ibis Styles Kyoto Shijo

This hotel has horrible customer service. After receiving bad advice from a travel agent, I tried to modify my existing reservation, not cancel it. Though I was willing to pay a penalty and switch 5 nights for 5 nights, the hotel initially approved the modification to the reservation, made through Expedia. Once I gave the go ahead, Expedia sent me an email, saying the hotel refused to do a cancellation or modification. My advice-stay in a cheap hotel that offers you free cancellation or a penalty-not one like this that refuses any modification or any refund whatsoever.

The location of this hotel is great. Convenience stores nearby as well as good restaurants. It is within walking distance from the Gion district and malls. Breakfast food comes in bento boxes and were pretty good despite the limited choices. Rooms are small but functional. If you don’t plan to stay indoors much, then it will do just fine. Staff are very helpful, they booked us at a Japanese bbq dinner in a popular spot and it was a great choice. Will definitely consider staying again.

2 nights booked at this property. AVOID booking breakfast and appreciate that the the rooms are SMALL. The location of this Ibis is very good. It is a short walk to the subway, there is a bus stop opposite the hotel and you can be in the main shopping area and the Nishiki Market in about 10 minutes. The rooms are on the typical small size which for 2 of us with a suitcase each was a tricky situation as we tried to manoeuvre around the room and sort out our belongings. The bathroom can only fit 1 person at a time. DO NOT pay extra for the breakfast. The hotel does not have its own restaurant, you must go down in the morning and collect a Bento box from the lobby of which there are a few different options (meat, fish, veg) and the later you leave it, the less choice you get…NO drinks to accompany it, not even tea or coffee. Very disappointing and to which I will be contacting Accor over as it is very much mis-sold on their website. Lifts are also very frustrating as there are only two and it always seems to take forever. My room had issues with its climate control, the AC seemed to have a mind of its own, one minute its too hot, the next its too cold, we would watch the counter on the screen just jump without any input from 22c to 17C to 25C, it was all very bizarre and resulted in much disturbance as we tried to sleep. Otherwise however, it has a great location, a beautiful entrance and very friendly and helpful staff.

We stayed at the hotel for 7 nights and very happy of everything : great location closed to Karasuma station of Hankyu Railway, closest bus stop only 300 meters, perfectly clean in comfortable design and amenities supply at 1 st floor are plenty plus environmental friendly, coin laundry in 3,5,10 floor. You can borrow lamp from front desk to give more light for in room work as well as any other items may need including umbrellas on rainy day. Would recommend you to visit on your next Kyoto trip.

Staff received us warmly and were very helpful in getting us settled in. Our room included two twin beds, a small bench at the window and a desk area with a kettle and mini-fridge. The beds were very comfortable and the bench and desk area assisted as an area for us to store our luggage, making the room nice and cosy without falling over our luggage lol We opted for to have breakfast included and were grateful for the delicious traditional bento box style of breakfast each morning. This location is a short walk from the train station and also offers great walkability to many restaurants, stores, 7-11 ATM, Family Mart and Lawsons. Further, this location has local bus service stops at the front door and across the street from the front door going in the opposite direction. During our stay, we learned that the front desk sold bus/subway day passes for 1100.00 JPY. The pass is only valid for one day, not a 24 hour period. One-way bus fare is 230JPY, so we found it helpful to purchase a pass on December 31st, as we were all over the place: at the Castle, Nishiki Market and then to the Gion area for the festivities at midnight - totally worth the pass! If you're like me and have never used a bus in Japan, you will find it helpful to know that you enter the bus at the back and leave the bus at the front, putting your pass or cash through the fare box on your way off the bus. The buses have English announcements, so don't be afraid to give them a try! We recommend: Rabbit Bagels (across the street from the hotel) Katsukura Shijo Higashinotoin for dinner is a must! (near Nishiki Market) Holly's Cafe (5 minute walk from the hotel) We truly felt 'at home' at this hotel and would return without hesitation.