My wife and I stayed for 3 nights and found the hotel very clean and comfortable. The prices in the hotel bars and restaurants are a bit steep, but then with a free bus service running between the hotel and the main train station every 10 minutes, who cares? There are more than enough bars and eateries there to satisfy everyone from the adventurous to the burger & chips fanatic. Very polite staff. I cannot fault the place.

Just came back from a trip to Japan and Hawaii with my husband, 8 year old daughter and 6 year old son on Aug 24, 2005. I stayed at the Rihga Royal Hotel in Kyoto and did not enjoy it very much. We had just stayed at the Palace Hotel in Tokyo (see my review) and compared to that this hotel was a disappointment. The staff were very polite and efficient but acted as if we were an inconvience to them or a trial to bear--no smiles and a very grim manner. The room was very small compared to our hotel in Tokyo but we did have the 2 twin bed room which is their smallest and our Tokyo room was one level up from their smallest. In fact we had booked this hotel because my travel agent told us it had larger rooms than many Japanese hotels! Also, the room looked as if it needed to be redecorated with wallpaper starting to peel. The view was covered by beautiful rice paper screen but when you opened them you were looking on a courtyard filled with HVAC systems or something. There is a pool for an extra charge and my husband and kids had a nice time swimming there one night (especially since it was so hot and muggy in Japan!). While they were swimming, I had a suina (Chinese-style) massage at the spa Carju Rajah located in the hotel (I think on the 8th floor). It was amazing (though somewhat expensive)! They mostly did not speak English at the spa and I don't know if the hotel staff would help out but if you can arrange a massage there I highly recommend it! Also, speaking of English, I was surprised at how limited many of the staff's English was. The hotel was very popular with foreigners; there were LOTS of people in the lobby and they were mostly Caucausian. However, when I would ask things, especially to bellhops or staff in the gift shops, etc. I would have a hard time communicating in English. I also speak Japanese fairly fluently so I would switch into Japanese and between the two languages I would be understood. Probably if you don't speak Japanese you would just have to keep asking or find a different staff member who spoke English better but I was surprised at this in a hotel that obviously catered to foreign visitors. They do have a shuttle to Kyoto's Train station, which has many restaurants and shops and is less than 10 minutes away, which is very helpful. I found the drivers, though, were another instance of the rigidity or unhelpfulness of the staff. We had been waiting close to 10 minutes as we had just missed the previous shuttle bus and the bus had unloaded all of the people. We started to go up to the bus (remember that this is August in Japan and the heat and humidity are incredible!) and the bus driver told us to wait. He got back in the bus, pulled it forward about 10 feet and then opened the door and told us we could get on. And in case you think this was just foreigners being impatient, another time when we were on the bus and stuck in traffic on the road just in front of the train station, a Japanese man came up and knocked on the door and asked to be let in. The driver told him he had to wait until we had pulled into the station. A minute later, still in the same place, an older Japanese lady knocked on the door to be let in. When the driver told her to wait at the bus stop, she pushed onto the bus saying she had already waited and it was too hot to wait anymore! And then when we got to the station where the man was waiting, the same thing happened to him that happened to us. The driver let everyone off, then got back in and drove forward 10 feet and finally let the poor man on. Again, this attitude of the staff of the Rihga Royal Kyoto was so different and unwelcoming compared to our experience at the Palace Hotel in Tokyo that it really took us by surprise. On the positive side, the hotel was very clean and the hotel gift shop had lots of nice souvenirs to take home as omiyage (souvenirs).

I just have to say that the staff is really great here. On the morning I was checking out, I left my train ticket back to Tokyo in my room and came back 10 minutes later to find that housekeeping already picked it up and notified front desk. They have a hotel bus that takes you to and from the Kyoto station every 10 minutes (even though it takes you about 10 minutes to walk there and it's not far). The rooms were a bit small, but clean and well lit.

For the location and the price this is an excellent hotel. I was actually suprised when first walked in the room, the rooms are huge by Japanese standards especially considering the location in Kyoto. They also give you a free fruit basket. The staff all speak English and are extremely helpful when plotting a sightseeing route. The breakfast buffet is about $20 and is average for the price offering both Japanese and western fare. This hotel is within a 5 minute walking distance to Kyoto station but they have a shuttle running every 10 minutes if your bones are too tired.