I stayed at the Kyoto Royal for a week. My single room was a comfortable size and very clean. The bathroom is not fancy (a plastic box), but everything works fine. Both the subway (kyoto shiyakusho mae) and a major train station (keihan sanjo) are very close by, as are numerous restaurants, shopping, and sightseeing. My only complaint was a bit of noise from the hallway - the hotel caters to groups, and there was a large class of middle-school students staying on my hall. For the price (I paid about $110/night) I would definitely stay there again.

This is not a fancy hotel - but the service was great and the location wonderful. Everything was also very, very clean, and they were willing to make up my room at odd times.

Because we were there through Kyoto University, we had a discounted rate on the room such that it was only about $50 US a night - what a bargain!! For this price, how could I expect more?

The rooms are small, but there was free internet access, which was a plus.
But, the hotel only owns 1 adaptor plug, so if you plan on bringing your laptop, you should buy an adaptor before you go. None of the outlets worked for my 3-prong laptop plug without the adaptor. That said, the adapator was delivered to my room and I was allowed to keep it for my entire stay.

We chose the Royal after reading about numerous hotels in our guidebook (but didn't check TripAdvisor). It's well located close to the Pontocho and Gion geisha districts but has little else to recommend. We arrived in Kyoto's rainy season for a 4-night stay. Since the weather was a little dreary, we were hoping for a room we could spend some time in after a day's slog through the rain. Imagine our surprise when we arrived in our room only to discover that our large picture window was OPAQUE... completely frosted glass! THere was a tiny tiny section that could be levered open 2 inches, but other than that we were in a hermetically sealed box. The room was moderately sized, but incredibly bland. THe prospect of staying in Kyoto locked in this featureless, windowless room was too much to bear. We called the Hotel Granvia, which we marveled at while arriving on the Shinkansen, and immediately canceled our room at the Royal. I will give it to the courteous staff that they let us cancel with no penalties. The Granvia was slightly more expensive, but worth every penny! See my Granvia review for some photos.

I have mixed feelings on giving this hotel only a neutral rating. The hotel is in a great location, with a nice lobby (though the outside is bland) and the service was absolutely wonderful. Kudos to Kodama the concierge. She was the absolute best we've ever encountered and we travel extensively. In addition, there is an English style library bar which has a happy hour every evening from 5 to 7 with cocktails 50% off. So, what's the problem? In a word, the rooms. Very tiny with small twin beds, a view overlooking a dirty rooftop, and a bathroom right out of a Motel 6. This hotel wasn't cheap (we paid US $190 per night). For that kind of money, the room should have been far better. We only stayed two nights and then moved on to the Hotel Granvia for our remaining three days in Kyoto. The Granvia blew the Royal out of the water. I hope Kodama moves over there in time for when we return!