ANA Hotel Kyoto

Excelent location

Excellent location

deal killer

the hotel itself was fine. My problem was the following: late one evening, I sat down in the pretty lounge. A waiter asked what I would be drinking. I declined a drink, wanting only to relax a bit. I was informed that I would have to buy a drink if I wanted to stay. Had the lounge been busy, I could have understood a desire to accommodate paying customers. But there were maybe 3 or 4 people in the whole lounge. I complained at the desk, but nothing helped. Those were the rules I was told. It seems that everything in the hotel was on an a la carte basis. Even the use of the swimming pool required a fee. This is not the way I’m used to being treated. It is for this reason that I would never return to this hotel even though the property itself had lots going for it.

during the fall foliage season, hands down

Needs update but comfortable

The hotel must have had its splendor 15 years ago, its outdated but comfortable, the breakfast is ok, well located, nothing spectacular. If you have money go to the newer ones, if not, the Ana is ok.

We Love this Hotel

We enjoyed our stay at ANA hotel in Kyoto. The lobby is huge, and beautiful with fresh flower, ochids and water fall seen through from the window. The room is big and comfortable with daily English newspaper delivered. There are so many different kinds of shampoo, and etc in the bathroom. The Japanese toilet is exceptional, with seat warmer and washer. Free shuttle service to and from train station is a nice touch, although we were given a wrong time by a tourist book. The food is very expensive in the hotel. We ended up eating outside. There are a few places close to the hotel you can eat and a convinient store near by. The Nijo Castle is just across the street. We had two rooms, each with a view of the Castle, which was very nice. The internt is fast and free. There is an indoor swimming pool. But You have to pay about $15-20/person/day to use the swimming pool. That was a disappointment.

Traveler's tip on saving a few bucks

Use the hotel free shuttle service to and from train station. Make sure the correct time the service provided. The last one is 9:45pm or 10:00pm, not 7:45pm.

ANA Hotel

Immaculate room with comfortable beds. Hotel staff was knowledgable and friendly. If they did not speak English well enough to help you they found someone who did. The concierge was very knowledgable and able to help with planned events and some last minute things we found to do. I plan to stay in ANA properties during future trips to Japan.

Traveler's tip on local attractions

The Afternoon Nara Park tour was good if you are a teen/adult. Little kids will be bored out of their mind. The Gion Corner experience was worth the money. Make sure you read up on what is shown if you have children as some of the explanations don’t translate well and your children will need some "adult" help from you understanding what they are seeing. Nijo Castle was amazing as was the Imperial Summer Palace.

Great location in beautiful Kyoto

A very nice hotel directly across from the Nija Palace. Less than one block from the metro system. The rooms are a bit dated but are clean and well maintained.

Excellent Location for Site Seeing

Top notch hotel with great service and prime location. Convenient to bus stop and subway stops to see all of the great sites of Kyoto. Price was extremely reasonable based on location and quality of stay.

Excellent service and worth the price

We were very impressed by the excellent service in this hotel. The kimono-clad staff spoke excellent English (and politely humored my not-so-excellent Japanese) and went out of their way to be helpful. They even loaned us umbrellas! And when the manager saw us looking at a flier for an event at nearby Nijo Castle during check-in, he gave us two free tickets. The Western breakfast buffet was expansive and really did offer Western foods such as pancakes, bacon and sausage. I felt the Cozy lounge was a bit overpriced for dinner, but the atmosphere was relaxing, with a beautiful garden and waterfall outside the full-length windows. The fake deer in the garden needs to go, though. Overall, this is an excellent hotel and conveniently located across the street from Nijo Castle and a three-minute walk to a subway station.

Excellent buy in Kyoto

We booked the ANA Kyoto Hotel with a bargain price through Expedia if we paid in advance. We did so, and it was well worth it. We got a hotel that was clearly worth more than we paid. The attention to customer needs was of the highest quality. The only problem we encountered was that the heat was still on and we were unable to regulate it from our rooms. They moved us the next day to rooms that had windows that could be opened. The stay includes free shuttle to the train station and very helpful concierge services.

Decent hotel, though nothing exciting

It is of course the little things that make a great hotel. This is not a great hotel, so toss out expectations of quite a few of those little things, such as well-trained front desk people and caring wait-staff. However, if you go in with a budget in mind and lowered expectations, or don’t know any better due to a lack of acquaintance with better Kyoto hotels, this hotel may not disappoint. Promotional prices are great, and the location is excellent for tourism and transportation. But I would like to offer a $50 reward to the person who removes the tacky Bambi statue from the Japanese garden outside their restaurant window (just kidding. Theft is illegal, even in the removal of an eyesore). I suppose it is there for those who didn’t realize that Kyoto is a long way from Tokyo Disneyland. Oh well, the veneer of sophistication and low price may be enough for some to enjoy this hotel..

Excellent hotel!

The staff was extraordinary - especially the concierge who helped us get tickets to an event that we never would have been successful at getting on our own. The Japanese breakfast in the morning was excellent as well. I look forward to going back next time we’re in Japan!

Great hotel

This hotel was MUCH nicer than I had anticipated. The lobby was beautiful, the service excellent and the room lovely and quiet.

Nice hotel, expect for a few things...

