La Viola

The staff were polite and did what they could to make our stay comfortable, though the hotel sometimes felt deserted and reception had little staff presence, which made it a bit impersonal. We only saw two staff members, one with decent enough English and the other with very limited English. It seemed to mostly cater to Japanese guests. We hadn’t realized dogs were welcome. That’s usually fine, but a dog left alone in the room below ours barked for much of the evening. It wasn’t the staff’s fault. One of the women apologized and offered us another room. We moved for one night, and it was just as comfortable and well equipped. When we went back to our original room the next day, the staff gave us a bottle of fizz to say sorry. No harm done. The hotel was clean and fairly modern, with nice, well equipped rooms and daily housekeeping. We had spacious twin room 301. It’s a small place in a quiet part of Kyoto, about a 10 minute walk to Tambaguchi Station JR station, then a five minute ride to Kyoto Station. There’s also a bus stop outside for most tourist sites. There are food options around a 10-15 minute walk away if you don’t mind walking. The lounge had free coffee, tea, soft drinks, beer on tap, spirits, and some snacks from 5-10pm. There’s a terrace too if you want a drink or some fresh air. Breakfast is served 8-10am: filled bread rolls from a local bakery, with three meat options and one non meat option, a sweet custard filled roll that was pretty nice. Vegetarians won’t find much to eat, but can bring their own food to have in the lounge. Everything there is free. I’d recommend the hotel. It was a nice, quiet place to stay, and I left satisfied.

Although it’s on a busy road, the hotel itself had a surprisingly calm atmosphere. It’s a lovely small luxury hotel for couples or friends, with stunning oriental style furniture and thoughtful room design. We’ll definitely come back.

The room was unusual but really comfortable, and I liked the complimentary bar. It’s a short bus ride from the station.

This cozy hotel is near central Kyoto, with Shijo and Kawaramachi’s main shopping area less than a 10 minute walk away. The 24 hour lounge has Japanese craft beer, ice cream, and Japanese snacks for free. Come back before 11pm for some very nice whisky and Japanese alcohol, also free!!