IMU Hotel Kyoto

A stunning hotel that we could not fault in any way. The room was amazingly modern and clean, and well furnished. The hotel was very well positioned only a few minute walk from Shijo metro station with direct access to Kyoto Station only two stops away. There was a cute bar in the lobby which also offered limited but very lovely food. The staff seemed to take pride in their hotel and their service was impeccable, nothing was too much to ask and they always offered kind greetings. We stayed one night when Japan were playing in the Rugby World Cup and we wanted to watch the game at a local bar. They gave some recommendations and then rang up the one we chose to ask for their availability and told us how it would work for a big event from information on the phone. This was invaluable and we went to the bar to watch the game which turned into one of our three week Japan highlights! Breakfast was unique but lovely and everything was served quickly from a choice of four options. Kyoto is a mesmerisingly diverse city and this wonderful hotel made the experience all the more enjoyable!! Even little things like intuitive controlled air conditioning in the room, extra pillows in the floor corridors and free Japanese sake at the bar every evening go a long way when travelling! Cannot recommend enough, would have paid double the price and still given it as good a review so the fact it is so cheap is amazing.

The location of Imu hotel is excellent! Close to everything, or within walking distance. The property was clean, and the staff were very friendly and had great recommendations. I loved the breakfast, and I definitely missed having a breakfast included when I moved on to another city. As a solo traveler. I also liked that the hotel encourages people to hang out and be social with a happy hour

I got the room with the bunk beds and regret not just reserving a regular room. Also, I tried laying on the top bunk and something was extremely wrong with the mattress on the top bunk (like a chunk of the mattress was missing)

Breakfast was nice, location was ok (around 20 min on foot to Nishiki market area). The most appealing thing is free sake, as well as hotel bar discount for hotel's guests. Rooms are small, but that is to be expected in Japan. If you are a couple, I would recommend booking a double room loft, because you can leave your luggage on the upper bunk bed and save some space. Breakfast is really nice, although no meat included, unless you you really want it, you can pay extra. Each day you can choose one from 4 pre-decided breakfast options. Food was fulfilling and included vegetables. Staff had pretty good communicative English.

It can be changed, but, please, note, that rooms have really limited space. We had to rearrange the position of garbage can and night table, just so that we could fit in our luggage (vertical position). Hopefully the cleaning lady was not mad about it :D also, one of the twin rooms our friends were staying at, had a strong fish smell. I suppose the previous guests had a "fishy accident" and nobody cleaned the carpet thoroughly. But these were just small minuses, which really meant nothing considering all the positive aspects.

This was one of the best stays I ever had so far! First of all, everything needed was provided as well as it was clean and comfortable. I booked the stay with breakfast, which was delicious. What really made this hotel stand out where the people there. Everyone was super friendly and always open for conversation. I felt truly welcome to stay at the lobby/restaurant, which I did on most evenings. They had delicious dinner and cocktails and also the possibility to try different Sake every evening. Furthermore there were small events in the evening to give small insights into the culture of Japan. While having lovely chats here and there I also received some nice tips for the area. It almost hurt to leave this place. If I ever come back to Kyoto this will be my first choice. Can highly recommend staying at the Imu Hotel Kyoto.

Nothing

Super foreigner friendly, most of the signs have an english translation. A traditional breakfast is included and its pretty decent for the most part. Room is also very unique and traditional Japanese feeling while remaining modern

Super foreigner friendly. Literally every person in the hotel was a foreigner. For some, this may be a good thing for homesickness reasons. Not for me though, I was hoping to meet and talk with Japanese travelers, but this wasn't able to happen. The room was SO hot. The thermostat was pretty restrictive with what temperatures were allowed, and it was evident when trying to sleep.

