I liked this hotel. It is situated in the centre of Kyoto, a short bus ride away from the Gion district, and a 15 minutes bus ride to the main JR station (it is very easy to use the buses in Kyoto). It is a semi ryokan experience. There are the advantages of a ryokan with the privacy of a private bathroom. The room itself was large with enough space for five adults (at a push), and the floor was covered with tatami mats. The room had futons which were exceptionally comfortable. We left our futons as beds during our stay, and used the low table with cushions to sit on (bear this in mind if you are not very flexible). The rooms were very clean and well equipped with a TV, fridge, microwave, kettle and Internet access by LAN cable (no wifi). The staff were polite and helpful. Breakfast was provided in the room each morning at a time specified by the guest. There were three cold choices of suchi, rice, or bread. I enjoyed the breakfast, although it may not appeal to all tastes. I did not use the communal bath area.

Overall, my lasting impression is of a good value hotel, much better than most for the price in Japan. I would certainly stay here again.

It's a mix of Japanese and western at the Village Kyoto. There's plenty of other reviews which cover the sleeping arrangements. With a 3 year old in tow, it was like a kids play centre. One happy kid = 2 happy parents. This was the biggest hotel room we had in Japan by far.

There's a handy coin laundry on level 6 which is good to use when travelling light like we were.

With a microwave, you can cook at home if you want. Ignore the mini-mart across the road and head down Shijo Dori about 100m or so to Gourmet City which is a much larger supermarket. Plenty of pre prepared food - don't forget to buy some chopsticks on your way out. And breakfast which was very much a take it or leave it proposition (see pics). Just remember Toto, you're not in Kansas any more, so don't expect a bacon fry-up.

My only beef wasn't with the hotel itself, but the location which is about 1km away from the main shopping area and about 3km or so from the station (roughly). This isn't aided by the somewhat confusing underground system where an all day ticket only works on some lines and not others. Carrying a large pack and 2 other bags, buses would have been difficult and getting off the train from Tokyo were confusing. Tip - get yourself a good bus map at the tourist info centre in Isetan/Cube (@ Kyoto train station) and work out the right bus from the station to Omiya station. WIth a flat rate of 220yen and you're at the hotel without a hassle!

All in all, a satisfactory stay. Recommended.

We really liked our stay at Village Kyoto. The room was big with a nice view, and the bathroom was separated in toilet, shower and wash basin, which was great because me and my 4 friends shared the room, so we could use the facilities at the same time. There's a subway station and a bus stop only a few minutes away, and it's about a 20min walk to Gion. The only drawback was the breakfast, it was not very tasty, especially the bread version. But the staff was very helpful giving us directions and recommendations for the busses, and spoke English well.

We stayed as a couple for 3 nights at around £150 a night. We had a large room with woven vinyl floor, tatty unit along one wall and ripped vinyl futons. You had to make your own bed up from the futon, so then had to sit on the stained dirty cushions on the floor or make up your bed each day. Breakfast was served to your room - plastic tray of cold rice, sushi or bread option plus one green tea bag to make a drink to go with it. Bathroom was tiny, but did have Japanese style bathing on first floor, although ladies area was so busy - strange as a westerner seeing a queue of naked women waiting to shower. The view out of our window was straight into the rooms in the building next door, so close you could have touched it! Therefore we had to keep the blinds closed all the time - dark and depressing. Bedding smelt dirty on our first night we wondered if it was from the previous people staying there, but was changed the next day.