Hotel Granvia Kyoto

You’re clearly paying for location with the Hotel Granvia Kyoto, as it is directly attached to Kyoto Station and is at the center point of Kyoto. By the time you pay over $ 200 a night, experience the awe over the size of Kyoto Station and the exterior of the hotel, and enter into the upscale lobby area, you’ll be suddenly disenchanted by the actual guest rooms. They are quite antiquated and if you’re visiting Kyoto after the more modern Tokyo, you’re in for an adjustment — albeit a slight one.
That being said, sometimes its simply worth it to pay for peace of mind. You may find that planning for cities outside of Tokyo takes a little more research. The concierge here is extremely useful, and helped us plan out our days and figure how much time it was going to take us to travel between destinations around the city. They were extremely patient, prudent, and informed. If, however, you have done a lot of research on what you want to do in Kyoto, I’d recommend finding cheaper lodging. And to be honest, Kyoto isn’t that overwhelming. It’s just more crowded and older than Tokyo. Everything is still just a bus ride away.
Essentially, it’s an average hotel masked behind an opulent lobby and sneaky convenient location. Which I have to wonder if that is intentional. Seems like it is. There IS a Mister Donut within the area, though, which is yummy and fun to say.
If you are confident in your Kyoto travels: ²⁄₅
If you are not confident in your Kyoto travels: ⁴⁄₅
Guest rooms: 2.5÷5

Entire building is attached to the station, needless to say it’s so convenient. Even if you come here by car, it only costs you ¥1000 a night for parking if you stay here.
Yes, it is pricey but after you experience the luxury they offer, it makes sense to you.
Room very specious (at least where my brother and I stayed) and service is top notch.

Well the staff are not friendly they are exhausted either from being so busy and understaffed or they are so unemotional human being that plays like a robot face!
The guest rooms are not well maintained overpriced including the shower room. It is small even if they said it is a western standard size .
Amenities such as pool and gym can’t be used by anyone below 21 years old! They even need to pay a one time for being on a Granvia room and if you are not on a Granvia room you pay everyday a fee of almost 2000 yen to access it!
The location is the only reason for me that I am giving them a 2 stars cause it is just on top of the Kyoto station (2^nd floor) for transportation access!
The buffet breakfast Le Temp is good but staff are not quickly picking up the plates that you need to keep reminding them but they have the most restaurants that you don’t even need to go outside of the hotel if you are tired of walking and have the convenience of just staying and entertaining your self in the hotel!

Excellent location, but the hotel is run down and out of date. The restaurants and lobby are all nice, it’s the rooms that are run down and out of date. But even with that, the central location inside the Kyoto train station cannot be beat and the cost per night isn’t bad.
They have a great concierge, so that was a big plus. Had I not done all my previous research on TA and Unilocal beforehand, I would’ve utilized their services.
Room service food was meh and would not recommend ordering it, even if you’re too tired and hungry to go anywhere. Just don’t!
I’d totally stay here again, I would just ensure my expectations were adjusted.