This is a hotel that exudes a chill & cool modern vibe, with very warm friendly staff who can speak English. There is a small play area for kids in the lobby as well as some shelves filled with toys, board games & books/comics. You can also help yourself to hot water & complimentary tea/coffee in the lobby area - & wait for it - who can say 'no' to complimentary sake (there were 3 types, when we were there)! We appreciated the luggage storage service and being able to borrow hotel umbrellas, so that we could explore Kyoto on a rainy day when we arrived early prior to check-in. The location is ideal for exploring Nishiki Market & the shopping area of Shijo-dori, which is about a 15-minute walk away. It is also close to several bus stops for the Kyoto City Bus, which is quite a breeze to ride. The room was clean & comfortable, with tatami mat flooring & mattresses that you have to set up on your own.

The room was a little bit dim & quite a tight squeeze for our family of 4 with 4 carry-on luggage, once the mattresses were set up for the night. Nevertheless, it did not in any way hamper our enjoyable experience staying there.

Staffs - super helpful (buying advance tickets online with only Japanese), polite, friendly, suggested a few visiting places with their candid opinion. Flexibility - allowed us to check in earlier when our room was ready. Room (triple w/ double + bunk) - clean, strong a/c (stay during summer), and quiet. Facility - free breakfast, free coffee (super automatic espresso maker), free cold water to refill (again it's summer), and the best part is free sake (4 different brands to pick). Misc - free umbrella to borrow. Location - very convenient, where 7/11 and Familymart stores are close by. Close to the subway station. And there are plenty wide verities of nice little restaurants around. Overall - a very good hotel to stay in Kyoto. Highly recommended. Update please read: staff are unbelievably helpful. at almost mid-night during my last day, my Osaka hotel reservation for next day was cancelled last min due to my US credit card security issue. Panic and heading to lobby, Met Mr Daiki at the elevator - believe he is on his way to rest. Told him my problem. He took me down to the lobby desk, called Osaka hotel and explained them my situation in Japanese, and verified I'm one of the guest at Imu. Asked them to keep my room. Daiki then used office computer to try to book a room for me thru web in Japanese. While I also tried to book from my end. Once rooms reserved, Daiki called Osaka hotel again to confirm my reservation, given them his cell phone to call back once reservation shows in their system. Waited for 10+ mins, Osaka hotel called and confirmed. The whole process took him 50 mins. And he then went to rest around 1am. I can't thank Mr Daiki enough. He will sure get my vote for the best employee of the year.

Only improvement needed is only one chair in our room for 3 persons.

I enjoyed that breakfast was included and the staff was helpful in answering some questions. There is a cash exchange machine located at the front desk. My room was ideal for a single person. There were a few pillow options with the ability to swap out on every level. One reviewer noted it felt more like a hostel than hotel. I concur as Imu Hotel was bare bones, clean, and had good energy from the staff. Good affordable option in the area, but if you are looking for more amenities you'll have to spend more in Kyoto.

I was fortunate to be on a quiet floor, but if your neighbor was loud the only way to manage it was with your room's air unit.

Good location, very close to metro station which serves the Karasuma line. This line is great as it's not busy, even taking it from Kyoto station wasn't busy. - Staff were super friendly, accomodating and all were English speaking. They understood what Muslim friendly food was, helped me with finding Muslim Friendly food, and even cooked a custom Muslim friendly meal for me. - Room was better than I expected - Lots of shops nearby walking distance

Overall, everything was great but I would suggest adding more light to the room. 1 lightbult above the bed area wasn't enough personally. But this is being picky.

We liked everything! It is a nice hotel with a great location, super nice and helpful staff and very clean. The breakfast is not buffet but it has some options and its delicious and big. There is coffee, tea, water and sake free to enjoy at any time of the day. Staff at the desk and in the bar are kind, sweet and professional. The double room was not big but perfectly enough for two people. Shower amazing! Cleaning service amazing. Location just 5 min from metro and 10 min from center.

Some noise from the pipes or ventilation through the night. Though, after spending the whole day out in the streets of Kyoto we were sleeping very deep so it didn't bother us too much.