allystum

Leaving in a week and finalizing all of my hotel and travel arrangements (thank you to everyone that has helped!)

In Tokyo we decided to stay at the Peninsula hotel (thanks to Fodor-ites suggestions!)

For Kyoto, still confused with hotels and am ready/want to make a decision (or have a decision be made for me ... haha)

I was told by Fodor-ites to throw out the Westin from my grouping- and I can't say I disagree, as it was more than the other two hotels I have booked.
Right now I have a king room at the Hyatt booked and a double twin room at the Okura booked, both are the same price (and both dont include breakfast).

I think we would be more comfortable in the king room, rather than a room with two twin beds- however, if it was worth it due to location, hotel, etc.- we would definitely do it.

So, any last minute advice, opinions, etc. that people can offer to help make this decision would be greatly appreciated.

Is one nearer to the 'must see sights'? Is the hyatt in a bad location (i have heard some mumbling about the location not being great?

Any / All help is greatly appreciated!!!!

Thank you!

KimJapan

To me, the Hyatt is in a fine location, right next to Sanjusangendo, and close to Kiyomizudera. You are certainly not going to walk anywhere at all, so being away from the sort of "main street" area is hardly a disadvantage. Must see sights are spread all over the city so it hardly matters where you stay. Same with restaurants. The Hyatt concierge desk can make good restaurant recommendations and the Hyatt itself has 3 good restaurants and a comfortable bar.

I will say the the entry level King Room at the Hyatt is not very large at 28 m2. It has the cool bathroom, but not a whole lot of space. We've stayed in that type, deluxe, and deluxe corner. Deluxe corner is lovely, and deluxe is just enough bigger in size than the entry level room to make a difference, plus you get a little sofa for sitting.

Breakfast might be an issue if you adverse to paying high prices for in-hotel breakfast. The buffet is expensive. The Japanese is also expensive, but lovely atmosphere and food is great were you to want to try a traditional japanese breakfast. You can buy cut price breads and pastries at night in the bakery section of the Italian restaurant if you want to do that for breakfast. Or convenience store is an option, too.

kanazawan

typical summer scene along the Kamo-gawa River (Okura neighbourhood)
http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%...e_in_Kyoto.jpg

Pontocho
http://www.pref.kyoto.jp/visitkyoto/...n/st_pontocho/

if you like these images, Okura location might suit you.

W9London

Given the location, I personally think you'll have more breakfast option at Okura. There are definitely more shops and cafes. At Hyatt, I suspect you're pretty much limited to in-house dining, unless you buy some pastries or rice balls the night before. Having said that both locations are fine.

W9London

I think Hyatt area is more serene, though there's a lovely walking path along a tiny canal just north of Okura.

kanazawan

as a semi-local of Nanzen-ji area, i am probably a bit biased.
but anyway, i rarely go south of Kiyomizu-dera/gojyo street, hence no idea how the Hyatt area looks like. many of my friends/neighbours in kyoto are also like this.

emd3

The Okura is literally built on top of a big subway station; you can enter the station from the lower hotel lobby. There are several sit down restaurants in that station. We had breafast each morning there as we started our days. It was very convenient.

emd3

I am surprised about the suggestion to throw out the Westin. I have stayed there too. It is not inconvenient, as their is a subway station next door to it. The Westin is in a good location for walking the Path of Philosophy and for walking into the Gion area and the temples and lovely sites there. The hotel is in a quiet area compared to the Okura. I understand throwing it out if that is done because it is more expensive, but I think it is a nice hotel and we had a good experience there as well as at the Okura.

mjs

I too am somewhat surprised by the suggestion to throw out the Westin. We found it to be just fine. Managed to put our family of four into one of their Japanese style rooms. Bus service to the train station was also convenient.