OMO5 Kyoto Sanjo by Hoshino Resorts — Hotel in Kyoto

Pros : |1. Location of the hotel was good, near bus stops and a well stocked family mart within 2 minutes walk from the hotel entrance. |2. Rooms are well lit, water pressure from the shower was strong and quiet.|3. Hotel provides a selection of teas and candy at the lobby for guests. (But no coffee) |4. Staff are all very friendly and helpful. |5. Very convenient smoking area right outside hotel entrance with a bench. It’s not shaded though so if it rains, it’s not possible to use it. ||Cons: |1. Activities are only conducted in Japanese. While selecting which hotel to stay in Kyoto, one of the main draws for me and my husband are the activities the hotel provides, especially “Walk the old stores of kyomachi”, we were excited to have someone who could guide us to these shops as the owners are likely Japanese and communication could be difficult. ||So we picked OMO5 over our usual place to stay in Kyoto (Cross Hotel) so that we can participate in the activities. And we booked our session online prior to arrival. ||Upon arrival we were told that the tour was only conducted in Japanese and hence it was not much point for us to go along and were advised by the staff to cancel our slots. This was really disappointing and we felt a bit cheated since one of the main reasons we picked omo was because of the extra activities. ||2. Pajamas (t shirt and shorts) had to be rented at 200 yen. Actually in other hotels we stayed in Japan, pajamas were usually provided for free. ||3. No coffee provided, so do bring your own if you plan to stay here. ||4. It’s located next to a small cemetery, for those who might be squeamish about things like that, you might not like the view. ||Overall, because it is priced similarly to Cross hotel, I may opt to stay at cross when I return as the pajamas provided there is free, location is just as good, and their smoking lounge is indoors with good ventilation,...

Pros : |1. Location of the hotel was good, near bus stops and a well stocked family mart within 2 minutes walk from the hotel entrance. |2. Rooms are well lit, water pressure from the shower was strong and quiet.|3. Hotel provides a selection of teas and candy at the lobby for guests. (But no coffee) |4. Staff are all very friendly and helpful. |5. Very convenient smoking area right outside hotel entrance with a bench. It’s not shaded though so if it rains, it’s not possible to use it. ||Cons: |1. Activities are only conducted in Japanese. While selecting which hotel to stay in Kyoto, one of the main draws for me and my husband are the activities the hotel provides, especially “Walk the old stores of kyomachi”, we were excited to have someone who could guide us to these shops as the owners are likely Japanese and communication could be difficult. ||So we picked OMO5 over our usual place to stay in Kyoto (Cross Hotel) so that we can participate in the activities. And we booked our session online prior to arrival. ||Upon arrival we were told that the tour was only conducted in Japanese and hence it was not much point for us to go along and were advised by the staff to cancel our slots. This was really disappointing and we felt a bit cheated since one of the main reasons we picked omo was because of the extra activities. ||2. Pajamas (t shirt and shorts) had to be rented at 200 yen. Actually in other hotels we stayed in Japan, pajamas were usually provided for free. ||3. No coffee provided, so do bring your own if you plan to stay here. ||4. It’s located next to a small cemetery, for those who might be squeamish about things like that, you might not like the view. ||Overall, because it is priced similarly to Cross hotel, I may opt to stay at cross when I return as the pajamas provided there is free, location is just as good, and their smoking lounge is indoors with good ventilation,...

The hotel is fairly well situated in the Sanjo district with a metro stops and the Gion district all within a few minutes walking and masses of shops pretty much around the corner.

I was in room 914 (Double) which was fairly spacious compared to other hotels I stayed in on this trip. The bed was fine, there was a fridge, I liked the bathroom setup (note it didn’t have a bath, not a problem for me but some may miss that), unlike other hotels there was a safe in the room (albeit not a very big one) and the aircon worked fine.

The TV in my room didn’t seem to be connected to the network and was throwing some sort of error, so I can’t really comment on how useful it would be (I didn’t really miss it). The big down side to the room was that there was pretty much no storage space at all.

In line with Japanese hotels there was soap/shampoo/conditioner in the bathroom and various free other toiletries and bits and bobs in the lobby.

The staff were pleasant and friendly enough with enough English for when my limited Japanese wasn’t doing the job. They also were very helpful when I asked to forward my suitcase to Tokyo and advised to have it arrive the day before I did to make sure it was there in time (which it was).

My booking had breakfast included, which unfortunately was a bit of a disappointment all around. Unlike the other hotels I stayed in there was no buffet style but a single choice from a handful of options (though you could help yourself to some yoghurt). If I hadn’t already paid for it I suspect I would possibly been better off going to the bakery and/or convenience store a door or two down.

Overall it was OK and was a nice enough place to stay for a few days, but did have a few little niggles which soured...