The first thing to note is that if you’ve never been to Kyoto Station before, this might feel like a bit of a nightmare to find — along with an absolutely huge hotel to boot. We ended up figuring out how to get here from the Shinkansen platforms eventually, but we went in through a side entrance and had to walk the full length of the hallway before we finally made it to the lobby. Once we got our geography senses around us, it was easier to figure out thereafter — but make sure you know where you are going first! The hotel is one of at least 2 (maybe more) hotels that are part of the absolutely grand structure that is this very modern train station. The front desk was able to take care of us quickly, with English passable enough that you should be able to check in with no issues. We then stopped by the concierge to pick up the directions for our various meals throughout Kyoto; similar to our hotel in Tokyo, maps were printed out to help give us a general idea of where we need to go. With very high ceilings, a nice café overlooking the entrance to the train station, I had high hopes for our few days at the hotel.
While the amenities were passable, the room definitely had a bit of a smaller feel to it (at least by Western standards), with a bed that felt somewhat rigid. The restroom door has a small ledge you had to step over — which seemed somewhat unnecessary — and makes it a bit easy to accidentally stub a toe or hurt yourself. The bathroom definitely felt a bit on the older side — no showerhead high enough to fully wash yourself without holding the showerhead and manually cleaning yourself, and the shampoo/​condition was put in large, refillable bottles by the tub. Perhaps the more disconcerting issue was an obvious gap between the shower wall and the tub, which seemed to make it rather easy for water to drip down into that gap. The view from the train station (at least from the room we were in) was alright — you could see out across Kyoto — but there was nothing remarkable from the view that stood out.
In all — I’d potentially stay here again if I came back, simply because the convenience of being right at the station is difficult to beat. However, I felt that for the cost (which was around $ 250/​night), the quality of the rooms itself was mid-​tier quality at best. Additionally, having to pay $ 10 per visit to the gym is a real turnoff, considering that the facilities were pretty small and had dated equipment as well. That said, Kyoto is more known for its ryokans than for its modern five-​star hotels, so it is hard to say that it would get materially better than this if you looked to stay elsewhere in the city.

How could anyone NOT give the Granvia a five star review? This place is an oasis of western luxury in Japan!
Gorgeous comfortable sized rooms. Quiet place to sleep in the busy heart of bustling Kyoto station.
Staff that speak English and will help with anything. Concierge desk is top notch!
Best sushi in the world (Sushi Iwa) only a few minutes by walking.
The on-​site western style breakfast at the Granvia is the BEST in Japan. I know after sampling 100 others!
Staying here is one of the best choices you will make in Japan.

I entered this Hotel Granvia Kyoto in front of Isetan Department Store. I had to walk a little long pathway of M3 to the front desk. I didn’t know where the front desk was and I felt a little uneasy. On the walls of pathway Japanese paintings drawn by college students of Kyoto and Osaka who specialize in art were placed for a limited period. All of them were awesome! On the halfway I walked on the pathway of glass windows. From the window I saw passengers waiting for trains on JR platforms. I passed through a Japanese-​style restaurant and a souvenir shop, and then found a front desk. It was a little trip for me. If you enter in front of Kyoto Theater, you can find a front desk soon.

The entrance of this hotel is in the second floor of the Kyoto station building. As soon as you enter the hotel it looks luxurious with the gorgeous black marble stone used all over the entrance and lobby. I’ve been in this hotel for a café at the lounge in the 2^nd floor and a ceremony hall in the 3^rd floor.
The café had nice drinks. I had some drinks here with my family and friend. I remember that I had a soda drink with some citrus, that has made me cool down with the heat outside. Also the waiter there were considerate for serving.
The 3^rd floor hall had a great view in front of the «Genji» hall. As soon as I went up the escalator from the second floor to the ceremony, I was amazed with the nice view of the Kyoto tower right in front of me. We had a buffet, that had nice food and sweets. All the dish were nice tastes and the sweets were great. The food had varsity of vegetables, seafood, meat and fruits.

Normally, a hotel located right inside a train station is a red flag. But after a little research from listening to some of my friends my wife and I decided to a leap of faith and book the Hotel Granvia in Kyoto.
And wow, are we glad we did!
As advertised, this hotel is connected to Kyoto’s central transportation hub. Which really makes it a convenient launching point to some of the cities many landmarks and beyond. Getting here from Osaka’s airport was a breeze, just a 30 minute inexpensive train ride and you’re here. We were also able to hit up nearby Nara and Hiroshima as well. I cannot stress how awesomely convenient this was.
And oh YES!, there is a hotel here too! And it’s nice! very nice! The rooms are comfortable and stocked with all the 4 star amenities (at a three star price) you would expect. And even though you are a stones tthrow from trains and busses, the rooms are super quiet so getting a restful nights sleep will not be a problem.
The front desk is very helpful and eager to help. They were great at offering suggestions and routing us out walking tours and helped us find some excellent restaurants. The rooftop bar overlooks the city and the bartenders can sure make a mean sidecar.
Do not let the train station thing scare you off, this really is a benefit.