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  5. Reviews of Kyoto Universal Hotel Karasuma

Reviews of Kyoto Universal Hotel Karasuma 3 stars

601-8044 Kyoto, Kyoto, Minami-ku Higashikujo Aketacho 26, Japan

#607 of 627 hotels in Kyoto

Guests' Choice

Review score

Based on 25 hotel reviews

6.6

Score breakdown

  • Cleanliness

    7.2

  • Comfort

    7.1

  • Location

    6.6

  • Facilities

    6.7

  • Staff

    7.5

  • Value for money

    7.5

  • Free WiFi

    6.3

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Showing 1 – 25

  • Reviewed: 20 May 2024

    6.0
    For a few days its ok ss far as you dont need help or internet
    • Leisure trip
    • Solo traveller
    • Single Room 2 - Non-Smoking
    • Stayed 6 nights
    • Submitted via mobile

    Rooms smell like tobacco even the non smoker room, staff didnt speak a lot of english, they never responded the messages and they didnt help me to send my luggage to the airport using Yamato. Not very helpful. The internet was horrible. I couldn’t use it because it wouldn’t open a website.

    The room was ok and the bed was comfy

    Stayed in May 2024

  • Reviewed: 5 April 2024

    7.0
    Good
    • Leisure trip
    • Family with young children
    • Twin Room 1 - Smoking
    • Stayed 2 nights
    • Submitted via mobile

    Small room as expected in Japan. Not the best location for metro for tourism. Small bathroom

    Food included in the price Staff was friendly. Room was clean.

    Stayed in March 2024

  • Reviewed: 26 March 2024

    6.0
    Ok-ish for a semi-short stay if you plan to leave the hostel and visit the city everyday.
    • Leisure trip
    • Solo traveller
    • Single Room 1 - Non-Smoking
    • Stayed 4 nights

    The hostel is only (as far as I've seen) made of individual rooms (there's like 650+ individual rooms in the whole building). The conception of the hostel is not really great because each room is connected to the rest of the hostel via a weird semi-exterior space where it can be very cold (depending on the season of course). Rooms are very small (especially the bathroom where my knees would touch the wall every time I sat on the toilets). The audio and thermic isolation are really bad (you hear everything on the street below as if the window was always opened) especially considering that rooms only get electricity (and heat) when the key is inserted in a thing in the wall (it's a good thing for environment but a little annoying in usage terms. It also means you cannot leave a device to charge while you leave the room). There was supposed to be a public bath but it is closed indefinitely because of "covid, the war in Ukraine, and the lack of personnel". It has the worst wifi I've seen in Japan and one of the worst wifi I've seen in my life (I'm excluding the ones that plain don't work).

    There's a private bathroom per room which is relatively unusual in Japan. You can have a daily room service if you request it and this is vers good. There also is a light switch accessible from the bed. The geographical situation of the hostel is ok-ish (you have to walk 10mn to reach the first train or bus station). Also there is a Lawson literally next to the hostel which is very appreciable.

    Stayed in March 2024

  • Reviewed: 22 March 2024

    8.0
    A great stay!
    • Leisure trip
    • Solo traveller
    • Single Room 2 - Non-Smoking
    • Stayed 1 night
    • Submitted via mobile

    There was a draft from the window, I did not query this with staff however. Because of the draft it was colder and the thicker blanket wasn't large enough for myself, again I did not speak to staff to see if I could've gotten a bigger one.

    Very clean, breakfast and lunch provided.

    Stayed in March 2024

  • Reviewed: 3 March 2024

    6.0
    It was good
    • Leisure trip
    • People with friends
    • Twin Room 1 - Non-Smoking
    • Stayed 3 nights
    • Submitted via mobile

    The menu for breakfast and dinner was same everyday so after 2 days you can't eat it. It has open balcony so in winter if you want to go downstairs you have to wear warm clothes.

    The good thing is it is very close to the Kyoto station.

    Stayed in February 2024

  • Reviewed: 20 May 2024

    10
    Bath
    • Leisure trip
    • Solo traveller
    • Single Room 2 - Non-Smoking
    • Stayed 3 nights
    • Submitted via mobile

    I got single room with bathroom with bath. Nice bed and sofa Plus free breakfast and dinner

    Stayed in April 2024

  • Reviewed: 25 April 2024

    10
    Highly recommended
    • Leisure trip
    • Solo traveller
    • Single Room 1 - Non-Smoking
    • Stayed 3 nights

    Clean and quite big room. Nice buffet for dinner and breakfast Reasonable accommodation

    Stayed in April 2024

  • Reviewed: 6 April 2024

    1.0
    Very poor
    • Leisure trip
    • Solo traveller
    • Single Room 3 - Non-Smoking
    • Stayed 4 nights
    • Submitted via mobile

    1. Location Far from the station, no buses from the station to the hotel. Far from everything. 2. Stuff Rude, ignorant. Noone speaks English. 3. Food Absolutely awful! I had indigestion after the so called dinner in this hotel. This "dinner" contained some vegetables, definitely not fresh, in some sort of marinade or something. I didn't risk eating there any more after that. Meal was included. That means I prepaid it and it was so bad that it was not reasonable to eat it. 4. The building itself They show photos of the lobby but the floors look like a dirty pit!! While cleaning it looks like laundry, the leanen and rubbish in all corridors! 5. The room Very small Windows are blurry and don't open!! That means you've got absolutely NO view from the window!! The bad is very firm. 6. Other facilities No English manual to the conditioner, all buttons are in Japanese. Wifi was rather poor. They couldn't provide me even with an adapter to Japanese electric socket which is an ordinary thing in other hotels. Nothing was good. I don't recommend this place to anyone!