Good location, next to JR, or metro. Very frindely, good food, next to the castle as well. Room is big enough, flat screen tv, internet... Everyhthing is new and well maintained except for the gim and the pool (clean, but needs remodelling) There is a pool 60ft, and a few work out machines, but it looks like it has not been remodelled since the 60s. It is great if you want to get close to sg. that reminds me of the eastern europian soviet era style hotels from the 60s and 70s. Smoking is allowed, but that is almost everywhere in Japan.

On of the nicests hotels we saw in Japan

We had booked a regular double room, but got upgraded (just asked for a high floor...) and got the nicest room. Views were not great (you can only see the castle from one side of the hotel), but the room was GREAT! Location is good, right next to Kyoto castle and well served by subway and bus.

Traveler's tip on saving a few bucks

As for breakfast, the hotel is nice but expensive. There’s a nice coffee house next to the subway station (1 minute walk from the hotel), very friendly staff and much cheaper.

Excellent service, can’t wait to go back

Excellent service. Good location, the bus stop is just at one block from the hotel, really easy to move from this hotel to the most important places. The all day trip pick you up at the hotel. Clean rooms and comfortable. I strongly recommend this hotel.

We had a wonderfull tim in this hotel!!!!!

Even if the decor was a bit dated, everything was immaculate and well appointed. The rooms were spacious and well appointed. The location was excellent, accross the street from the castle, half a block away from the subway and serviced by several bus lines. I’d recommend this hotel without any hesitation and are planning to come back next year when we return to Kyoto.

Excellent place to stay

You could just travel there with a clean shirt and underwear for the next day - everything else is provided ! Even two different hairdryers or your choice of four shampoos... Located very conveniently in the center of Tokyo and in front Nijo Castle - ie on turistical routes making sure it’s properly served by subway and buses. The service is attentive.

Everything but the Bed

The ANA is in a fantastic spot near the castle. It isnt one of the bustling tourist districts, so a restaurant is hard to find, but its pleasantly quiet and near a subway station. The hotel itself is gorgeous, from the waterfall outside the lobby to the kimono wearing staff. The rooms are large for a Japanese hotel. They give you lots of really high quality free toiletries and cosmetics, because the hotel is associated with the company that makes them. My only complaint, overall, is that the bed was very hard and difficult to sleep on.

Traveler's tip on local attractions

Go see the Shinsen-en garden, it is tucked away behind some gates across from the castle wall. Less than a 10 minute walk from the hotel.

Good, not great hotel

Location next to Nijo Castle was nice. Bus stop across the street is convenient for getting around the city (although we rented bikes to see the city). Very litle English in room, only green tea in the room, expensive coffee, and paying extra to use pool are drawbacks.

Traveler's tip on local attractions

All the major temples are around the edges of the city so walking to see them all is definitely out.

Excellent Hotel

This was an excellent hotel. No matter where you stay in Kyoto you’ll be walking from one place to the other. We stayed here for two nights and it was great. The staff was extrememly helpful and even recommended a great sushi place right around the corner on one of the side streets that was fantastic. We stayed in the Gion District at a ryokan for our third night in Kyoto and if I go back, I’ll be staying in the Gion area instead. Gion offers a lot more to do.

Dated Hotel

The hotel is pretty dated. It still used a key to get into the room. The hotel is clean, just like all the other hotels in Tokyo.

Good budget westen hotel

The price was right for this hotel, and the location was pretty good as well. Right across from the Nijo castle and extremely close proximity to a subway stop make this location great. The hotel’s food was unremarkable, and the AC didn’t work in my room, and like all japanese hotels (IME) my non-smoking room smelled smoky.

Traveler's tip

The hotel runs a shuttle to/from the Kyoto train station, I think it runs until 11PM every 15 minutes. This will save you a $15 cab ride.

Would definitly stay there again

We stayed four days and found the hotel staff very helpful, room comfortable and location across from the Nijo castle very convienent. Close to good restaurant. We only went to one of the hotel resaurants, the Cafe, which was clean, good food but expensive for what you got especially if you did not want to do the buffet.

A little old, but great service

The hotel is very conveniently located across from Nijo Castle, and within a block of bus and subway stations (on the same side of the street). There’s a nice bar in the lobby with an outside waterfall that’s lit at night. The front desk and concierge speak English, though you’ll have to be patient, since some have thicker accents than others. Rooms are average sized for a western style hotel. Beds are comfy with nice linens. The bathrooms are dated (green and yellow color scheme) and dark, but has all the amenities, including a heated toilet seat with a spray/bidet function. The tub is a bit high, so keep that in mind if you have any limitations. There’s also a hot water dispenser that housekeeping will fill up for you everyday. We accidently spilled some ramen soup on the floor one morning, and it was spotlessly cleaned up when we returned from sightseeing that day. Overall, a very good value.

Traveler's tip on saving a few bucks

There’s a free shuttle bus from Kyoto station to the hotel that runs from 8am to 7pm. Also, the subway system is limited, so the bus is the best way to go. It’s 220 yen per ride, so if you need to transfer, it’s 220 yen PER leg. For that reason, I’d recommend getting a day pass for 500 yen at any subway station. The day pass is good the day you first use it, so you can buy them in advance.

Can’t wait to go back

We enjoyed the hotel very much. Very good value for money. Good location and the shuttle bus was great. Very much recommended.

Traveler's tip on getting the most out of your stay

Use Kyoto as a base for Nara, Osaka and even Hiroshima. Use the Japan rail pass it is very easy to get along and very efficient.