Kyoto Brighton Hotel

What People are saying

Luxury

DVDPerth_Australia on 15/06/2017 10:51

As part of a four day visit to Kyoto with Melbourne friends, and having spent two nights elsewhere in the city, our wives wanted to "a little bit of luxury".

The hotel is a little further north of downtown Kyoto, but within 10 minutes walk of the Imperial Palace. Its exterior belies its interior elegance, with floors that ring its atrium lobby and very comfortable lounge area. We had coffee there twice but, regrettably, I did not try their cake selection. I wonder if their taste matched their decorative appearance?

Our rooms were non-smoking double rooms with views over the front driveway. The bathrooms were well-appointed, with the bath and shower in a separate glass-walled "wet room". The vanity had masses of nice touches, from the expected fluffy towels,shampoo and shower gels etc, to toothbrushes, brushes, hair bands etc etc.

We only had one light breakfast (coffee and toast) in the hotel on the day of our departure, as we dined out each evening, and my wife and I went early morning sightseeing to a temple. So, I can't comment on its restaurants.

A tip for Kyoto visitors. Visit the Kinkaku-ji (Golden Temple), Bamboo Forest and other major attractions early in the day, as their popularity can result in crowded venues! Make sure you take a relaxing stroll along the less-commercialised Philosophers Path from the Ginkaku-ji Temple south towards the Kyoto University and the Gion district.

Language can be a problem

fran32 on 13/06/2017 16:24

This is a lovely hotel near the Imperial Palace. Not everyone at the front desk spoke English and we sometimes had trouble communicating. The room was very nice. The breakfast buffet (included with the room) was adequate. CNN was available in the room, but was dubbed in Japanese. We called housekeeping and they came and fixed it, but didn't explain how to do it. The next time we turned it on, it was dubbed again, so we took the remote to the front desk and someone was able to show us which button to push to remove the dubbing.
The hotel provides a free bus service to the shopping area, which we found very useful. Although it is very near the Imperial Palace (which is not open to the public), it is about 40 minutes by cab from the beautiful cultural sites to the east and west of the hotel.

Very Good Hotel

NPR1973 on 11/06/2017 06:26

We stayed here recently for 4 nights as part of a 3 week adventure through Japan. Quite a modern looking hotel with nice appointments in the front foyer / lobby area. There is a large atrium in the middle of the hotel with a central lounge bar. Drinks / snacks pricing was quite expensive at the lounge bar, (typical of many hotel lounge bars), but was somewhat offset by discount vouchers for food and drinks the hotel provided upon check in.

The hotel is about 10min taxi from the train station, but also had shuttle buses.

We had an Executive twin room which included breakfast for our particular booking. The room was generously sized which was important as we were staying for several nights. The room was clean & tidy and the bathroom was also good. The beds were comfy.

Staff were friendly and helpful and most spoke a competent level of English.

The hotel is very close to the Kyoto Imperial Palace and surrounding gardens. The parks and gardens around this area are very big, suggest hiring a bicycle to ride around as it can take along time to walk around here.

Quiet Residential Hideaway!

sbendernd on 09/06/2017 02:35

While there’s much to be said for being “in the middle of the action”, so to speak, the Kyoto Brighton is certainly not that! Conversely, it sits is a quieter residential area. Which is really not a big deal when you consider that Kyoto is not exactly what you’d label as “urban sprawl” by any stretch of the imagination! LOL

Actually it’s a relatively compact city of approximately 1.5 million residents or thereabouts? Which means that you can probably reach city center from the farthest outreaches of the “metropolis” – from any direction! – by taxi, in about 10-12 minutes? Even much less time from the Kyoto Brighton.

Better still, the Brighton offers free continuous shuttle service from the hotel to the nearest subway station – Karasuma Oike – every 20 minutes from 8:10 a.m. until 9:30 p.m. daily. Then you can continue on your own from the subway station, for perhaps 1 or 2 stops, to city center. So anyone who has a desire to be in the heart of the action, don’t despair! LOL Worse case, taxi fare from the hotel to Karasuma Oike is approximately $6 USD equivalent – we paid 680 Yen – so very reasonable!

Other good news, the hotel is literally within 5 minutes walking distance to Imperial Palace and 5 minutes taxi ride to Nijo Castle, two of the area’s main attractions…

We were originally drawn to the Brighton because we place a higher priority on room size as an essential component of overall comfort! And in my extensive research of Kyoto hotels, the Brighton unquestionably provided some of the more spacious rooms in the city. In fact, I was dismayed to discover that the closer a property was to “city center” the room size was oftentimes reduced commensurately. But again, it’s a matter of individual preferences.

The hotel itself? We actually booked a Luxury Corner Room – highly recommended! – with breakfast package included. We were on the 5th floor of 6.

The room’s floor plan was more suite-like in nature – albeit slightly unconventional – but in an appealing sort of way? Specifically, the entry way opened directly into a comfy living room area; complete with sofa / coffee table combination, oval dining table with cushioned chairs, television, fridge and all manner of coffee making facilities! Black tassels hanging from ceiling to floor also added a touch of Japanese elegance and provided practical separation between doorway and living room.

An adjoining hallway – lengthy by hotel room standards! – led directly to the bedroom, which was all the way in back. And had a 2nd T.V. by the way!

In between was a hallway closet, mirrored vanity section, flush toilet (in its own separate tiny room) and a clear glass enclosed bath / shower area. Which afforded full visibility to those utilizing said shower facilities to anyone who happened to be walking down the hallway. YIKES! LOL. Fortunately, two sliding doors – cordoning off living room / hallway and hallway / bedroom – could be used to shut off the entire bath section into its own individual enclave, ensuring privacy for guests who are more shy about such matters!

Best of all, though, there was a very nice balcony – really spacious! – with table / wicker chairs, well suited for outdoor dining, directly accessible from the bedroom. It was further surrounded on 3 sides by well-manicured green plant hedges, assuring additional privacy from outside onlookers.

However, to summarize, I’ll confine my remaining comments to “positive” or “negative” for both our room itself and total property in general.

Room – other positives:
1. Independent temperature control for living room vs. bedroom (really liked this!)
2. GF reports “best ever” provision of complimentary toiletry items, mainly suitable for women…including cleansing oils, face creams, bath salts, hair bands, Q-tips, shower caps, the list goes on.

Room – negative:
1. T.V. only had one English speaking channel! CNN. And then staff had to explain how to eliminate the Japanese “voice over” as the remote was printed with Japanese only wording as well!
2. Fancy automated toilet / bidet was great! But with 19 buttons total – all in Japanese – we couldn’t figure out how to flush! Which was a possibly a bigger reflection on us, perhaps, than the apparatus itself? LOL
3. Bed is a bit on the firm side – which is not necessarily a bad thing? But the rock hard pillows take a bit of time to get used to.

Hotel – positive:
1. Staff is very accommodating and helpful, particularly concierge, who have best command of English. Tip: Seek out Mrs. Jones!
2. Complimentary shuttle service
3. Daily Western breakfast buffet

Hotel – negative:
1. Most staff speak limited English! Even though, big credit for trying really hard.
2. Daily Japanese breakfast (option). Definitely an acquired taste!
3. No gym facilities nor business center!

Hope this helps!

Good hotel but not excellent.

Juan S on 07/06/2017 14:58

The hotel is very good in almost everything except for the beds, they are not so soft. Rooms are spacious for a standard hotel, we've got a 3 bed suite with garden view. The taxis are overpriced so I recommend to take one by the street. Concierge was kind and helped us to get a reservation in a very good restaurant that was almost impossible to attend.