Hotel Kanra Kyōto

In my humble opinion, this 4-star hotel exceeded the standard of many 5-star properties I’ve stayed at in Japan. The staff spoke excellent English, making communication smooth and pleasant. The Deluxe Twin Room was thoughtfully designed and perfectly suited for a small family of two adults and two children. The location is ideal—conveniently situated between the main train station and the subway, with grocery stores easily accessible nearby. A beautiful, large temple is just next door, adding to the charm of the area. One of the highlights was the hotel lounge, where complimentary drinks and coffee are available 24/7—a rare and appreciated touch. The bath amenities were among the best we’ve encountered in Japan, and the meticulous attention to detail throughout the hotel was truly impressive. Without a doubt, we’ll be coming back.

We arrived in Kyoto around noon and checked in to the hotel. The rooms weren’t ready but we completed the paperwork and were able to leave our backpacks in the reception area. We headed to our scheduled tea ceremony and were back in the early evening to get to our rooms. We had 2 rooms (1 for parents 1 for young adult children). Rooms were large and we liked the seating area. Yukatas were provided to wear in the rooms. We had breakfast each morning, which had a wonderful selection. They offer cultural experiences on certain days but unfortunately we didn’t get back in time to try one. We did enjoy a free local beer in the lounge area which was nice. Front desk staff were helpful. We loved the location- easy walk to the train station and to the subway. 7-11 just half a block away (if there are no onigiri left it is my daughter’s fault!). Would stay here again if I get the chance to come back to Kyoto!

We recently stayed at Hotel Kanra Kyoto and thoroughly loved it. This was our second stay here, the first time was back in 2014. The hotel is much larger now and even more beautiful! Everything about the hotel is Zen-like and you feel calm as soon as you enter the lobby. Staff is excellent and they exemplify Japanese "Omotenashi." You always feel like a VIP there.||The rooms are beautiful with tatami mats, super comfy beds, and a cedar "furo" tub too! You don't need to go to an onsen if you stay here!||Location is just a few minutes taxi ride from Kyoto Station (you can walk it, but I'd take a taxi if you are traveling with your luggage) and the magnificent Higashi Honganji is literally next door. Nishi Honganji is a 15-minute walk and Gojo Station subway is just steps away. 7-Eleven is also right next door, and if you know about Japanese "conbini" (convenience stores), you will know that this is a good thing!||We will definitely be back again, hopefully soon!

One thing Kanra did that I’ve never experienced in any other hotel (even those that are baby friendly hotels), was provide us with food fit for a baby who just started weaning. The chef blended hard boiled egg and broccoli into a mousse based on my specific request, and the staff in the restaurant were super accommodating. Having been to other hotels since and asking for the same service, they haven’t been able to provide it in the same way. We were super grateful to stay here and have such an attentive experience for our little one.

Absolutely superb hotel. Beautiful rooms, supreme Japanese service and a great location. Each room has a tiny zen garden outside it, the bathroom has its own onsen, and the beds are ridiculously comfortable. There are even free drinks downstairs. They also arranged our luggage forwarding for us, which worked perfectly. I would stay here again in a heartbeat.

Such a beautiful and relaxing hotel! We stayed for 3 nights and were sad to leave. It's walking distance to Kyoto Station and there are a ton of restaurants and cafes nearby! Checking in, we were greeted with warm towels and hot tea. We loved the beautiful chimes sound in the lobby/lounge and that there were free refreshments like apple juice and water available 24/7. The staff are extremely helpful and friendly, and didn't hesitate to help us figure out the easiest way to get places, help us ship our luggage to our next hotel, and answer any other qs we had. The rooms were gorgeous but the best part was the rainfall shower & the cedar wood tub! The soaps in the shower also smelled amazing, I normally just use my own but I HAD to use theirs! I did take a star off for general functionality of the room? It was a bit difficult to move around by the bed and there wasn't anywhere for our suitcases. We didn't want to damage the tatami floors so we kept our 3 suitcases close to the door.

Absolutely fantastic stay. The hotel is perfectly located near the train station and offers a warm, welcoming atmosphere from the moment you arrive. Our room was beautiful and lived up to every expectation. The service was outstanding, and the 24-hour complimentary wine, beer, and sake in the lobby was a brilliant touch. Highly recommended – 9/10. We’ll definitely be back.

Our family of four had an exceptional three night stay at Hotel Kanra. The room was excellent, we slept great and the location was central for all our activities. Being so close to Kyoto Station was valuable. The daily breakfast was beautifully presented and delicious, a perfect way to start the day. The staff was outstanding, gracious and always approachable, while keeping a low profile. The common living area adjacent to the lobby is fantastic. Free beer! 😁 And it made for a casual space to chat with other guests. Overall just a very warm, non intimidating and easy temporary home for our Kyoto visit. Thank you Hotel Kanra staff!

