Urban Hotel Kyoto Shijo Premium

The free public bath and washing machines are useful, but the gym costs extra to use, which I found unacceptable. The breakfast room was packed every morning, and this seems to be a popular hotel with tour groups. It’s about a 10-minute walk to Omiya train station, with a pharmacy, restaurants, bus stop and convenience store nearby. Still, the hotel is far from the lively part of Kyoto, so I might choose somewhere else next time.

The location was convenient, with a bus to Kyoto Station nearby, a FamilyMart beside the hotel and a good beef place within a five-minute walk. But I wouldn’t recommend staying here if cleanliness matters a lot to you. My room seemed not to have been cleaned before check-in. There was hair around the toilet and no towels or floor mat. They only clean once every three days, though they do bring clean towels and a floor mat daily, and you have to pick up necessities in the lobby. When I asked the lobby about the dirty room and requested cleaning, I got what sounded like an unapologetic sorry, followed by a question about how many towels I wanted.

Rooms are small but fine, with everything you need and enough lighting. The breakfast buffet was well prepared and had plenty of choice. This centrally located hotel can get very busy, but things are organized well. City buses are just a few minutes away, and there are several supermarkets and restaurants nearby. Leave the hotel, turn left, then left again right away, and you’ll find a nice street with all kinds of places to eat. My one disappointment was that during my five-night stay, they didn’t change my bed even though I’d asked. I’ll definitely come back!

The public bath was much smaller than I expected. It got busy with women at night, and I had to wait for others to finish before I could wash. Towels aren’t supplied, so you have to bring one from your room, and there’s no bathrobe there to wear to the spa. The women’s bath door opens straight into the changing area, which felt uncomfortable. A curtain would help. I also don’t understand why the bath closes from about 2 to 5 p.m., especially for guests hoping to relax in the afternoon. Breakfast was a real letdown. You have to choose a time beforehand, presumably to prevent crowding, but there wasn’t much variety, no fruit, and no warm milk even though it was winter. I can’t drink black coffee, and I didn’t want cold milk in my coffee when it was -2 degrees outside. I asked staff, but they didn’t offer to heat it. The food quality was average, but the lack of choice made this possibly the worst buffet breakfast I’ve had. My room was smaller than I expected, barely had room to move around and no wardrobe. It felt much smaller than 23m². Around 2 p.m. I was trying to rest, but the cleaning staff were shouting in the hallway, so I couldn’t relax. I understand they don’t change the sheets daily, but cleaning seemed to mean replacing towels and toothbrushes only. They didn’t change the pajamas, empty the trash or make the bed. I chose the hotel for its central location and public bath, but the first thing I noticed was a VERY strong cigarette smell in the lobby. It was even in the non-smoking rest area. The smell seemed to reach the whole hotel, including the first floor, elevator and dining area. As someone who hates cigarettes, I didn’t want to put up with passive smoke while trying to relax. I can only imagine how families with kids feel. Is this a smoker-friendly hotel? I didn’t realize that when I booked. The common area should be somewhere to have a drink or wait before going to your room, but the smell made it unbearable to stay near the lobby. I tried to work there, got a headache and couldn’t focus. I expected a comfortable place to work, but now I’ll have to spend the next five days going to cafés, which is really inconvenient. Please do something about the air in the rest area, like closing doors, improving ventilation or using air purifiers, so non-smoking guests can use it.