Hotel Kyoto Eminence

The hot springs have both simple spring water and sodium bicarbonate springs, which leave your skin feeling slippery. The setup is a bit like a jjimjilbang, and there's a lounge and restaurant where you can relax after bathing. The baths close for cleaning from 3:00 to 5:00 AM. A downside is the location, about 40 minutes outside Kyoto, even though the hotel offers authentic hot springs in the city. Hotel Kyoto Eminence was built in 1984 and became popular after the hot springs were added in 2002. If all three people in a triple room are adults, an extra bed goes between the other beds and can make things cramped. Otherwise, my impression of the hotel is positive.

The restaurant looked clean and had plenty of choices, including large draft beers, though I didn't eat there this time. I also liked being able to rest in the relaxation room on the third floor. The baths are easy to visit without bringing anything, and you can take your time trying the different types. I went early in the new year and was glad the bath is open all year. As soon as I stepped in, it felt like it would be good for my skin.

The bath was the highlight, with several types to choose from and water and other supplies near the entrance for sauna users. The hotel shuttle to the station is free, but it would be more useful if it started an hour earlier since sightseeing begins in the morning. The regular bus stop right outside is handy. Dinner was a generous, good buffet; breakfast was disappointing. Although clearing was meant to begin at 9, they stopped replenishing dishes by 8:30, leaving few options. The room had an air purifier that was a real help for hay fever, plus useful things like hair tonic and lotion, but the blankets felt rough. Wi-Fi was slow and weak. Getting to the bath in the annex meant moving between four floors, and you need a card key to enter. The bath is good, the Wi-Fi is terrible, and it's best to get breakfast early.

Dinner was all delicious, but breakfast didn't seem worth the trouble. When dishes ran out, they took a long time to replace them, possibly because there weren't enough staff. The dining area is shared with the general public using Manyo no Yu, just to the left of the hotel, and I wish there were a way to get there without going outside. Since the baths are open to the public too, I imagine they can get busy at certain times. In our room, the bathroom was odd, like a portable toilet at a construction site, which surprised me. The room itself had plenty of amenities, which was nice. I found a meal ticket dated about a month earlier in the pocket of the jacket provided for wearing over work clothes. It looked like the jacket had just been folded instead of washed, and that made me uneasy. The receptionist was just ordinary, not especially smiley.