Celebrated my 25th wedding anniversary with a trip to Japan, and my family's stay in Kyoto at the Hotel Kanra was the highlight on our vacation! The hotel is a modern version of a ryokan with sliding shoji doors making each hotel room feel like your own private residence. The rooms have a very comfortable bed and a spa like bathroom with a cypress soaker tub that emits a lovely woodsy scent. Our room on the fourth floor of the main building had an incredible view of the Higashi Honganji temple next door. (Due to my jet lag I visited during the early morning hours and was delighted to find the grounds unpopulated and tranquil - a perfect opportunity for taking photos and to be pleasantly immersed in the soothing chants of a morning service.) The rooms also have shoji screens in front of the windows but tucked behind are blackout curtains. There's even a humidifier to make your stay even more agreeable. My family loved the yukatas that are provided and we wanted to purchase them but the hotel was out of stock at the time. The hotel offers a breakfast buffet and we all agreed it was our best meal of the trip. I just wish it was open for lunch and dinner as well! I took advantage of the spa services offered and Miki took excellent care of me during my massage. The front desk staff kindly helped us several times when we had questions and they even assisted with my purchase of a gorgeous bowl from the lobby shop. Yes the hotel is about a 10 minute walk from the Kyoto station but the Gojo train station is on the next block over and I found it peaceful to be away from the crowds. I wish we had been able to stay longer but we have great memories to look back on and will look forward to staying again in the future.

I want to preface this by saying I'm giving this place 3 stars bc of the price-to-what-you-get ratio. This hotel was just okay. It looks sleek inside and hallways and the room is pretty modern/traditional looking but why is it $457 for basically one long studio? The rooms have a mini door/entry hallway into your room. You then walk in and you essentially see your entire room (we got the double room w king bed): a hallway w 2 doors on the left for the shower/bath and toilet (w the tiniest hand washing station ever), and then you see the mini sitting area w tv and then your bed. It's a small room for $450 and offers few amenities that don't justify the cost. Bedroom: our bed was up against a wall w paper covered windows. There appears to be no way to block the sun, so good morning to you when the sun comes up. Hence, I woke up at 530am and unfortunately didn't have an eye mask so I'm lying I in bed just writing this review. (Also, when we opened the paper-covered windows, we had a lovely view of the street from the second floor, which felt way too close to the pedestrians and kind of invasive lol.) When we checked in, they also said they "upgraded" our room, but.... I honestly don't know what upgrade we received. I feel like we ended up getting something smaller than what we actually booked. So overall... this place is relatively nice looking, but is it worth the money? To me, NO. For like $100 more, you could stay at a traditional ryokan where you are pampered and eat a kaiseki meal in your room, or get a hotel room closer to the heart of the city so you don't need to take buses/subways for way less. Also there's literally nothing to do around the hotel unless you walk a mile or take the bus/train out.

Lovely, zen-like hotel in a very central location (it's literally across the street from the massive Higashi Hongan-ji temple complex, 10 min walk from Kyoto station, 12-15 min walk from Nishiki Market) The entrance to each room even has its own little zen rock garden. Clean modern lines with Japanese influences, but Western conveniences. The lobby feels like a spa with pleasant aromas. The lobby lounge is a great, very quiet place place to relax in the evening either before or after dinner, with a tea, coffee or cocktail. Staff could not be more accommodating and gracious. They not only booked us into 3 great, hard-to-get-into restaurants several months in advance, they printed out Google Maps & directions for each, to give to the taxi drivers. I had booked a Main Building/Standard Double Room, which has a king bed but the room was a tad snug, so we opted to upgrade (for an additional ¥7,000 per night) to the Main Building/Deluxe Twin, which has slightly more room, but it's laid out better so it FEELS a lot bigger. It also has a super cool round wooden bathtub! If you have the means, do the upgrade. Would definitely stay here again, but the only two things to be aware of are: 1) while centrally located, there is not much in the immediate vicinity (restaurants, coffee, etc.). You need to walk 5-10 minutes to find stuff. NBD. The subway station Gojo is also right next door. 2) for whatever reason, the hotel tends to attract a decent amount of families with kids. (maybe 25-30% of guests?) It's not overly annoying, but breakfast room is not super peaceful sometimes with loud children. Overall, this is a delightful modern, cool hotel, that is a GREAT value and would stay here again in a heartbeat.

