Breakfast was delicious (great coffee!),rooms were lovely and comfortable and great location. Sam and Maki were so kind, helpful and you can tell they genuinely care about their guests and trips. They are very passionate about their guests having the best experience in Kyoto. They helped with our planning too. They have lots of tips a about current events and we saw brilliant fireworks because of their recommendations. Really friendly atmosphere for guests in the communal area. Beautiful family and their daughters were lovely. Highly recommend!! :)

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Loved our stay here- could have stayed even longer! We took 2 rooms to accommodate our teen kids in one of the twin sharing rooms with shared bathrooms. The staff were all so friendly and welcoming. Sim and Maki have the most incredible vibe and the morning breakfast spread is just special with delicious fruits, yoghurt, hot coffee and toast with a jam buffet. Sim often pours you a cup of hot coffee himself and Maki and he provide the most special recommendations for dining / sight seeing also. No need to pre plan anything at Kyoto when you stay at Sim and Makis - just wake up and ask them where they think you should go and just head there.. there are some very special snacks kept in the dining area and the fridge is stacked with the most delicious craft beer on sale. I even bought the loveliest post cards and stamps and posted them on my first day there. I cannot thank Sim and Maki enough for making our stay so special.. and cannot recommend this place enough. It’s a short taxi ride from the main Kyoto station and perfectly located so you can walk to the Kiyomizu temple and Ninenzaka area. They also rent bikes so you can ride around town. We went to the imperial palace and Nishiki market on the bikes and had the loveliest time. Hands down the best place to stay in Japan..

The staff were really friendly and helpful! They provided tips on getting to places and suggested places to visit. Free breakfast is provided everyday (Japanese breakfast requires registration the previous night by 9pm and costs additional). The location is decently connected via bus. I got the Kyōto Subway & Bus Pass (1100 JPY as of Aug 2024) and it's super worth it since each bus journey costs 230 JPY flat fare. Great location for exploring Kyōto! Warm and cold water are provided too via a dispenser, which was a godsend as I prefer to drink warm water. There weren't any nice autumn leaves or sakura blooms nearby since it's summertime. It's blazingly hot but the place is air-conditioned and is a pleasant place to return to to rest. :) thank you for the stay!

I loved everything about this place and its staff and owners. Its location is incredibly convenient in a quiet neighborhood walking distance away from Kiyamizu-dera. The people working there are very welcoming and kind even for Japanese standards, always helpful and accommodating. There is a free breakfast that is not mentioned here with some jams and fruits, but you can also get a very tasty traditional Japanese breakfast for less than 1000yen. This place is one of those rare gems that deserve every praise it gets. Be respectful and polite if you are visiting this place. These people deserve only the best.

The owners made the stay so comfortable and easy. They were there to help at any minute. They had very cheap bike rentals which was a huge plus for our group as that is how we got around Kyoto. The rooms were small but all of them are in Japan. The breakfast was a highlight each morning as there was both an American and Japanese option. The Japanese option does have to be reserved ahead of time I believe, but we did not do that. We accidentally left a nice item in the room after check out and the owner emailed me and offered to ship them to our next place. Laundry was on the rooftop with a drier but also TONS of room for hanging clothes outside if you don’t use a drier. This was our favorite hostel stay in Japan.

Guesthouse Soi was an extremely comfortable and well located place for our visit to Kyoto. Our room was clean and spacious, the provided breakfast was a simple but tasty start to the day, with the upgraded Japanese breakfast being one of the best meals we’ve had during our stay here. Maki and Sim were so friendly and helpful, and I constantly witnessed them helping people throughout our stay. This saved us when we left our bag in a bus and they were immediately able to contact the bus company and the restaurant we were in prior to confirm where they were - something that would have been extremely hard without a local phone number and fluent Japanese. Guesthouse Soi will be our first choice if we return to Kyoto.

The best guesthouse/hostel I have stayed in during my trip to Japan-Offers free breakfast, complimentary snacks and drinks. The guesthouse staff are the owners themselves and they offered very helpful advice on Kyoto such as where to rent a kimono, the best temples to go to, etc. They even offered me a charger when I lost mine and needed to recharge my phone, and offered me slippers when I had realized I left mine at a Kimono rental shop 15 mins away. Rooms are quiet and the guesthouse is very clean. The common areas are very well thought out, tidy, and comfortable. Signs direct you to the proper procedure regarding things such as controlling the air conditioner, laundry, and amenities such as towels.

I can’t say enough good things about this place! The owner was so attentive and helped us navigate the area, gave us tips on where to eat and what to do. The free breakfast with toast, jam, fruits, coffee and juices were delightful plus the free snacks they put out throughout the day! It really fills you up! The facility was very clean and there’s a laundry on the rooftop with plenty of drying racks. They even offer free umbrellas for guests to use during their stay. There’s a bus stop thats 3 min walk down the street. Its only 1,400 yen to take a taxi from Kyoto station to the place which I highly recommend because the local buses are packed with tourists! I hope to come back one day. This truly has been one of the highlights of our trip!

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The room and shared eating and kitchen space was so clean and comfortable. The futon beds were very comfortable. The free breakfast was so lovely. Sim, Sigh, and all the staff were so helpful and gave great information, advice, and rang ahead to places for extra information for us. We were just a 20 minute walk from the main areas of kyoto, but the area around the guesthouse was lovely and quiet. If we ever have the chance to come to Japan again, we will definitely stay here again. We stayed in other nice hotels on our travels, but this guesthouse was by far our favourite stay! Thank you Sim and everyone!

Booking.com made a mistake with our booking. This was not the fault of the guesthouse. The guesthouse sorted this for us quickly and easily, no fuss. Booking.com have still not resolved the issue with us directly and it's now 1 week after our stay. So I'm glad the guesthouse were so helpful.

The accommodation is lovely. Upon entry you get to a shared area when you can chat with the owners, other guests, or other friendly staff. There's tea, coffee, some snacks, and a shared kitchen as well as some seats. Everything is very cozy. The breakfast which is included in the price of the stay is simple, but really helps you to kick start your day (yoghurt, toasts with jam, some fruits and orange juice). There was an option to order a Japanese-style breakfast as well, just never got round to trying it. There was a washing machine and a dryer on the top floor for a few coins - not ideal (one of machines wasn't working and there was no sign, if you aren't using a dryer, you can hang your clothes but other people will have access to it, which might be uncomfortable), but you get fresh laundry as a result. The room was spacious, had all the amenities, and we had a great time staying in this guesthouse.

The bathroom is a little awkward to use; it's clean and has everything you need but just the layout was a little awkward to use (the window didn't seem to close properly, the curtain was a bit short, and the mirror was positioned weirdly). But this is the only thing that really caught our eye, because everything else was great. If you're traveling with a lot of luggage, have a stroller, or a wheelchair, it might be not the best place for you: you'd need to go uphill (not steep, but with limited availability it won't go), and the guesthouse did not seem to have an elevator.