Fufu Kyoto

The property itself is beautiful, and after staying at luxury hotels around the world, I think it deserves a much higher rating on appearance alone. But our service experience throughout the stay was poor enough that I can’t rate it higher, and I wouldn’t recommend it to non-Japanese speakers. At breakfast, even though we had a reservation, we waited while guests who arrived after us were seated first. When we spoke up, nobody explained what happened, apologized, followed up, or made a real effort to improve things. We also emailed management afterward and got no reply. The problems started at check-in. We arrived about 30 minutes before the stated 3 PM time, and could see our bags already being taken to the room. Still, Root Reception staff kept curtly repeating that check-in was at 3 PM. They showed little warmth or flexibility until we asked several times. Communication stayed difficult during the visit. Some reception staff spoke very little English and sometimes used translation apps for basic interactions. When I called the guest services/butler number about an issue and explained it in full, I was transferred and had to tell the whole story again. It wasn’t a one-off problem. We repeatedly encountered poor communication, a lack of ownership, and dismissive treatment from Root Reception. For this price, the service didn’t meet the level of hospitality the hotel should provide. That was especially disappointing after the warmth and attention we received at nearly every other place we stayed in Japan.