Hotel Kanra was amazing. It made me wish we had stayed in Kyoto longer. It's a gorgeous hotel that perfectly blends traditional and modern. Once you step in the lobby, you are instantly wowed by the floral display, and then by the amazing customer service. Upon sitting (yes, sitting!) at check-in, they brought cloths, glasses of water and helped us plan our time in Kyoto with maps and suggested itineraries and restaurants. Then once you get to your room, you are mesmerized by each individual doorway, leave your shoes outside and then start to gawk at the rooms. The staff walk you through your room - showing you how certain things work and making sure everything is as it should be. The bamboo tubs are stunning as are the bathrooms themselves. There's a waterfall shower head as well as a regular one. And the toilet is in a separate room. It's just... the best. And then there's the traditional breakfast. 3000JPY and worth every bite. If you go to Kyoto, there's no question about where you should stay. It's here. And it's just a 10 min walk from the Kyoto train station. Do it. You will not regret it.

Hotel Kanra Kyoto deserves so many stars as they simply exceeded my expectations like no other. From the surprise of being upgraded to a Suite with their best view of the Higashi Honganji Temple and the Kyoto Tower to looking forward to their impeccably delicious breakfasts, what stands out most of all was their exceptional service. Mika helped my Husband and I graciously throughout our stay, from ensuring our luggage was already in our room upon check in [we had it shipped via Yamato from our hotel in Tokyo] to presenting us with a thoughtful Meotobashi gift. Regarding location, we were surprised by how quick it was to walk from the Kyoto Train Station even with a full set of luggage to the hotel. Brisk walks to Gion and Nishiki Market were also enjoyable during record low temperatures in January (yay for snow flurries)! Thank you Hotel Kanra Kyoto for a wonderful stay :)

This hotel is amazing. Stayed here for 4 nights while visiting Kyoto and was really happy with the location, size of the room and friendliness of the staff. Also enjoyed a lovely meal at the upscale restaurant which was the best steak I have ever eaten!! The rooms are large and include a seating area which is ideal as you don't have to sit on the beds when you are hanging out in the room. The bathroom is spacious with a large shower and a soaking tub. The only drawback is that the toilet is in a separate room, but i guess that is easily solved by moving the soap and the hand towel into the toilet room. The location is a quick 10 minute walk from Kyoto station, so a great central point to wherever you want to visit in the city. There are lots of great restaurants nearby as well. Everything here is 5 stars and just as comparable to luxury accommodations, highly recommend!

We would give this hotel a galaxy of stars, if we could! First, it's GORGEOUS. Contemporary Japanese design with traditional cultural touches. Blonde wood everywhere, with bronze metal accents. Our room even had a large antechamber with a seasonal diorama prepared in moss, stone, and leaves. Second, the we booked a mid-priced room, but it was still HUGE. The beds could have slept 6, easily. We also had a formal Japanese-style tatami living area, and an enormous bathroom with a double soaking tub. Third, the staff was incredibly helpful. They knew restaurants of every variety and price point, and even helped us find a liquor store that sold a specific whisky we wanted. We truly enjoyed this hotel, and will definitely be back on our next visit to Kyoto.

A mixed bag. On the positive side, the location is great (10 minute walk from the train station), the lobby, rooms, and hallways are beautiful, and the service was wonderful. But more importantly, our room (in the main building, not the annex) wasn't functional. Although it was large enough, there was very little storage space, and the floor was made of rough stone. I wouldn't recommend it.

Amazing hotel. I'd give it more stars if I could. I've stayed in a lot of hotels in a lot of places and I've never felt more welcome or cared for than when I walked into this hotel. If you come to Kyoto, stay here.

Love the location and the cleanliness and style of the hotel. The staff was great as well. It's a little on the pricier side but well worth it.

Loved this hotel! The rooms were modern, incredibly comfortable and sparkling clean. We spoke to just about everyone on staff- all are so friendly and want to help you or give you suggestions any chance they get. Ask about local restaurants and activities! Would recommend Hotel Kanra a million times over. 8 minute walk from Kyoto Station. 15 minute walk from downtown Kyoto.

This is a nice boutique hotel with nice furniture. However the customer service was so poor ai had to give it 1/5 stars. Since I arrived, there were problems... which is understandable as long as they help resolve them but sadly with their broken english and bad training, this was horrible for us. Think twice before coming here

Can't say enough positive things about the hotel. Service was incredible. Spa was terrific. Location, etc. I would stay here again!

We loved this hotel. We stayed there for a few days in March. We had a room that could accommodate a family of 4 which is pretty rare in Japan. It looked brand new and the service was fantastic. They helped us with restaurant recommendations and bookings, taxis, etc, they were just lovely. We enjoyed a drink at the bar, they had a nice selection of Japanese whiskey. The hotel's design is modern and beautiful. It was a great deal too. We highly recommend it.