Stay SAKURA Kyoto Kiyomizu Gojo — Hotel in Kyoto

TLDR: Avoid Room 203, no matter what the staff pretend to tell you. This was one of the strangest & most disrespectful staff experiences we’ve had in Japan. Other rooms are perhaps okay. Visit was in May 2025.

When we entered Room 203, we were immediately hit with a sharp, pungent odor—like sweat, gym, and body odor. It was very uncomfortable. We briefly spoke to the front desk (Staff #1, middle-aged man with top knot and glasses), but he said it smelled fine to him. It was 12:30am, and we were tired from traveling, so we didn’t pursue the issue further or address the couch (photo attached), which had visible dark/dirty stains. Staff #1 said he might check for an available room the next day.

We raised the smell with the front desk the next morning with Staff #2 for a room change: they apologized and instead said they’d clean the room with ozone.

On the second night, the smell was still strong near the balcony & bed. Staff had opened windows and run the ventilator after cleaning, but the odor returned once windows were closed. I asked Staff #2 (younger man, smooth hair) about a room change as it’s difficult to sleep. He came up, nodded when I asked if he can smell the odor and he typed out on his phone that it was immediate upon entering, and he’ll call the manager. But downstairs, after the call, he said nothing could be done since the ozone machine had "removed" the smell—despite just admitting he smelled it.

I asked if other rooms are like this; is this smell normal? After much back-and-forth, Staff #2 seemed nervous but said no. Is there is any room that’s free to switch to? The answer was “I’m truly sorry we can’t help you further”. This went back and forth, with Staff #2 speaking with the owner again and relaying to me. Confused about all the discussion, I translated some phrases the staff spoke over the phone from Japanese and was surprised with lines such as “Yes, it’s in that piano room that’s been there since the beginning” “I just checked, it wasn’t something I managed. It’s the smell that was there from the beginning of the hotel”. I’d be reasonably skeptical of one rough translation, but this came up in multiple consecutive phrases.

The owner told me overt the phone the smell is inoffensive and that the issue is resolved. He said 3 staff told him the smell is not bothersome: Staff #1, #2, and the cleaners. I told him Staff #2 literally just told me (before any call) he could smell the pungent odor, to which he responded e.g. “Ah, really? That’s not what he said to me, let me speak with him”. Staff #2 seemed visibly nervous, spoke with the manager, but asking him again he now said he didn’t smell anything. I confronted the manager over the phone, telling him I heard them say it’s a smell from the beginning of the hotel, and mention of a piano room. He seemed caught off guard, and could only reply with “ah, I don’t know what you mean sorry”. I reaffirmed what I heard, and he repeated the same thing “I’m not sure what you mean. Can I speak with the staff?” They continued talking and went into a back room. There was clearly some dynamic between the staff & manager I didn’t understand.

I felt upset & suspicious they were intentionally lying to us. Honestly, I’d have been more satisfied if they said “We are sorry for the sweaty smell, but we refuse to change your room”; it’d be less insulting.

Eventually Staff #1 told us to please wait & after 10 minutes came up (both Staff #1 and Staff #2 were sweating and seemed nervous) and quickly unlocked Room 202 - adjacent to our room. They asked if this room was okay to switch, and my wife and I checked, it was totally different: it smelled like fresh laundry and was super nice. They offered us this room instead, and I never heard from the manager again after this.

This was an extreme outlier: we spent two weeks across Japan at 10+ stays, and all others have been exceedingly polite and easy to raise small issues if any, offering a simple...

I can't officially give half stars but I give this place 4.5 stars! My partner and I really enjoyed our stay here! The room we stayed in was very clean with a lot of amenities. The room has a small kitchen, a washer, a nice bathroom area, and a large bed. I especially enjoyed the heater in the shower area. There is no dryer but the hotel does provide a lot of hangers and clips for you to hang dry your clothes. On top of that the staff was very helpful anytime we needed anything! There is a FamilyMart and several restaurants directly across the street. It's about a 15 minute walk to the train station and within walking distance of a lot of activities and sights!

Cons: The walls/floors are very thin and the hotel is right next to a fire station. Thankfully my partner and I are heavy sleepers so it didn't bother us much. But if you're a light sleeper this isn't the place for you. Getting to our closet area was a pain. The distance between the bed and the wall is about 6 inches at best. My partner and I had to shimmy/struggle to get to the closet area several times a day. We...

The traffic NOISE from the street is so LOUD that I CANNOT SLEEP. See the videos I took at midnight. The road is a major road and the noise is for 24 hours. I asked the receptionist to move us to a different room and she called the manager and the manager asked her whether I am Japanese. Obviously they didn't know I speak the language. When she said "nihonjinja nai" the manager said the hotel is fully booked and gave me ear plugs. See photos. I checked online and there were rooms available. See my videos. This left a really bitter taste. I was looking forward to my Kyoto trip so much, but I could only enjoy it so much when I could only get 4-5 hours max. Avoid this hotel if you can, and if you are already here, say no to the rooms that have windows towards the street....