Great central location across from the Kyoto Imperial Palace, and only a couple minutes walk to the subway and bus stop, which is crucial for getting around Kyoto. As others have mentioned, the staff was wonderful - very friendly and helpful. My husband and I had a twin room with a sofa. We found the room to be very comfortable. The beds are a bit firm, but I feel that's fairly standard for hotels in Japan. The bathroom was fine - it wasn't anything fancy and it was small, but it did the job. There was a small mini-fridge in the room that could be plugged in and used.

We decided last minute to take the train to Kyoto one of last weekends to see the fall colors, so we knew our hotel options would be limited. We lucked out by getting room at the Palace Side Hotel. I think even with more option we'd stay here again. It's a great value for the money, and a great place to rest and relax in between seeing all the sights Kyoto has to offer.

Most hotels have lousy lighting in the room, often making it difficult to read. My room in the Palace Side had the best lighting of any hotel I have ever visited. The room was small, but they managed to squeeze the normal amenities into the small space. I had a small chest of drawers, which other guests told me they lacked, maybe because I had a single room. The temperature control worked well. The shower was adequate for me, and I appreciated the delightful Japanese toilet seat. I also enjoyed the fridge for cooling my sake. There were two small elevators that were fast and responsive. The staff were courteous and responsive, and most spoke good English. I did not, however, enjoy the food in the restaurant.

Large room, but absolutely unusable bathroom. I had to shower standing sideways because there wasn't enough room for me to shower otherwise. I used the lobby bathroom as much as possible and contemplated visiting the public bathhouse down the street. The furniture and room needed some attention-- very old and worn. The bathroom was clean, but the carpet was disgusting. Luckily we had some disposable slippers from our previous hotel that we used.

Even though the hotel advertised room temp control, it's not quite correct. Once they flip the switch to heat, you can no longer cool your room. Only heat it. My husband and I were really hot the first couple of days, and then a cold front moved in so we finally got comfortable without having to open the window (which has no screen).

The worst part is that the hotel is located by a hospital and a fire station. Three of the four nights we were there there were no fewer than three emergency vehicles blazing their sirens in the middle of the night. I didn't get much sleep.

The hotel staff was helpful and spoke English well. The Fresco down the street is pretty nice and the laundry facilities were great.

The free Wi-Fi in the lobby worked well, but hotel computers are full of malware. Despite advertisement, there is no in-room safe and having to drop the key off at the front desk is irritating.

I can't recommend this place and won't stay here again. My husband and I were counting down the nights until we left.

Central hotel with very spacious rooms, located next to the garden of Kyoto Imperial Palace, 5 minutes walk from the bus station and Marutamachi metro station. Large foyer with two free internet terminals. Excellent value for money!