Hotel Kuretakeso Kyoto Kiyomizu Gojo

I paid in full for two rooms, checked in at 11 PM, and planned to leave around 3 AM after a short rest. Checkout was officially at 10 AM, so I was still within my paid stay. There was nobody at the front desk when I went down. I left my room card on the counter, then an elderly male staff member chased me to the taxi, shouting and accusing me as if I'd stolen it. I'd only left it on the desk because the desk was unattended. I felt humiliated and treated like a thief despite having paid and still being within checkout time. His rude, unprofessional behavior ruined what should have been a simple short stay.

The room was cramped for four of us, with nowhere to open our luggage. Apart from that, the stay was pretty decent for the price. Service and breakfast were great, and the staff were really helpful. Happy Hour at B1 from 18 to 20 was lovely, with sake, beer, and cocktails. I was satisfied, and the location was very good.

A younger man in a suit was kind and helpful, but the older man with glasses at the front desk made this the worst hotel service I've had in any country. When I arrived at 1pm, he just stared at me. I said I was there to check in, and before I could finish he said, "check in is 3pm." I asked if I could leave my bags, and he answered with a hand gesture and nothing else. When I came back, he handed me the key without a greeting, room number, or directions. The room wasn't clean either, with hair and other garbage on the floor. I also had a happy hour drink coupon for 6-8pm, but when I went at 7:20pm, it was CLOSED. A very negative stay. I'd strongly suggest looking elsewhere.

The hotel is near a Seven Eleven. Getting out of Kiyomizu-Gojo station was hard to figure out, and with big luggage it was even worse. Staff couldn't speak English, though they had a gadget to translate. They also charged an additional government tax for the stay outside the amount I'd already paid through Traveloka.