染 SEN 七条花畑 Shichijo-Hanabatake

The rooms were clean and the furniture and appliances felt good quality. The bathroom was roomy, and the food was tasty. Still, for the price, the service setup was disappointing. Meals came at fixed, late times, with breakfast scheduled for 8:30-9:00 and dinner for 19:00-20:00. The dinner window was especially unclear about when it actually began. Both were too late for our family with children, and we had to handle the meal setup and cleanup ourselves. It was difficult and didn't feel worth what we paid. The whole place worked more like an Airbnb than a hotel, with little flexibility. We may have been better off skipping the meals. With the children, we couldn't relax, and it was a hard stay.

We were six people and one dog, staying for a night in November, and had the whole traditional Japanese house to ourselves. It worked very well for a family with a pet: there were lots of pet supplies and a foot-washing area at the entrance. Each room had an air purifier, so there was no pet smell at all and the house felt comfortable. There was plenty to enjoy inside, including a heated cypress bath, sunken kotatsu, irori hearth, balcony, TV, Wi-Fi, a fully automatic drum washer-dryer, two sinks side by side, and a washlet toilet on each floor. We were very happy with the stay. They also handled our last-minute changes quickly, which helped us get a reasonable price. The free ice cream had melted by the time we tried it the next day, which was disappointing. I wish I'd eaten it earlier. We only stayed one night this time, but I'd love to return for two or three.

The traditional inn feel came through in the bathroom, which looked just like the photos. The room, toilet, and bath were all very clean. We had four beds upstairs, and with our small elderly dog and three or four people, there was plenty of room to be comfortable. It's tucked into a quiet residential neighborhood near Nishi Honganji Temple on Shichijo-dori. Google Maps helped, though the secluded spot might be tricky to find. Parking is at a nearby coin lot, from 2,000 yen a day. Breakfast arrived in a rice container, with what looked like about two cups of rice for three people. It was a pleasant, typical inn-style breakfast. I don't often get to travel from the Kanto region with my pet, but I'd like to come back and would recommend this place.

My dog was happy here, and the place was easy to use, so I'd stay again. It's a clean, new, pet-friendly inn with the home appliances you need. The Japanese-style room has a convenient sunken kotatsu, and the cypress bath smells lovely. One thing: calling it an irori inn seems a stretch when the floor is just cut out for an induction cooktop, presumably for fire safety.