Ace Hotel Kyoto

Absolutely excellent stay at the wonderful Ace Hotel Kyoto. Location is perfect, rooms are very comfortable and well-equipped, and staff is just amazing. The team went above and beyond to make sure my time in Kyoto was perfect. I can’t wait to return the next time I’m in Kyoto. Pro-tip: check out the amazing “omiyage” shop in the lobby reception area. Some super cool collaboration items, include excellent made in Japan options.

Friendly staff at check in. Was very good at following up to confirm destination hotel as we forwarded our luggage. There is no concierge desk but the people at the lobby were helpful. Good size room. Decent toiletries. Convenient to the subway and convenience stores. Short walk to shopping area. Not enough seats in the lobby. It was always full. Not sure if they were all hotel guests as appears to be more locals using it. Felt like a Starbucks.

Loved this hotel! Location was ideal, right next to the train station. Room was adorable. Very comfortable bed, conveniently set up bathroom. A thermostat I could finally understand and easily adjust. Multiple coffee shops near by and on site. Multiple restaurant options on site. The taco shop was sooo good. The included breakfast was probably one of the top 3 breakfasts I’ve ever had at a hotel. Finally, the staff was so kind!

Our stay at the Ace Hotel Kyoto had some notable positives but ultimately left us with mixed feelings. The best aspect for us was the hotel’s direct access to the train station, allowing us to come and go without ever stepping outside or dealing with the weather — a huge convenience. Additionally, the hotel is connected to a small shopping center, and walking distance to convenience stores. The rooms themselves were nice and fairly spacious, equipped with toiletries, and featured some unique touches like a record player (which we didn’t end up using). However, we found the beds to be quite hard and the pillow too flat, which affected our comfort. The lobby area was a bit disappointing. Seating was limited, and the long work table was always crowded with what appeared to be non-guests working on their laptops, creating a rather loud and distracting environment. As for the staff, they were polite but didn’t come across as particularly gracious, friendly, or helpful. Their attire seemed sloppy and did not reflect the quality we expected from a hotel of this standing. Overall, the hotel seemed to be focusing more on projecting a trendy image than on delivering genuine hospitality and attentive service. While the location and room quality were decent, the overall experience fell short of our expectations. We will likely choose a different hotel on our next visit to Kyoto.

This was our second stay at Ace Hotel Kyoto, having first visited last February, and that alone probably says a lot. We returned because the hotel made us feel genuinely at home the first time — something we value more than novelty when travelling. The rooms are spacious by Kyoto standards and feel more like a well-designed apartment than a conventional hotel room. Storage is excellent, with plenty of space for suitcases, drawers for clothes, and a sensible layout that actually works for a longer stay. Lighting options are particularly good, the air conditioning is easy to use and effective, and the hotel is impressively quiet — no street noise, no disturbance from other guests. Sleep quality was excellent overall. The bed was comfortable with top-notch linen, though the pillows were very soft and downy (a little too flat for our taste). We asked for an extra pillow and it was provided without fuss. The bathroom deserves special mention — the shower and toilet facilities are so good you’ll wish you had them at home. If there’s one small compromise in the otherwise generous room design, it’s furniture. For a room this size, a second chair would be very welcome, especially for couples. It’s a minor point, but noticeable. The hotel’s location is excellent: central, calm, and feeling very safe. Taxis are easy to get and it’s a great base for exploring Kyoto without feeling overwhelmed by crowds when you return. Service throughout our stay was attentive and charming, particularly at breakfast, in the restaurants, and at the front desk. Staff strike a lovely balance between being helpful and letting guests get on with things. Fellow guests tend to keep themselves to themselves, which adds to the relaxed atmosphere. There’s good food and coffee on site, including Stumptown Coffee and the hotel’s Italian restaurant, which adds convenience without making you feel trapped into dining in. Our main wish is that the hotel offered more dedicated spaces for guests to lounge, relax and read. Given how much space the building has, it feels like a missed opportunity. The lobby is often busy and noisy, and other areas are sometimes roped off, which limits places to simply sit and unwind without activity around you. That said, this is still a very comfortable, thoughtfully designed hotel that we’d happily return to again. We’d particularly recommend it to first-time visitors to Kyoto and couples without children who want somewhere stylish, calm and genuinely easy to live in.