Name: Kadensho
Address: 5-4 Arashiyamanishiichikawa-cho Kyoto Saikyo-ku 61,, Kyoto, Kyoto, Kyoto, 616-0003, Japan
Rating: 8

Air conditioning

General

Location

Uzumasa Tenjingawa

Nishiōji Oike

Nishikyo

Nijo Castle

Umekoji Park

Kyoto Aquarium

Toji Temple

Nishihonganji Temple

Kyoto International Manga Museum

Higashi Honganji Temple

Kyoto Imperial Palace

Kyoto Tower

Shoseien Garden

Kenninji Temple

Sanjusangendo Temple

Kyoto National Museum

Yasaka Shrine

Maruyama Park

Kodaiji Temple

Kyoto National Museum of Modern Art

Chion-in Temple

Kyoto Municipal Zoo

Kiyomizu Temple

Fushimi Inari Shrine

Itami Airport

Osaka Museum of Housing and Living

Kids Plaza Osaka

Kema Sakuranomiya Park

Tempozan Harbor Village Ferris Wheel

Tenjinbashi-suji Shopping Arcade

Osaka Castle

Nakanoshima Park

Osaka National Museum of Art

Osaka Museum of History

Osaka Science Museum

Utsubo Park

Shinsaibashi Shopping Arcade

Kuromon Ichiba

Sennichimae Doguyasuji Shopping Street

Shitennoji Temple

Tsutenkaku Tower

Tennoji Zoo

Abeno Harukas

Universal Studios Japan

Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan

Kobe Airport

Kadensho

Kyoto

child-bed

child-bed-fee

external-private-bathroom

private-bathroom

shared-bathroom

10-beds

11-beds

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4-beds

40-beds

5-beds

6-beds

7-beds

8-beds

9-beds

king-bed

queen-bed

limited-time

lounge

treatment

no-window

bay-view

bosphorus-view

canal-view

city-view

courtyard-view

garden-view

golf-view

harbour-view

inland-view

lake-view

land-view

mountain-view

ocean-front

ocean-view

oceanside

panoramic-view

park-view

partial-ocean-view

partial-sea-view

partial-view

pool-view

river-view

sea-front

sea-view

street-view

sunrise-view

sunset-view

water-view

with-view

annex

basement

main-building

1-bedroom

2-bedrooms

3-bedrooms

4-bedrooms

5-bedrooms

6-bedrooms

not-guaranteed

wired-internet-access

smoking

sauna

duplex

safe

mini-bar

breakfast-for-1

breakfast-for-2

pets-allowed

wi-fi

kitchen

As a long-time global traveler, I must say this hotel is pretty much a rip-off, especially at its $330/night price.  Our room was so tiny one can hardly turn around in it and it had no window view at all, the “private” hot springs bath was clearly heavily used by visitors and did not seem clean, the meals were terrible, there is apparently no concierge, and the front desk staff are utterly unaccommodating.  We had purchased very expensive dinners for 3 nights ahead of arrival, but they were utterly unsuitable for a gluten-intolerant diet, but when we explained we could not consume gluten they said they could not accommodate dietary restrictions.  When we requested to unschedule the second two dinners we’d paid ahead for, we were told “we cannot refund what you have already paid, sorry.”  There were no alcoholic beverages available the entire 4 days we were there; the “bar” was closed and the single vending machine that dispensed beer was “out of service.”  Not even a glass of saki could be found.  The hotel’s flooring was tatami mat, as is often the case in Japan, so shoes are not allowed (they must be left near the front desk).  About half the guests thus walked the halls and lobby area in bare feet, with who knows what microorganisms they were leaving behind, yet in four days I never once saw anyone cleaning those floor mats.  None of the staff spoke enough English to help us out (we had to rely on GoogleTranslate).  The front desk was even reluctant to call a taxi for us.  Certainly one of the worst hotel stays we’ve ever experienced.  When in Kyoto, I recommend the Umekoki Kadensho Hotel next to Kyoto Station.  When in Nara I recommend the Iroha Grand Hotel.

