We booked the private room with bath, and it was a good size, albeit the room was just a box, with a view looking at the back of another building.
The staff were very friendly, but charged us for towel rental, which really should be provided when a private bath is booked. The location is good for the railway station, and it is a 30 min walk to the downtown restaurants,and Gion district.
After seeking a real ryokan experience, we struggled to find availability in a reasonable priced category. So, we booked with Hana. The people there were hugely helpful with good english. We asked lots of questions to avoid getting lost again and they were happy to be of service.
The room was ryokan style with tatami mats and futon beds, which was good fun. They were also very comfortable. We had to move into a ryokan on our 3rd night nearby as Hana did not have availability. This was twice the price and a very similar room! The bathrooms in both were almost identical - v small but functional and plastic. The rooms in both were also quite load due to thin walls. But, with eye-patch and earplugs, I slept brilliantly.
Location was also brilliant, being 5 mins from the main station for good bus routes, subway and trains. Would use again, for sure. Also, met some really nice guests there - very friendly atmosphere that we did not get at the ryokan or would do at a hotel
I booked a single room in a 6 bed female dormitory. Upon check in, the staff was very welcoming. I got a great surprise when I came to the room. All the beds had space besides then including hangers and a little table. Furthermore, privacy was ensured with a curtain. Defiantly a place I would recommend for other single travelers. Location is just perfect, 5 minutes walk from the station. One of my days in Kyoto I rented a bike from the hostel for only 500yen. Half the price of the remaining city.
This hostel is lovely. We had a private room which was great, although a little cramped with all our bags...but everything is quite small in Japan! Always clean and everyone is very respectful of travellers there. Only a 5 minute walk from the main train station, navigating around here is very easy. The staff were very friendly and offered help when asked. Kyoto is an amazing place, would definately reccommend staying here.
I had stayed at Hana Hostel in Hiroshima 2 years ago so decided to book the sister hostel in Kyoto this return journey. I booked online for 4 of us, five nights...one twin room and one double room both with ensuite. The rooms were both of a good size, airconditioned and serviced daily. We used the kitchen once for cooking but the two other times we purchased food and sat in the kitchen to eat. We met with some nice guests from other countries as well as Japanese guests and relaxed in the common area with the tv, magazines and free computers. The location is extremely good as it is a short walk from Kyoto railway station, the Cube, Porta, Yodobashi, Lawsons and restaurants. We purchased food from the Basement of Cube and had a feast back at the hostel.There was a fridge in the kitchen for your food but also one on the 3rd floor outside our room that we could use as well. The only negative was carrying our luggage upstairs to our rooms as there is no lift. We left Kyoto Hana Hostel for Hiroshima and stayed at Hana hostel there. One noticable difference was the extensive variety of free condiments in the kitchen in Hiroshima compared to Kyoto (we had to purchase some ingredients for our cooking in Kyoto, where Hiroshima had the same condiments readily available) Even so we would definitely return to Kyoto Hana Hostel to stay again as the location is the best and the staff were all really friendly and ready to greet us on our return at the end of each day. I hope they liked the chocolates I left them!!
