Rihga Royal Kyoto

“Great hotel, pool, fab location and staff”

Great hotel, quiet and with a pool and gym (although the pool hours are quiet limited). We stayed in a Luxury Twin Room and it was fantastic - really large with an amazing bathroom that had an enormous bath, rain head shower and separate toilet. The airconditioning was great which was handy as... more

Great hotel, quiet and with a pool and gym (although the pool hours are quiet limited). We stayed in a Luxury Twin Room and it was fantastic - really large with an amazing bathroom that had an enormous bath, rain head shower and separate toilet. The airconditioning was great which was handy as there was a heatwave when we were there so it was lovely coming back to a cool room. The room had all the usual features - good size fridge, with free water, a kettle, mugs, iron, hairdryer, robes and slippers. The complimentary shampoo, conditioner and soap was Laura Ashely and lovely. There was also a coffee machine and a tea pot with some beautiful teas. The only drawback of the room was a polyester quilt cover, which was so slippery, the quilt was not able to stay in place. The hotel has ice and water machines, really lovely staff who all speak English very well, and a number of shops. While the hotel was only 5 minutes walk from the train station, they have a free shuttle to and from which was great in the hot weather - with enough room to get your luggage on when travelling by train. As is the case pretty much anywhere in Japan, there were a number of convenience stores within walking distance. The pool was clean but busy (heatwave so not too surprising) although it was one with very limited hours. There was also a large spa and a sauna available in the pool area. The bathroom off the pool has a bather dryer, showers, and a good set up with cleansers, hairdryers etc. We had the breakfast at the revolving restaurant on our last say and it was fantastic - there was a map of where the produce had come from served with the food.

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“Good hotel!”

Good hotel! Breakfast was average and a bit chaotic but if you went earlier it was better. The rooms were a bit dated but had everything we needed. The duvet however kept slipping out the cover in the night and the air on was rather annoying as it was always really hot or really cold in the room ... more

Good hotel! Breakfast was average and a bit chaotic but if you went earlier it was better. The rooms were a bit dated but had everything we needed. The duvet however kept slipping out the cover in the night and the air on was rather annoying as it was always really hot or really cold in the room even if we changed the temperature by one degree. Staff were friendly and there was an efficient bus shuttle to the station every 15 minutes Pool was nice but we went on a rainy day so we had to wait 15 mins before being allowed in and it was a bit loud but we went on a dryer day and it was much nicer with no wait!

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“Mixed feelings...”

Typical large bland corporate hotel (i.e., not a lot of charm). Pluses: beds were comfortable and the air conditioning worked (they fixed the phone and brought more pillows promptly). Minus: nowhere to get coffee or a Diet Coke in the hotel proper (unless you sit down at the bar or one of the... more

Typical large bland corporate hotel (i.e., not a lot of charm). Pluses: beds were comfortable and the air conditioning worked (they fixed the phone and brought more pillows promptly). Minus: nowhere to get coffee or a Diet Coke in the hotel proper (unless you sit down at the bar or one of the restaurants), and there's nowhere within several blocks to get them either. The much lauded breakfast buffet was a bust: way too crowded and picked over, and, typical for these types of busy hotels, there's one guy making omelets and a persistently long line. Note that the walk from the train station is relatively short, but not without hurdles (twists and turns and a few sets of stairs). They offer a shuttle from/to the train station but it stops running at something like 7 pm, and when it runs it is ALWAYS packed. They claim to have a pool but it either closes too early or opens too late...never got to see it. Also, there seems to always be a line at the front desk. With that said, the staff is pleasant. The concierge is particularly good. With those limitation, if you want to be close to the train station, go for it.

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“Spacious rooms”

Room was spacious and clean. The pictures provided by the travel agent didn’t resemble the room we got. Our room was a little tired and the photos show a more modern take so we were a little disappointed but it gave us everything we needed. The room does need modernising and we would have welcome... more

Room was spacious and clean. The pictures provided by the travel agent didn’t resemble the room we got. Our room was a little tired and the photos show a more modern take so we were a little disappointed but it gave us everything we needed. The room does need modernising and we would have welcomed some comfortable chairs/sofa to sit on after a long day out. There was a vending machine and ice machine which was useful. Air con automatically switched off through the night and I had to keep getting up to switch back on as it was so hot. The hotel is on the edge of the main areas of Kyoto and not the best for easy access to the Amon hotspots. I would probably stay at a more central hotel if returning.

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