Yadoya-Dejavu

A tiny hotel with three rooms and a restaurant, in a great location. We had the ground-floor room, with its own tub in a zen-style garden. The room as a whole reminded me of being inside Jeannie’s bottle. The concierge was a gem. Breakfast is traditional Japanese, so I’d skip it if that’s not what you’re used to. I’d recommend the place if you want somewhere distinctive, with care for detail and tradition, and don’t need a big hotel, pool, gym, or TV in the room.

We paid over 300 € a night for this Ryokan, expecting a comparable level of service. In my view, it wasn’t worth even 50 €-90 € a night. We’d booked three nights after reading good reviews on TripAdvisor, but the professional hotel photos were far from what we found. To reach the room, you have to walk through the restaurant, and the dirty entrance left grime on our feet. The room was tiny, dim, had no space to unpack, and no wardrobe or closet. There were spiders on the ceiling, and the air conditioning kept switching on and off. We could hear all the restaurant noise below, so we slept very badly. At reception, we were told to give an exact breakfast time. Since we were on vacation, I didn’t want to commit to a minute-by-minute schedule, so I said morning. The next day we arrived at 8:30 and were given two coffees, then nothing. After waiting 25 minutes, a man came from the kitchen, but there was still no breakfast. I asked him to help bring my luggage downstairs, and he said not before noon. I’ve traveled a lot and have never experienced anything like this in Japan. Our guide tried to explain the problem, and we moved to the hotel across the street. We’ve had no reply from this hotel, even though the other hotel contacted them and our guide also reached out. There’s been no refund either. I strongly advise against this place unless you like living with dirt and disrespect. I don’t understand the positive reviews, and I intend to contact management about it.

We stayed in the Asa room, which is beautiful and traditional while still having the modern basics. The Wi-Fi actually worked, unlike at most hotels, and there were charging options for devices. The food was good, and the bathroom was lovely, with the best shower I’ve ever used. The location is just right, close to good food, shopping, and Sanjo station for getting around Kyoto, while being tucked away enough to avoid too much bustle.

The restaurant was excellent, and I especially recommend the Kobe beef. The building looks a little small from outside, but the room was much bigger than I’d imagined a Japanese room would be. I also liked having coffee beans in the room, and the bed was very comfortable.