Smart Place Inn Kyoto Shijo Horikawa — Hotel in Kyoto

The only downsides to this hotel is that it is not really close to a train station, bus stop or 7/11 compared to other hotel locations. You make have to walk for 10 minutes to get to good public transport (Shijo station). The other downside is having to bring towels/robes down to the main lobby to get fresh sets. I was on the third floor, and would have preferred to be able to shower and pass out after a day of activities. Its a minor additional task but I prefer the way other hotels do it, where you leave your towels you want replaced outside of your room in a box by a set time, so when you get back you have fresh towels.

You're also in a residential area so please be respectful of local residents. This is not the hotel to party all night at. At the same time, it is in a very quiet area which is nice.

The hotel offers amenities such as face wash, soap toothbrushes and such in the lobby which is great. The room was small but were larger than the rooms I had with Smile Hotels in Osaka/Tokyo.

Staff was kind, greeting and bidding farewell on any entry/exit. I believe I saw other people doing luggage forwarding, but I didn't use the service. I would probably stay here again since I don't mind walking and it was...

When going to Kyoto it may be hard to choose where to stay since the two many areas of attraction are on the opposite sides of the city. This is smack dab in the middle so nothing was more than 30 mins away by bus, but most things were 15 mins away. Also this is not a tourist area so the food is a little bit cheaper and...

The hotel is very near Omiya Station, I can travel more from there to Nishiki Market and beyond. The street leading to the hotel is very quiet. The staff is exceptionally nice and helpful, and even their English is not proficient they are more than willing to communicate. The room itself is good for the money...