Bad hotel, high prices

DON'T BOOK this place!  We have travelled over 2 weeks in Kobe, Osaka and Kyoto and have visited many, many, many ryokans and onsens, and this is ABSOLUTELY THE WORST. They know they have a good location and people are desperate to find vacancy, so they rip you off in many ways. The price we paid for a 2-night stay was one of the highest for this trip; and yet we got NOTHING THAT WAS CLOSE TO THE PRICE PAID. And at check out, we were charged an accommodation tax which I have not paid anywhere else, at 1,000 Yen per night. I really think this is fraud, as we have not paid such a tax before, or after since, even in the same place as Kyoto.  An onsen tax of 150 Yen per person is charged everywhere else. While 1,000 Yen is not a lot of money, but when the service, and the food quality (especially breakfast) are also not worth what one paid for to stay, I was not happy to be charged additional 1,000 Yen per night in some fake tax. Even if this place is the ONLY place to rightfully charge this accommodation tax, the food and the service are terrible. We travel all over the world frequently, and have come to know what we should be expecting for the price we pay for a night's stay and this place is obviously price gouging at the most extreme. Shame on you, the owner of this place. I made the mistake of not checking the reviews on this place before booking, and shame on Expedia for even keeping you on their list for booking.

STAY AWAY if you have high standards for service and food quality, as this place has NONE

Location: public transports are located nearby , convenient to travel to the touristy areas 
Service: limited English communication, front desk trying hard to help but always come back with “sorry …. We don’t have it”, “we can’t do that……”, “sorry sorry….” ☹️
Room: dusty, Smelly and damp (3rd floor: room 32x), modified ryokans 
Breakfast and dinner: sub standard quality , not value for money 
Onsen: only the public onsen are genuine onsen, others are normal heated water (private bath or in the rooms) 
Extra onsen taxes are collected during check-out

Not worth for the price, overrated

This stay was such a disappointment, which was supposed to be the highlight of my trip in Japan. With the price I paid, I expected much nicer rooms, better services, and better onsen. The hotel is very old and dark, everything looks worn out, the check-in process was slow, it's very confusing to find the shoe boxes. The worst thing is, there's no private onsen in your room, and you need to line up for the so-called private onsen in the hotel! The one I went to is a very small, old, ugly onsen room, I guess that's why I don't need much time to line up for it. I seriously would rather take a bath at home than going to these kind of onsen. If you don't want to line up for the onsen, you could go to the public pool, but you have to go completely naked. Imagine doing that with your cousins and in-laws...... In general, this hotel is totally over-priced. 

Disappointed

I'll start with what I think the ryokan does well:
- Walking distance to a lot of tourist attractions and shops in Arashiyama, including the Hankyu and Randen tram
- Free breakfast is offered. A set Japanese or Western breakfast is offered, including a free buffet
- There are free snacks offered late at night, including ramen and dessert
- Private hot springs are available. It's first come first serve but I was able to get a room without waiting
-Free laundry machines, but there's about 2 machines in each of the public hot springs

And the downsides:
- Hotel is absurdly overpriced for what it offers. This is not a true ryokan so you're honestly just paying for a hotel that has a hot spring. Guests are expected to accommodate and take care of themselves, including getting your own amenities. Hotel in general is also not helpful, hotel staff weren't able to answer questions (or gave incorrect info), and there's only a few signs available so you're left to figure everything out for yourself
- The hotel ground itself, including the rooms, are not in the style of a ryokan, so the place is fairly misleading
-  There's very few signs so it's unclear where you can access, where you can walk, and where you can wheel your luggage. Even a sign or two in Japanese would help
- Rooms are cleaned based on guests leaving their keys outside their rooms. We asked if we can leave the keys with hotel staff (which is typical at ryokans) to make sure no one takes the keys and we were told no so we our garbage bins were overflowing by the end of our stay. The garbage bins are also very small

Bottom line is that other ryokans in Kyoto can be found for half the price and more convenient. If you're looking for a ryokan specifically in Arashiyama, I would consider elsewhere, especially if you want a true ryokan experience.

Also as a heads up, almost all restaurants in Arashiyama close between 6 - 7PM so if you're unprepared, the hotel will be the only option to eat at. The staff here also don't really really speak English, so it's just a point of consideration when staying here. 

Subpar Hotel for the Price

I initially chose this Ryokan because of its perfect location, right in the middle of Arashiyama, next to Arashiyama Station (Hankyu) and also walking distance from the iconic Togetsukyo Bridge, Katsura River, Bamboo Grove and the other two stations in close proximity.

Regarding the aspects of Ryokan, I'd imagine this would be an okay experience for first timer but not for Ryokan/Onsen lovers who are after genuine experience of traditional Ryokan. I thought it is very tourist friendly/first timer friendly as all the staffs can communicate without problem in English, there are multi-lingual guides labelled across the Ryokan that you won’t get lost, there are private baths, up 5 different baths for those who are not comfortable in public bath that’s first come first served with vacancy light indication at the hall. But I always felt, being tourist friendly takes the authentic experience away and this was not different.

