La'gent Hotel Kyoto Nijo

Nijo is a great area, and the hotel is near bus stops and Nijo station. It took us a bit longer to reach popular places because as tourists we often had to change subway lines away from this line. The rooms were very clean and smelled nice, with more space than at other Kansai hotels. They felt a little dry, but the provided humidifier was easy to use and helped a lot.

We really enjoyed the onsen, it was clean and well cared for, and the room was spacious and clean too. The hotel is a bit away from Kyoto’s main shopping area, so we relied on buses and sometimes took a taxi back. The friendly, respectful service and the room made up for the distance. We stayed three nights and would happily return.

The onsen was nice, but the room was cramped, the bed uncomfortable, and the pillows awful. The self-service coffee machine was frustrating too, since we couldn't use it before 10 a.m. Front desk staff came across as rude and unhelpful, and hospitality overall felt lacking.

The biggest problem was the noise at night. Even with the good double-glazed windows and a generally quiet setting, there was a low vibrating machine noise that kept starting and stopping. Worse, the air conditioner made irregular tapping sounds from its pipe system even while switched off, so sleeping peacefully was impossible. It feels like a bad design. Service was poor as well. The onsen water dispenser had run out of cups, so I called staff to refill it. I went into the onsen while waiting, and when I came back, the cups had been filled but were jammed in the dispenser and couldn't be taken out. The room had a basic, low-cost unit bathroom and a regular bed with a mattress that was too hard. For a hotel that's basically new, I can only imagine how rough it'll be once it gets older. It doesn't have the basics I'd expect of a four-star place.