Ana Crowne Plaza Kyoto, An Ihg Hotel

“Hotel being updated... give it a chance!”

This hotel is in the process of updating their rooms - and at check-in, they made a point of letting us know... which is why we didn't have a room facing Nijo Castle. Rooms are small which is OK for a short stay. Everything worked well and bathrooms were very good size. Public areas - lobby, resta… more

This hotel is in the process of updating their rooms - and at check-in, they made a point of letting us know... which is why we didn't have a room facing Nijo Castle. Rooms are small which is OK for a short stay. Everything worked well and bathrooms were very good size. Public areas - lobby, restaurants, etc. were what you would expect from a hotel that seems to cater to business and weddings. Staff were very helpful at every level but sometimes took a few repeats to understand on both sides of the question. A few things to point out: 1. Breakfast - if your room rate includes breakfast, it looks fantastic. But at $25/per person, much more than I would ever eat in the morning. When asked if there was anywhere I could just get coffee and toast - they said no - only buffet. So if you want to get a coffee and something light, you have to walk a few blocks to a 7/11 or Family Mart. This seems very odd for a hotel of this level. 2. Location - Across from Nijo Castle which is great. Metro line at the corner, although you may have to transfer to get around. Kyoto is actually very 'spread out' so no hotel will be near everything. Taxis were easy to use and reasonable considering the distances. 3. Hotel Shuttle is great - free service to/from Kyoto Station. If you are arriving by train, check the schedule and especially where you need to meet - it's on the opposite side of the station from the tour busses.... look for Shuttle Buss stop. 4. Restaurants: At the hotel they are expensive, but very good. We arrived just as all restaurants were closing, but they accommodated us and the food was excellent. There are restaurants on the main street, but hours may be limited. Most have 'order by machine' with English as an option, so its not as intimidating as it seems - although some items may be different than you imagined in the photo... but that's part of the experience. Staff were always helpful and sometimes amused. Overall, very good for a few nights in the renovated rooms and although it may seem remote for many sights, when you get oriented, its actually a very convenient location - especially with the shuttle service.

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“Unpleasant encounter at check in”

I arrived at the hotel at 2.20 pm and told the Japanese lady I have a booking, she told me the check in time is 3 pm abruptly with in unfriendly manner or rather angry. I told her I just wanted to know what sort of room I was going to have and showed her a photo of a very rundown room from travelle… more

I arrived at the hotel at 2.20 pm and told the Japanese lady I have a booking, she told me the check in time is 3 pm abruptly with in unfriendly manner or rather angry. I told her I just wanted to know what sort of room I was going to have and showed her a photo of a very rundown room from travellers’ photos online, she said that was what I would get. I told her that in this case I wanted to modify my booking to have a better room or cancel my booking. She said you can’t do that, then I told her I had an email from the hotel that I could do that. She said “show me the email”. When I showed her the email, she said that is wrong and the older man came in had a look and he apologised. It is a step down coming from Groove Hotel, Shinjuku, a Parkroyal hotel, after 10 nights staying there. Everything was 5 stars. From then onwards the older guy took over the booking and he was quite pleasant. I wish the hotel had a CCTV for the management to see how a staff member treated the guest. I have stayed in many Crown Plaza hotels around the world like Singapore, KL, Auckland, New York City, London, Chicago and Seattle and have never experienced a rude, unfriendly, arrogant receptionist like her. I have been in hospitality for more than 20 years. Subsequent to this we stayed at the ANA Crown Plaza Hotel in Hiroshima and no problems modifying my booking from 3 nights to 2 nights when I check in with a very pleasant young man. At Kyoto Crown Plaza Dennis, the bell captain, was alert, friendly, helpful and knowledgeable and seemed to be indispensable to the smooth operation of all the guests checking in and out.

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