HARUYA Umekoji - Hostel

It felt like being in a bunker. Run! The woman was nice during the brief time we spoke, then she left. The place is very old, as advertised, but it seems completely unmaintained. There are just two bathrooms with no sinks, so handwashing has to happen in the kitchen. For seven people there were two toilets and two showers. Everything costs extra, including towels. I was meant to be on the ground floor, where footsteps upstairs were so loud I couldn't stay. At 5:29 pm I left for somewhere else. No one was onsite after 4:30 pm, and they refused to refund me even though I hadn't stayed. This isn't a complaint about sharing a room. It's a run-down hotel that needs urgent renovation. Avoid it at all costs.

The location worked well for me: there's easy access to a train station and bus stop, plenty of large shrines and good food spots nearby, and I had no trouble getting around. Kyoto Station is a 15-20 minute walk. I went looking for ryokans, saw the price and photos, and read a few reviews, thinking I'd found a budget-friendly deal on a city ryokan. I was wrong. Maybe those reviews were bots, or maybe my standards have gone up now that I'm in my early 30s. This is a hostel, and I was a goofball to expect something else. I never saw any staff, so I can't really say much about service. Before the 4 pm, or 1600, check-in, you can leave bags behind the locked door in the area marked reception. There's a camera watching the space, and that's about it. My private room had traditional Japanese bedding, but the padding was only about 3 cm thick, so sleeping felt like lying on the floor. Halfway through the night the cushions gave way and I ended up on the floor with just a thin barrier underneath. The walls are thin too, though that's to be expected in a 100-year-old house. Towels and other amenities that I'd expect to be included cost extra. Towels and hand towels were 200 yen. You also pay Kyoto's accommodations tax after check-in and before checkout. That's a city tax, not the hostel's fault, and payment was possible in cash or by card through the QR code. The rice porridge was bland, despite what other reviews say. I noticed rice sitting in water in the cooker the night before, so I suspect a timer starts it cooking or reheating later.

We booked four nights hoping for a traditional ryokan stay, but we couldn't sleep properly. Noise came through from other rooms and people outside until 2 AM, then started again in the morning. The building and bathroom were in bad shape and covered in mould. We chose it based on the photos and the promise of a traditional experience. Please don't. We stayed at another ryokan too, and this was far beyond our worst experience. For a decent night's rest, book a hotel instead.

The receptionist spoke English well, which was a good sign. Our room was clean, although the house itself was old. There was just one restroom and one bathroom for seven bedrooms, so people had to wait their turn. Both were below the standard of other hotels we've used at similar prices. At $70 a night, I expected more.