From here on are the problems I had with this Ryokan. Lack of service. For Ryokan, Omotenashi is very important, you’ll be looked after throughout your stay and your needs, but there’s almost none here. It’s mostly self-served, including finding your shoe cabinet to store away your shoes, finding your own Yukata, finding your way to your room, to restaurant, waiting in line to get seated and even laying out Futon bed after dinner that I decided to go to youtube for help (now I learned something new).

Onsen. Another crucial aspect of Ryokan. I went to the public bath while my sister went to private bath, and we came to the same conclusion. We were disappointed with the Onsen. The Onsen felt lack of minerals and heat for a good sweat even though it says it’s natural hot spring water on the wall, it just felt like normal water. There’s no clock or thermometer found (I find this weird), so I don’t have any reference. But another reference is usually in Onsen, you would find yourself need to go to toilet shortly after entering the Onsen several times, but no one in the room did this throughout the whole bath. I looked at my watch afterwards, I dipped in for 20 minutes, even so, I didn’t have any sweat. My body didn’t feel relaxed, I was disappointed after one day of hike that day. But maybe, again, it’s good for first timer, as normally, the temperature of typical Onsen can be dangerous if not careful. But for an Onsen lover, it’s a huge disappointment.

Food. We had Kaiseki, once again we were disappointed with the quality. We would say even food chain we had the other day in Kobe was better. I’m not even going to write anymore about food, because if it was good, I can remember everything in detail, but there was nothing to recall about.

Room quality. The room was old as in worn out. Such as the Shoji, the paper is poorly maintained, stains all over the Tatami mats, the toilet tap is a disgusting with the rubber (for some reason) half coming off, exposing the rust underneath that I had to skip the toilet tap and use bathroom tap instead.

Noise. Maybe I’m just unlucky, there were trucks moving about just outside my room in the middle of the night, the night had a bus of foreign tourists checked in who were extremely noisy at both rooms and restaurant these are not the Ryokan's fault. But then there's hot vs cold causing windows to create cracking noise throughout the night. My room has access to balcony, but it faces directly at the building's HVAC systems, it was extremely noisy with window open. I didn't even use the balcony at the end and didn't have a good night sleep either.

All things considered, I would imagine this would be okay to try for my first time staying at Ryokan despite even some basics being average for a hotel, but being a Ryokan lover, this was very disappointing. I understand that some aspects may be affected by staff shortages, caused by COVID or ageing population in Japan, but I certain hope this isn’t the new normal/standard for Ryokans.


Below average for a hotel and very poor for a Ryokan/Onsen

It was a 2 nights stay of 2 of us after the long long period of Covid… Our agency made a mistake in booking 1 person instead of 2. So we were told to pay one more person that we agreed but not to have dinner and breakfast for the 2nd person but to have 1 person 2 nights’ dinner to be consumed in 1 night with 2 person. They agreed not to charge for the extra person but at the end they insisted they had to charge without understanding anything! All the staff barely understand any English! Actually we did not even took breakfast at all because they were crowded with guests at the restaurant in the morning! 
Very bad experience!

The guests have to bear all the faults and problems of the hotel

I and my mother stayed there for one night 20000 yen per person, with dinner and breakfast. It was a very comfortable stay. 

This was more like a hotel, except that we needed to walk around without your own shoes (without getting dirty feet) inside. It was fully booked on that day. We had an earlier check-in, which mean that we could enjoy our relaxing private Onsen bath without standing in line. We also tried the large onsen baths later in the evening after a long walk in the beautiful Arashiyama area nearby. It was hot, but great. One of the baths was outside in a Japanese garden. We got warmed up from the inside out, and had an ice popsicle before we went up to our room for good nights rest. 

We also enjoyed a huge dinner and breakfast, true local cuisine with typical taste in Kyoto that supposed to be refined and "delicate" - you shouldn´t expect any strong taste, and correctly cooked. This supposed to be a 3-star-hotel, but the amenity was completed. We didn´t miss anything here. We thought the staff at the front desk were not amazing, but definitely not poor. We didn´t need to deal with them so much as we had good information in written form. Everything was clean and pleasant. Had absolutely nothing to complain. We would definitely love to come back again.

My rating is 4 - not more or less. I certainly see that they still have a room for improvement, but overall I didn´t personally understand all the poor reviews.

Kadensho

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