We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at this hotel. To me it was a cross between a boutique/business hotel. The room was spacious and the size reminded me of American hotel rooms. Very clean and offered lots of chairs and desk space. Nice size flat screen tv, complimentary wired internet, fridge in room, hotpot. The public bath was also a nice treat. Not very large but a decent size for this hotel. Location was very near the train station and to shopping and restaurants. Starbucks right around the corner and convenience stores nearby. Service was great. Price was on the higher side but well worth it.

As others have noted, this Downtown business hotel is a very good choice for tourism as well. Facility is modern, service is efficient, location is very convenient. Access to public transportation is easy (subway station around the corner, plenty of taxi and bus lines in the street), eating facilities nearby are plentiful, including, beside numerous local eateries, Starbuck's and Mc Donald's.

My only warning would be, if you are traveling in couple, the room the Hotel refers to on their website as "Double", and some Hotel Reservation portals do as "Semi-double", is very small and the queen bed is mated on one side to the wall. As a result you will have to crawl over your partner if you want to leave bed. That didn't bother me too much (this bed arrangement is not unusual in Europe) but if you are one of those who find the thing unacceptable, you may want to go with a Deluxe Double room, which seems a more comfortable fit for two people. Bathroom was also very small and certainly not good for relaxation, but we used the Public Hot Bath at the second floor - basically a large Jacuzzi - and we were fine.

In short: add this hotel to your shortlist with confidence. If traveling in a couple, go with the "Deluxe Double" room for better comfort.

The hotel is centrally located and reasonably priced. Rooms were adequately sized and the staff were friendly and helpful.

Stayed on night 6 May 2011. Overall, very pleased with the property and would recommend to others. This is part of a popular Japanese hotel chain. Similar US chain would be a Raddison or Sheraton.

GPS coordinates are N 35 00.509, E 135 45.526. It is located on a side street in a high rise business district approximately 300 yards around the corner from Karasumaokie station (exit 6) on Karasuma / Tozai subway line. There is a Starbucks across the street, a few convenience stores within walking distance, but there are no obvious restaurants outside of the hotel.

Paid a total of 9000 yen for two people. This was during Japan’s Golden Week holiday when prices should be higher. Pretty good deal because I do not think most tourists would consider this property to be a vacation destination.

Since the building is surrounded by taller buildings, there really are no scenic views. It was upper end businessman hotel, so everything was nice and very clean. Bed was very comfortable. It included fast and stable Internet connection via LAN cable. There were approximately 10 TV channels, but no English broadcasts—other than a couple bilingual American movies that happened to be shown during our stay. There was a small refrigerator and hot water pot.

The highlight of the stay was the “public bath” opportunity which was included in the price of the room. On the second floor, there was a traditional Japanese Onsen. Enter the onsen, place your clothing in a locker, enter the bathing area, wash yourself outside of the bath, and only then soak in the hot bath. One of the walls was glass, so the bathing area looked outside onto a traditional Japanese garden.

Your room key card is marked “male” or “female”, and it is used to access the gender specific bathing area. I am a guy, my card was “male” and my wife’s card was “female”. When traveling back and forth from the onsen, you are expected to wear a Japanese robe and slippers which is supplied in the room. Took my bath at 2200 and walked past at least 8 other guests wearing their robes, so nobody will look give you a second look in the hallway or elevator. The onsen hours are 0600-0100. If you have never visited an onsen, this would be a good introduction to one. Of course, the room included its own fully equipped bathroom.

The front desk staff did not speak English, but the paperwork and signs throughout the hotel are in Japanese and English. There were taxis waiting outside the hotel at all times. Highly recommend a one or two day pass for the subway and bus lines. One day pass is 1200 yen adult or 600 yen child. Two day pass is 2000 yen or 1000 yen child. Very good value and saves the headache of handling money.