Ethnography Gion Shinmonzen

I really enjoyed my stay. My original booking was mixed up with their other location a few minutes away, but the staff quickly sorted it out by moving me here and upgrading my room. They were great and helped at every step. The room was clean, everything worked, and the pillows were good quality. The location was perfect too.

We haven't finished our stay yet, and it's already been the worst hotel we've stayed in during our time in Japan. At least we're only here for one night. The first-floor room has damaged power outlets, flickering lights, and water damage on the ceiling. On top of that, a conference in the common area was loud, with lots of clapping and laughter. Reception seemed confused when I asked how long it would go on. I also asked to move to a room away from the first floor, but was told they weren't sure. I hope it quiets down soon so we can sleep and leave. Update: The noise stopped, but we ran out of toilet paper. There was a note saying they were trying to conserve it, which is fair enough, but we'd only been given about a quarter of a roll. Luckily reception was still there and gave us another. How is this place four stars? Update #2: I'm sure this won't be my last update. The pillows are filled with feathers and feel spiky. My husband got pricked by one. There's a switch in the middle of the bed, which is odd but whatever, with two big buttons for the reading lights on either side. They don't work properly. Sometimes the lights flash when they're off, like a spark. Update #3: I forgot to mention that reception said we could help ourselves to everything in the fridge. That's two bottles of ginger ale and a large refillable water bottle. Sealed water bottles would have been preferable. The Wi-Fi is also really slow. Luckily my husband has an eSIM here, so I can hotspot from his phone to post this review.

The room was spacious and comfortable, and the hotel's location and amenities were great. The front desk staff spoke excellent English, and the luggage forwarding was a lovely extra. They also organized an event where we could meet a maiko and ask her questions. That was a lot of fun.

In a quiet part of Gion, the hotel is conveniently placed for getting around Kyoto, and our room was clean, roomy, and comfortable. The main disappointment was breakfast. It was Japanese style, but not freshly made. We saw the staff take the ingredients out of takeaway containers and plate them the night before. We ended up skipping the breakfast we'd already paid for because it wasn't fresh or flavorful.