Santiago Guesthouse Kyoto — Hotel in Kyoto

Here is a list of pros and cons of this place.

First, the positives. The bunk beds are much wider than you find at most places. You don’t feel crammed at all. You can keep your backpack on the bed next to you and still have enough space to sleep comfortably. Location: Very close to Kiyomizu Dera The staff were super helpful and friendly. One of the French(?) staff person helped us carry our suitcase to the second floor. That was very kind of him. Kitchen is clean and well-equipped. There are bowls and utensils, microwave, and kettle to heat water. There is also a refrigerator to store food. Laundry is available but paid.

Sadly, there are a few negatives. If you get a top bunk, it’s almost impossible to fall asleep. All the top bunk partitions are open at the top. So if your neighbour decides to turn on their bed light at midnight, it lights up the entire room. Check the images I posted with this review, these were taken around midnight. There is no storage space for large suitcases. Some of the bunks have a little bit of space near the feet to keep the suitcase upright but there’s no space to lay it flat to open it. But this is not consistent. Some bunks don’t even have this space. For example, the last bunk (by the window) does not have this space. To make it worse, there is some large emergency escape equipment right in front of the last lower bunk (refer picture below). You have to manoeuvre your way through the narrow gap between this equipment and the ladder to be able to enter the lower bunk. You’ll bump your head at least 10 times a day while attempting this. One downside of the location is the noise. There is a very busy road and a busy bridge right outside. You can hear the loud sound of cars driving past throughout the night. The lockers are a joke. Most regular sizes backpacks don’t fit. We didn’t bother using our locker at all. Didn’t even open it once because it was so tiny that nothing would fit. The bunk beds at the end of the room (bed #13 and #14) are the worst. No space to keep suitcase. The coat hanger rack for the entire room’s population is placed right in front of these beds. The fire escape equipment taken up so much space. These bunks are right next to the window and it gets so noisy with the cars and buses zooming past on the busy road (and bridge) right outside. Every single time someone opens and closes the door to the dorm, the window rattles very loudly due to the change in air pressure in the room. This happens every single time. And given there are 10 or more people in the room, you can imagine how frequently the window keeps rattling. This is especially disturbing for people in the bunks closer to the window. Those away from the window are not spared either because they’re right next to the door where people enter from. It’s a very noisy room all night. Room is not well-ventilated. When you enter the room after spending some time outdoors, you really how stuffy the room is. Not pleasant to breathe. They should have better ventilation if they plan to put 12 beds in a single room.

While the staff were super amazing, I struggled to sleep well every night I spent here (and I’m someone who rarely struggles with sleep). Overall, I would not...

This is my first time staying in a similar store. I don’t know if it’s good or not. Let me tell you what you saw.1. When checking in, I was repeatedly asked to fill in my residence card number. This was the first time the hotel encountered this situation. I am not sure whether it is reasonable.2. Since I brought a big suitcase, the room is on the third floor, but there is no elevator. You have to carry it up. The clerk helped you get it up when you checked in. When you checked out, you did it bit by bit. It is not very convenient to carry large luggage.3. There is a 24-hour area on the second floor, with bathing, toilets, dining and luggage storage areas, as well as refrigerators and microwaves, which are more convenient. There are signs on the bathroom to keep it clean, so it is generally clean. Because it is separate from the sleeping floor, it will not affect your rest. There are three chandeliers on the table next to the window. They are full of live and dead insects. There are spiders on the outside of the lamps. What is interesting is that there are three lamps, and there is a spider next to each lamp. There is a lock when you store your luggage, you can lock it yourself. There are trash cans on this floor, which is more convenient for throwing away garbage. There is a washing machine. You can buy laundry detergent on the first floor. You need to take off your shoes on the second floor. There are cabinets for shoes and reusable slippers. I used the disposable slippers I brought.4. The women-only room is on the third floor. The room next to it may be for men. When I first went there, I saw a shirtless man coming out. There is a small cabinet on this floor to store items, and you can set your own password. Haven't used it yet but it should be quite convenient. There is a restroom on the third floor If it was written that eating in the room was prohibited, everyone seemed to cooperate. There was no food smell in the room. There was a quilt but it had traces of menstrual blood so I didn't use it. I have two sheets and the clothes I brought with me and I haven’t felt cold in the past two days. When I went to bed on the first day, I decided that wearing a mask would be better if my breathing was not smooth, so I slept with the mask on, and I didn’t feel that way the next day. I could occasionally hear noises from the road in the room where I slept. I'm not sensitive to sounds and slept well.5. There seems to be a fourth floor, but I haven’t been there, so I’m not sure.6. You can also store your luggage after check-out.7. Before staying, I sent an email to the hotel asking about luggage storage but did not...

You get what you paid for. Not sure what to expect. I stayed in many capsule hotels and guest house but this place isn’t horrible but could be better. Im giving a 3 stars and that is being generous. My bunk was next to the window (and i mean NEXT to the window), it’s basically my wall covered with a curtain. Very tight space to get into my bunk that they put me in. Since my bunk was next to the window, during daytime it is like a sauna in my bunk. Lucky it’s winter time so during nighttime it is actually cool and tolerable. There was a fan that i was using but somebody took it away or hid it. Dont know why as it’s not their bunk that is steaming hot. I cant say for other bunks but my mattress was so overused that there was no cushion or padding at all. I can feel my body touching the bunk board. I better off sleeping on the ground. It really aches my body. Pillow wasn’t the best, was hard and felt like sleeping on a beanbag but worst. Single toilets are shared between floors. Common area was okay, have a fridge but its always full with other people’s stuff so i recommend just buy a bento from a konbini. Microwave, electric tea kettle and single stove burner is available. Shower is good, multiple single showers for privacy. Check-in was horrible, no one was there. Waited for 3 hours just to have someone to show up for work and then again the person look like any other guests who is staying at the guesthouse so i cant even tell. Didn’t even acknowledge my existence even though my luggage was there with me cleared as day. I called to get some assistance but no answers. Check-in starts at 4pm. Hidden fees that they dont tell you before booking. Paid ¥600 that they claimed it is for “city tax”. I stayed in many places all over Japan from Okinawa, Nagasaki, Fukuoka, Osaka, Nagoya, Tokyo, and many more places but this was the FIRST time I was asked to pay for a hidden fee. Not the best place or first option but it was last minute booking so i cant say much about it. I would share pictures but theres nothing worth sharing. All guest have different experiences while staying but this...