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Reviews of Ark Hotel Kyoto

3 out of 5
Ark Hotel Kyoto
1 Goshocho, Mibukayou, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto

Reviews

7.8

Good

Rating 10 - Excellent. 182 out of 814 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 400 out of 814 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 190 out of 814 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 33 out of 814 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 9 out of 814 reviews" "

7.8/10

Cleanliness

7.8/10

Staff & service

8.0/10

Amenities

7.4/10

Property conditions & facilities

8.4/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

8/10 Good

Marc

Stayed 1 night in Feb 2020

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Good location hotel..
It's a small and simple hotel but location is good. A lot of restaurants nearby and there's a money changer machine and MUFG ATM machines next to arashiyama line. Important is this money changer machine provides good rate for foreign currencies compare to other bank machines. Room size is not big but the twin room for two persons sharing is still quite OK to me. I choose the twin room without cleaning services but they will still provide you new clean towels everyday. This hotel has coin operated washing machines and dryers therefore it's convenient for those people have a need to wash their clothes. The front desk staffs are helpful and friendly. They help us to call taxi to Kyoto station. We took taxi to Kyoto station because we have four big luggages. Those people who travel with light, they can take the hanyu omiya station to Kyoto station. It's convenient because the station is just nearby the hotel. There's a two mins walk Mcdonald near the hotel and less than one min walk family mart near the hotel. Drug store is nearby the hotel too. I will choose this hotel again if I come to visit Kyoto.
Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2020

6/10 Okay

Verified traveler

Disliked: Amenities, property conditions & facilities
Wifi can’t use internet and price is charge from app
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2020

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
A very nice place! I like the breakfast! Clean rooms
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2019

4/10 Poor

SIU YIN

Traveled with family
Disliked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2019

6/10 Okay

Verified traveler

Liked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
a bit far from the sites. the room was small by American standards, but maybe normal for Japan. Unfortunately I was put into a smoking room which made the stay worse.
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2019

4/10 Poor

Johna

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness
The room smelt like smoke n was very dated. The staff was very nice n helpful. The breakfast was greay.
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Traveled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
All we like
Stayed 4 nights in Mar 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Liked: Staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2019

6/10 Okay

Arturo, London

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Disliked: Room comfort
Decent location with access to underground, albeit not the main lines. Rooms are extremely clean but lacking on some basics like enough plugs for 2 people to charge phones & tablet/laptop. Beds are very hard and there is no AC.
Stayed 3 nights in Nov 2018

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2018

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
the hotel is nice and the staff is very generous and polite.
Stayed 3 nights in Jul 2018

10/10 Excellent

Ricardo

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Awesome bathroom. I love the fabric fabreeze in the room for guests... after hustling around town and building up a sweat it’s helps keep the suitcase smells at a minimum! Only issue was kind of weak air conditioner
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2018

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 3 nights in Jul 2018

8/10 Good

Corazon

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
One night in Kyoto 😊
Centrally located, close to everything, clean facilities. We only stayed for a night but it was a good experience.. thanks!

10/10 Excellent

Clarence

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Hotel is not that far from Kyoto station. Room is big, nice and clean. Close to bus stop, metro train and convinient stores.

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Disliked: Room comfort
Nice place but not perfect!
Pros: - Very nice staff. Room was clean and nice. - Great location. Bus stations are right in front of the hotel. You can buy bus day-passes from the hotel and you can just hop on/off the buses to get to most attractions in Kyoto within 10' ride. If you don't like the bus, walking to Gion and Pochonto is only 20'. Cons: - There's no AC in the room. Only heating. We had to open the window to let the cool air in.

8/10 Good

yang

Liked: Cleanliness

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Clean, small, comfortable...economical.
If you are looking for a a place to comfortably spend the night after a full day of local touring, this could be a good place for you. A good place for me to take my teenage son and a father-son trip, but not probably where I would go with my wife for a romantic getaway. We explored all day, took a shower, crashed, got up and repeated!
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2018

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Not bad, just average
Thin walls allow you to listen to babies crying or people talking in the rooms nextdoor.
Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2018

8/10 Good

SIEW MUI

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 3 nights in Aug 2017

8/10 Good

Ian

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 4 nights in Aug 2017

10/10 Excellent

SIU PING

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Improvement suggested
Poor air conditioning.
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2017

6/10 Okay

Lee, Australia

Very poor internet wifi, stopped working and staff said it was due to heavy usage, worked for 30 minutes next morning then stopped again.

6/10 Okay

Verified traveler

Disliked: Room comfort
Average hotel close to Omiya subway station
Pleased with location - 1 min walk to Omiya subway station (easy connection to Kyoto station (one change at Karasuma) and two stops from the Gion area). 2 min walk to Shijo-Omiya overground station (direct train to Arashiyama). The staff were fine but their English wasn't great. We didn't use the hotel facilities much or have breakfast there. Instead, we bought food for 10% of the price at the Family Mart almost next door to the hotel. We opted for the eco-room (cheaper if you agree to not have your room served during your stay, which was fine for us as we were only there three nights). Room was larger than average for Japan. Bathroom was tiny (but this is normal for Japan) and the shower pressure and temperature was good. There was a fridge, a hairdryer and a useful cord extension. Lots of power sockets. No English channels on the TV. Have marked 'room comfort' as 2 (disappointing) because of the overwhelming heat (on overcast days in April!). We turned on the button marked 'air con' and it just pumped out hot air. It was almost unbearable. When we spoke to reception, in broken English they told us to open the window, which we had tried, several times, but it seemed glued shut (perhaps because we were on a floor quite high up). We ended up leaving the bedroom door open for as long as possible before going to sleep each night but it was still uncomfortable and we woke up drenched in sweat. Price was very good though for blossom season. Hopefully this was just an anomaly room.

