Len Kyoto Kawaramachi — Restaurant in Kyoto

When I found this hostel online, it looked like it could potentially be one of the best places I ever stayed. It had a look about it that suggested it would be a fun, hip, happening place that would be the icing on a triumphant trip to Kyoto.||||In some respects, it was good. I loved the industrial-chic minimalist design. The bed was comfortable (and gigantic King size). The room well appointed, and there were good facilities. It had a lift too, which was a bonus. Location was pretty good too, easy bus ride from the station, and central to most things in Kyoto (or an easy bus/train ride away).||||However, there were some negatives. Firstly, the 4pm check-in meant I had to wait far longer than I would have reasonably expected to get in to the room (at least they stored my bag). Secondly, there was no effort to encourage guests to mix, no social activities etc. I guess they just hoped it would all happen organically, but it really just meant people sat around on their laptops or phones - not totally the fault of the hostel.||||The noise was also an issue. Hostels can be noisy, I get that - but the polished concrete floors and design meant that noise just echoed everywhere. And loudly.||||Where it fell down was the pricing. The room itself cost me more than the 3 star hotel (with private ensuite) would have that I had originally booked. The cafe and bar were also outrageously priced, even by Japanese standards. The Granola at 700Y came in a coffee mug. Not even a bowl size. Coffee itself was well in excess of 500Y (though it was decent enough), and the craft beer was criminally expensive at nearly 600Y for about 200ml of beer is just ridiculous.||||If you don't eat or drink at the cafe, and have a decent budget, then you'll find this is quite a good...

When I found this hostel online, it looked like it could potentially be one of the best places I ever stayed. It had a look about it that suggested it would be a fun, hip, happening place that would be the icing on a triumphant trip to Kyoto.||||In some respects, it was good. I loved the industrial-chic minimalist design. The bed was comfortable (and gigantic King size). The room well appointed, and there were good facilities. It had a lift too, which was a bonus. Location was pretty good too, easy bus ride from the station, and central to most things in Kyoto (or an easy bus/train ride away).||||However, there were some negatives. Firstly, the 4pm check-in meant I had to wait far longer than I would have reasonably expected to get in to the room (at least they stored my bag). Secondly, there was no effort to encourage guests to mix, no social activities etc. I guess they just hoped it would all happen organically, but it really just meant people sat around on their laptops or phones - not totally the fault of the hostel.||||The noise was also an issue. Hostels can be noisy, I get that - but the polished concrete floors and design meant that noise just echoed everywhere. And loudly.||||Where it fell down was the pricing. The room itself cost me more than the 3 star hotel (with private ensuite) would have that I had originally booked. The cafe and bar were also outrageously priced, even by Japanese standards. The Granola at 700Y came in a coffee mug. Not even a bowl size. Coffee itself was well in excess of 500Y (though it was decent enough), and the craft beer was criminally expensive at nearly 600Y for about 200ml of beer is just ridiculous.||||If you don't eat or drink at the cafe, and have a decent budget, then you'll find this is quite a good...

Cool cafe/bar downstairs, but not great hostel. I was staying in a 6-person room with 3 friends and 2 strangers (3 bunk beds and barely room for anything else in there). I was pretty tired from traveling, so I turned in early. At first, things were fine, but once the room filled up, it got incredibly hot and stuffy, not to mention stinky, from 6 people in a tiny, unventilated room with no air flow. I was laying in a pool of sweat. I got up multiple times to try to cool off in the hall and drink some water until finally it was unbearable. I went to the common room just to have someplace to rest around 130 am, but when I turned off the light, apparently a worker saw it on the cameras and came up to kick me out. I explained about the heat, and he checked the thermostat, but he eventually said he couldn't do anything for me, there was no where else for me to stay that night, and I could sit in the common room but wasn't allowed to turn off the light. So I called another hostel and moved over there at 2 am.

When I went back the next day for the rest of my stuff and to cancel my reservation for the next couple of nights, they said they couldn't refund the night before and that they were charging me a cancelation fee for the next 2 nights. The room was literally unsleepable for me, and I had to trudge across Kyoto at 2 am while exhausted and pouring sweat, but they refuse to do anything other than the normal cancelation like if someone just didn't show up? Unacceptable.

So the overall vibe and amenities of the hostel are fine, but unless you like being soaking wet all night in a sweaty jungle where you can taste your roommates' body odor, find a better-ventilated hostel. It felt like trying to sleep on a Tokyo train at rush hour while wearing your...