    Nothing

    Stayed in April 2024

  • Reviewed: 6 April 2024

    4.0
    Disappointing
    • Leisure trip
    • Solo traveller
    • Single Room 4 - Non-Smoking
    • Stayed 5 nights
    • Submitted via mobile

    Internet is the worst I have found in Japan, including very remote areas like Usuki The onsen was also closed to the public and has been for over a month

    Meals are free

    Stayed in April 2024

  • Reviewed: 30 December 2023

    10
    It was a excellent experience 🤗🤗
    • Business trip
    • Solo traveller
    • Single Room 2 - Non-Smoking
    • Stayed 2 nights
    • Submitted via mobile

    There was nothing.

    The Hotel gave a excellent services , breakfast and dinner were so good and staff were so friendly.

    Stayed in December 2023

  • Reviewed: 20 December 2023

    9.0
    flawless stay and easy connectivity
    • Business trip
    • Solo traveller
    • Single Room 2 - Non-Smoking
    • Stayed 6 nights

    food was excellent.

    Easy access and great value for money. It was a very fine stay with breakfast and dinner.

    Stayed in December 2023

  • Reviewed: 10 December 2023

    1.0
    Very poor
    • Leisure trip
    • Family with young children
    • Single Room 2 - Smoking
    • Stayed 3 nights
    • Submitted via mobile

    I have booked for me and my 4 yo daughter, which was meant to be for free. In the begging they said that meals were included only for me and she has to wait outside (unbelievable) then they charged for her breakfast and dinner ( very poor meals). Not only that, Sharing the bed with her I would have expected two pillows. There was only one, I have asked for and extra one, the manager has stately refused, even after saying that I would pay for it. I would not recommend to anyone.

    There was nothing that we enjoyed

    Stayed in December 2023

  • Reviewed: 5 November 2023

    1.0
    Very poor
    • Leisure trip
    • Family with young children
    • Single Room 1 - Smoking
    • Stayed 1 night
    • Submitted via mobile

    The room was dirty, stank like cigarettes, and very poorly kept.

    The rooms had nice doors, lobby was nice

    Stayed in November 2023

  • Reviewed: 10 October 2023

    2.0
    Disappointing and expensive
    • Leisure trip
    • Family with young children
    • Twin Room 3 - Smoking
    • Stayed 4 nights
    • Submitted via mobile

    Their wifi was terrible! Barely useable from our room. It is super slow and drops out half the time. Slightly better at the breakfast room. It was 140€ a night. Breakfast and dinner are included, but dinner only had meat options. The blankets were half plastic half down and pretty gross. There were lots of stains on them. The cleaner came once during our 4 day visit and didn't change the dirty blankets. The room was very small and dingy.

    Staff were lovely. Breakfast was good too. We didn't try dinner. They changed us to a non-smoking room.

    Stayed in October 2023

  • Reviewed: 21 April 2024

    7.0
    Good
    • Business trip
    • Family with young children
    • Single Room 3 - Non-Smoking
    • Stayed 2 nights
    • Submitted via mobile

    There are no comments available for this review

    Stayed in April 2024

  • Reviewed: 3 April 2024

    7.0
    Good
    • Leisure trip
    • Solo traveller
    • Single Room 4 - Non-Smoking
    • Stayed 2 nights
    • Submitted via mobile

    There are no comments available for this review

    Stayed in March 2024

  • Reviewed: 27 March 2024

    6.0
    Pleasant
    • Business trip
    • Solo traveller
    • Single Room 1 - Non-Smoking
    • Stayed 2 nights
    • Submitted via mobile

    There are no comments available for this review

    Stayed in March 2024

  • Reviewed: 29 February 2024

    8.0
    Very good
    • Leisure trip
    • Solo traveller
    • Single Room 1 - Non-Smoking
    • Stayed 1 night
    • Submitted via mobile

    There are no comments available for this review

    Stayed in February 2024

  • Reviewed: 25 February 2024

    7.0
    Good
    • Business trip
    • Solo traveller
    • Single Room 1 - Non-Smoking
    • Stayed 2 nights
    • Submitted via mobile

    There are no comments available for this review

    Stayed in February 2024

  • Reviewed: 4 January 2024

    8.0
    Very good
    • Business trip
    • Solo traveller
    • Single Room 1 - Room Only - Non-Smoking
    • Stayed 1 night
    • Submitted via mobile

    There are no comments available for this review

    Stayed in January 2024

  • Reviewed: 13 November 2023

    7.0
    Good
    • Business trip
    • Solo traveller
    • Single Room 3 - Non-Smoking
    • Stayed 2 nights
    • Submitted via mobile

    There are no comments available for this review

    Stayed in November 2023

  • Reviewed: 10 May 2024

    10
    Exceptional
    • Leisure trip
    • Solo traveller
    • Single Room 1 - Room Only - Non-Smoking
    • Stayed 1 night
    • Submitted via mobile

    There are no comments available for this review

    Stayed in May 2024

  • Reviewed: 6 May 2024

    5.0
    Passable
    • Leisure trip
    • Solo traveller
    • Single Room 1 - Room Only - Non-Smoking
    • Stayed 1 night
    • Submitted via mobile

    There are no comments available for this review

    Stayed in May 2024

  • Reviewed: 15 October 2023

    9.0
    Superb
    • Leisure trip
    • Solo traveller
    • Single Room 1 - Non-Smoking
    • Stayed 3 nights
    • Submitted via mobile

    There are no comments available for this review

    Stayed in October 2023

Showing 1 – 25

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