Smile Hotel Kyoto Karasuma Gojo

Smile Hotel Kyoto is located in a very quiet area, right next to Gojo Subway Station. Gojo is only one stop from Kyoto Station on the Karasuma Subway Line, and Exit 8 is practically next to the hotel. If you have luggage, I recommend using Exit 5, which has lift access, and then it’s just about a 5-minute walk to the hotel. The staff were very polite and always willing to help. I especially liked the housekeeping staff. she was incredibly sweet, polite and clearly took pride in doing her job well. The bed, linen and pyjamas were all clean and comfortable. The coin laundry was also reasonably priced compared with bigger cities like Tokyo and Osaka, and laundry detergent was available at reception for a very cheap price. There’s a 7-Eleven right next to the hotel, which was very convenient. There’s also a large supermarket called Presco near the Kamo River. One of the things I really enjoyed about staying here was being able to take a peaceful walk along the river. The room was, as expected, quite small, but considering the price and location, I felt it was a very good bargain and a comfortable base for exploring Kyoto.

À 10 minutes à pied de la gare de Kyoto. Par contre assez éloigné de tous les autres points phares de la ville. Arrêt de métro juste à côté de l'hôtel. La salle commune avec distributeur de boissons à volonté est un réel plus. Personnel adorable.

Literie dure, salle de bain très étroite. 1 seul ascenseur pour tout l'établissement. Ce qui peut entraîner un peu d'attente le matin à l'heure de pointe!

The receptionists were really friendly and proactive

There’s no daily cleaning service - only every third day The room was quite unclean - there were a lot of stains on the walls. We’ve seen mould patches in the bathroom wall corners. The air in the room was really stale - as if nobody had aired the room in a while. Also the room wasn’t very spacious - I don’t think there’s enough space for two large suitcases while having beds being made (Mby the pictures were a bit more promising)

How close to transport the hotel was. Easy to find. Friendly staff making it stress-free.

When we got into our room we found the lighting was very dim, the charging port in the bedhead didn't work. When we plugged in our travel adaptors, they would emit a very high pitched squeal which we didn't have a problem with at our hotel in Tokyo. Was hard to do washing as there was 1 washing machine out of order.