2/10 Terrible

GSA, Sydney, Australia

Disliked: Property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great hotel for smokers
The staff were the nicest thing about this hotel. The room we had was a non-smoking room but that made little difference as the hallway was incredibly smoky and the air-conditioner pushed smoky smelling air around everywhere. Our initial room smelled so bad it was unbearable, staff did move us to something slightly better. The rooms are tiny, but I understand that's common in Japan and we were prepared for that. However there were signs warning that the bathroom door had to remain closed while you were in there as the fire alarm went off otherwise. There was no extractor fan in the bathroom (just a small vent) so all in all that wasn't the best experience either. The bed was very uncomfortable. I feel bad saying this as staff were pleasant and I want to be able to be positive but this was the worst place we stayed on our trip through Japan. I highly recommend you stay somewhere else.

6/10 Okay

Sarah, Tokyo

Convenient, cheap stay
Close to station, but not JR line, loads of cafes and shops and easy access to central Kyoto

6/10 Okay

Verified traveler

Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Hotel location was good (right on the street that crosses to Gion) and was close to public transportation. However the hotel is a little run down and our room smelled musty when we walked in. There were also small bits of paper in the entryway, making us wonder if the floor had been vacuumed. Perfectly fine for one night's stay, but wouldn't do longer.

10/10 Excellent

Timothy

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great.

4/10 Poor

Robert Macmillan

Disliked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

8/10 Good

evelyne

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
convenient location and nice helpful staff
even though the rooms are pretty small we enjoyed the location and helpful staff at the reception

8/10 Good

Alison

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Small but clean
Centrally located. Very small room that was over heated but very clean and nice decor.

6/10 Okay

sandra

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Rooms smelled of smoke
All the rooms had a smoky smell, and all the non-smoking rooms were sold out. They had air deodorizer sprays in the room, but we ended up using the entire bottle and still not much help. However, after we realized that turning the AC on high for awhile the odor will eventually fade and it was much better.

10/10 Excellent

Judy, Taiwan

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Super convenient spot for travellers
Super convenient spot for travellers. Great transportation to various railways and bus stops in Kyoto. Got everything you need in the neighbourhood. Will definitely recomend to family and friends, as well as our next visit. Thank you for your great service.

8/10 Good

Olcay

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

6/10 Okay

Amanda, Quincy, MA

Small rooms but convenient to subways
Hotel is located near 2 subway lines, a few stops away from the busy downtown. Room was small, but fine if you're not spending much time in it. Staff helpful with directions to sights. One room was fairly clean, second room we stayed in had some stains on the comforter, but everything else was clean. Complimentary slippers were very nice. Huge breakfast buffet (mostly Japanese food). They sell a card to watch unlimited movies and there are directions to buy the card in English but all are dubbed in Japanese.

8/10 Good

Ashraf, New Zealand

Liked: Room comfort
good in general
The hotel was good in general. The romm was nice and tidy. Looks also clean. Wifi is a bit slow and stops sometime but was ok..close to shops and resturants and a walking distance from a busy shopping area. Staff were great and helpful. The only thing that I can say about it is that they are not very generous with amenities and coffee. They dont add new everyday. You have to ask to get. Ovrall, I think my stay was good.

6/10 Okay

mary

Liked: Staff & service
good
a pleasant stay and very convenient location.

8/10 Good

Russell

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

6/10 Okay

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Good hotel and convenient
Very near to train station and there were a few good places for supper

6/10 Okay

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Affordable hotel close by bus to Kyoto Station
Room more spacious than I would have expected. Would have liked an in room safe. Elevator doors close on you very quickly. Great to have laundry machines off of lobby. Take bus # 206 to and from station. Breakfast not included on our rate but Family Mart right next doors does the trick. ATM in Family Mart English facilitated as well. Nearby eateries limited.

8/10 Good

John, Annandale, Virginia USA

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Urban location
Ark Hotel Kyoto. A modern room with acceptable amenities. Room had 2 twin beds that essentially filled the room. There was a nice desk with room to spread out and held the TV. Check in was painless. Train noise outside was no problem on the 8th floor. Refrigerator and hot water pot was provided. Hotel was a bit too far from Kyoto main station, we spent 1070Y for taxi departing. Location was close to 2 Franklin's that gave us access to different parts of the city. There were plenty of places near by to eat. We were turned away from one near by place that advertised 80Y per piece. We opened the door and the man behind the counter yelled "no seats, no seats". There were clearly empty tables and 2 empty seats at the bar so we turned and left.

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Nice hotel resonanble prices
reasonable price considering it was national holiday.

10/10 Excellent

W.T., Bangkok

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Good and quiet location
Everything was fine except the check in time that it has to be from 3 pm. onwards. The female receptionist (not the young one) didn't even bother to check if there was room available for us before 3 pm. She just told us to come back again after 3 and I think it was a bit ridiculous.

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Cherry Blossoms - a busy time for Kyoto
A hotel with good access to the Kyoto subway system.

8/10 Good

Rachel, O

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Ark Hotel, Kyoto
Clean, tidy hotel. Friendly, helpful staff. Reasonable amount of English language. Small rooms and bed though (similar to all of our Japan accomodation however).

2/10 Terrible

Tanya

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities, room comfort

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
A cozy business hotel
A cozy business hotel close to shijo-omiya and omiya station. Only 2 stops away from Gion which was great. No heated toilet seats in the room we had, bummer. Not sure if any of the others has them. Hotel staff are pretty friendly.

6/10 Okay

Verified traveler

6/10 Okay

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness