbie - which is certainly what I did every day between day activities and dinner. ||Unlike a traditional ryokan where staff are quite present to tend to you, which is lovely in it's own way, this has a more private, Western feel in terms of service, and features more Western style beds. The aesthetic is modern, but Japanese, as are the aforementioned amenities. They are really nailing an appealing blend of cultural hospitality styles. It is very "accessible" to the Western traveler, but feels special, cozy, bespoke in a way I feel Western hotels at this price point absolutely do not.||I can't go on enough about the tub. If you're touring around and on your feet all day, but aren't staying at a full-on onsen, this will really relax you and save your feet. And I take it back, it's not cedar, it's hoka wood, and it's beautiful and I want one at home.||It's just an all around excellent base for the weary traveler. It's near the mall area and Nishiki market, but on a quiet street that feels local. It is surrounded by - besieged by - beautiful restaurants and izakaya but! You may need reservations for a lot of them. It's even relatively proximal, a very short bus or uber ride, or a longer walk, to Gion and a very reasonable transit to several temples like Kiyomizu-Dera, a spectacular compound overlooking the city. The International Manga Museum is around the corner and features traveling exhibits as well as a massive library and reading rooms - current exhibit is Delicious in Dungeon! :)||It's a short walk to the main Kyoto station, where you're likely to arrive on the shinkanzen. ||I literally look forward to staying here as part of the fun of the trip. It's just perfect...

The prices in Kyoto hotels were exorbitant during the peak period. We have been to Kyoto numerous times but this hotel exceeded expectations. For the price we paid there were other hotels that were advertised for same price that were nowhere near as good as this one. We stayed in the Hibaburo deluxe room and it was perfect. The room is very modern and large, the beds were extremely comfortable, the temperature control worked perfectly, the shower was great and wooden bath was really nice. The room was really bright with large windows which one couldn’t tell from the hotel’s website. The free drinks and snacks and sake tasting was a really nice touch. There are many cafes around for breakfast. The location is absolutely perfect - not right in the really annoying parts of Kyoto but just few streets behind with many streets of small and nice restaurants and shops yet so convenient to tourist areas and the subway. It was very quiet there was no noise at all. The staff were very friendly. Internet worked really well. The rooms were very clean and spotless. Overall it was perfect and we will definitely stay here again when...