Hotel Mume Lovers - questions for you
Jan 18th, 2020 | 01:59 PM
#1
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 475
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Hotel Mume Lovers - questions for you
This is for that sub-set of Fodorites who have visited Kyoto and reported back with RAVES about Hotel Mume being an absolute must! I have been following the Japan forum for years and we are finally going for 2 weeks in May. I knew to book Hotel Mume as soon as we had our dates and could only get the Moon Room 8 months in advance. Unfortunately, the available Moon room is the one that can't be made up as a large bed -- only as two twins pushed together. (Mysteriously, one Moon room can be made up as a large bed and the other can't....) For five nights, we do have concerns about how small and dark the room is, as well as preferring one large bed. (I do realize that the larger, brighter rooms all have beds pushed together.)
TA reviewers indicate to stay there even if Moon Room is only possibility -- that the hotel is that exceptional. But now there are many new hotels and other boutique options in Kyoto and so I'm wondering whether it's really worth it to stay at Mume in such a tiny dark room.
Other options we are considering are Cross Hotel (more a typical hotel, but very well-reviewed, and just east of the river rather than in Gion), Celestine Gion, and Hotel Ethnography Gion Furumonzen (also a small, guest-focused property).
Hope that Mume lovers will chime in!
Also, any comments appreciated about pros and cons of staying right in Gion (with its authentic "charm") or just across the river closer to Sanjo Station and more convenient to subway lines, Pontocho Alley and Nishiki Market where some have noted is not so charming, but very lively. I realize this part of Kyoto is very compact and we can easily walk from one area to the other in 10-15 minutes.
I will post itinerary questions in another planning thread!
Thanks, as always, for input.
TA reviewers indicate to stay there even if Moon Room is only possibility -- that the hotel is that exceptional. But now there are many new hotels and other boutique options in Kyoto and so I'm wondering whether it's really worth it to stay at Mume in such a tiny dark room.
Other options we are considering are Cross Hotel (more a typical hotel, but very well-reviewed, and just east of the river rather than in Gion), Celestine Gion, and Hotel Ethnography Gion Furumonzen (also a small, guest-focused property).
Hope that Mume lovers will chime in!
Also, any comments appreciated about pros and cons of staying right in Gion (with its authentic "charm") or just across the river closer to Sanjo Station and more convenient to subway lines, Pontocho Alley and Nishiki Market where some have noted is not so charming, but very lively. I realize this part of Kyoto is very compact and we can easily walk from one area to the other in 10-15 minutes.
I will post itinerary questions in another planning thread!
Thanks, as always, for input.
Feb 28th, 2020 | 08:55 PM
#2
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 1,112
Likes: 0
This is for that sub-set of Fodorites who have visited Kyoto and reported back with RAVES about Hotel Mume being an absolute must! I have been following the Japan forum for years and we are finally going for 2 weeks in May. I knew to book Hotel Mume as soon as we had our dates and could only get the Moon Room 8 months in advance. Unfortunately, the available Moon room is the one that can't be made up as a large bed -- only as two twins pushed together. (Mysteriously, one Moon room can be made up as a large bed and the other can't....) For five nights, we do have concerns about how small and dark the room is, as well as preferring one large bed. (I do realize that the larger, brighter rooms all have beds pushed together.)
TA reviewers indicate to stay there even if Moon Room is only possibility -- that the hotel is that exceptional. But now there are many new hotels and other boutique options in Kyoto and so I'm wondering whether it's really worth it to stay at Mume in such a tiny dark room.
Other options we are considering are Cross Hotel (more a typical hotel, but very well-reviewed, and just east of the river rather than in Gion), Celestine Gion, and Hotel Ethnography Gion Furumonzen (also a small, guest-focused property).
Hope that Mume lovers will chime in!
Also, any comments appreciated about pros and cons of staying right in Gion (with its authentic "charm") or just across the river closer to Sanjo Station and more convenient to subway lines, Pontocho Alley and Nishiki Market where some have noted is not so charming, but very lively. I realize this part of Kyoto is very compact and we can easily walk from one area to the other in 10-15 minutes.
I will post itinerary questions in another planning thread!
Thanks, as always, for input.
TA reviewers indicate to stay there even if Moon Room is only possibility -- that the hotel is that exceptional. But now there are many new hotels and other boutique options in Kyoto and so I'm wondering whether it's really worth it to stay at Mume in such a tiny dark room.
Other options we are considering are Cross Hotel (more a typical hotel, but very well-reviewed, and just east of the river rather than in Gion), Celestine Gion, and Hotel Ethnography Gion Furumonzen (also a small, guest-focused property).
Hope that Mume lovers will chime in!
Also, any comments appreciated about pros and cons of staying right in Gion (with its authentic "charm") or just across the river closer to Sanjo Station and more convenient to subway lines, Pontocho Alley and Nishiki Market where some have noted is not so charming, but very lively. I realize this part of Kyoto is very compact and we can easily walk from one area to the other in 10-15 minutes.
I will post itinerary questions in another planning thread!
Thanks, as always, for input.
