The Junei Hotel Kyoto Imperial Palace West

We stayed in early July at the Junei Hotel Kyoto Imperial Palace West for two nights in a Deluxe Twin Room. We found the hotel to be in a good location for our literary, as we used taxis or the bus stop several minutes’ walk away on the main road. The bus stop is located at a ***** of restaurants, convenience store and laundromat. This is a small boutique two story hotel just inside an alleyway type street. The exterior entrance and lobby are inviting with the traditional wooden structure and lattice, lit with warm lantern lighting, especially when returning from an excursion. The staff were always very friendly, helpful and welcoming. We found the room to be very spacious, and the décor aesthetically pleasing. The raised tatami mat area with low table, is not only functional for eating and sleeping (there are two beds and I used the roll out mattress from the cupboard on the mats) but this area fused traditional with modern. There is a separate toilet located inside the door. The bathroom contains a shower and a large free standing bath adjacent to a balcony window containing a small bonsai type garden. This was a relaxing place to soak and unwind as the heated recirculating water burbled back into the bath, and light filtered in through the window and garden. The speakers in the bathroom complemented the scene with soothing tranquil music and nature sounds. In fact it was so good, we played this often via the room speakers too. A separate basin area outside the bathroom provides access to the balcony. It’s small, but I enjoyed standing out there when eating my BYO breakfast. We stayed at bigger brand hotels in the other cities, but we enjoyed the Junei Hotel Kyoto Imperial Palace West the most, and we plan to stay here again on our next visit to Japan. Tip: Make sure if giving a taxi driver the hotel name that you state “The Junei Hotel Kyoto Imperial Palace West’ as there is another hotel similarly named “The Junei Hotel Kyoto”, but further out.

The staffs are extremely friendly and helpful providing us the map of amenities nearby and even gave us a detailed explanation of how to use the different functions and details of our room. I noticed the hotel has no lifts, so going up and down might be a challenge for disabled person. You might want to notify the hotel in advance for a room on the ground floor. Room is really huge for two person. Large sitting area, a huge bathroom and just lots of space. The room comes soft music and a separate music for the bath. Totally zen feeling. The only downside is the location - the nearest train station is a 15mins walk away but at the same time I love the quiet neighborhood away from all the tourist and crowd. I would recommend taking a bus to visit all the popular attractions since Kyoto is not as well connected via the train compared to Osaka or Tokyo. The bus stop is a short 3-4mins walk away. Bus 12 brings you to the downtown Shijo area (20mins ride). The nearest FamilyMart/convenience store is 4mins walk if you wanted to grab snacks or drinks.

Small but nice hotel. Our room was clean and large with tatami area. The bathroom was very nice. Service was great. Only was a bit out of the way to many of the sights we wanted to see but close to the Imperial palace which we walked to. Easy to catch taxis about 100 feet away.

Amazing luxurious stay! Premium, clean and comfortable at a reasonable rate. The hotel staff was extremely attentive and helpful. Rooms were big and had a great atmosphere with the tatami area, built-in speakers with ambient music, and of course the relaxing bath! 10/10