I recently stayed at the Hyatt Place Kyoto. This was probably the best Hyatt Place I ever stayed in. Please read my review below to find out why I believe this is a great place to stay when you are in Kyoto.
Location
You really cannot beat the location of the Hyatt Place Kyoto. It’s located next to the Marutamachi subway station. When you take exit 6, you are only a few steps away from the entry of the hotel. There is nothing exciting about the street itself though – but you can walk within 20 minutes to the Nishiki Market and there are a few restaurants close by. One restaurant close by I visited on my last night in Kyoto was Piopiko; a Mexican restaurant located in the Ace Hotel. A great restaurant when you want something else than Japanese food! It actually reminded me of Puesto; a Mexican chain restaurant in California… The Ace Hotel itself also looked like a very nice place to stay, but definitely at a different price point than the Hyatt Place!
Cash Rate vs Points
Talking about prices. The Hyatt Place Kyoto is a category 2 hotel which means that the standard rate you would need for a free night is 8,000 points. Peak rate is 9,500 points which I think is still very reasonable for this hotel. During my stay, the cash rate was approximately 150$ per night excluding tax. In this case, I decided to pay cash for the room. It’s always sensible to calculate whether it’s worth it paying with points or cash. Read my blog below to learn whether it could be worth it (buying and) paying with points for your stay.
The Room
My room in the Hyatt Place was surprisingly big. I appreciated the little area with a couch where you could do some work. Bathroom was OK and shower was perfect. But the highlight of the room was the bed. This bed was so comfortable and the bedding was really excellent. This was one of the best beds I actually had in a hotel, beating some Park Hyatt beds! It definitely helped me getting over my jet lag!
Restaurant
While I checked in, there was one nasty surprise; the restaurant was only open during breakfast! Maybe because I stayed in the off-season? I always like it to have the option to have dinner at the hotel especially after a long day of traveling or walking through the city and mountains! But no such luck during my stay. The hotel did organize a tea ceremony during certain afternoons…
Breakfast was pretty decent and a lot better than what the US based Hyatt Places have to offer for breakfast!
Conclusion
Hyatt has several hotel options in Kyoto. Of course, there is the epic Park Hyatt Kyoto but with a rate of more than 1,000$ per night (in the off-season) and being a category 8 hotel, it’s not a hotel I considered staying this time. Also the location is not very convenient if you mainly want to use the subway and train to get around. I found the Hyatt Place Kyoto to be the perfect place to explore Kyoto. Cash and point rates are very acceptable and the rooms are bigger than you might expect for a Japanese hotel. The only negative point was the fact that the restaurant wasn’t open for dinner.
Also have a look at my review of the Shinkansen Bullet Train from Tokyo to Kyoto including tips on how to save buying Shinkansen Train Tickets!
