Sun Members Kyoto Saga

When I booked on Expedia it said there was laundry available, so we planned our trip/laundry days around that; however, when we arrived at the hotel they informed it was a laundry service provided by the hotel that was only available on the weekends and that there was a coin laundry down the street if needed. Checkout was also a pain that took 10 minutes longer than necessary: you’re required to pay the Kyoto nightly accommodation fee of 200Y per person, totally fine by us, but it charged me on the computer, failed to load, and then we had to pay again at the front desk. I completely understand that the language barrier plays a role in this, but even when using google translate staff was unable to answer our questions about what was going on with laundry and then checkout when we haven’t ran into these problems anywhere else (I’m trying to say it was a staff training issue rather than a language barrier one). It also bothered me that the staff would only look at my male cousin when clarifying things, even though as a female I was the one who booked and paid for the accommodation. Last thing, even though we had a “non-smoking room” the entire building reeks of cigarette smell. Actually one final thing, the closest train stations to the hotel are 1km away, so be prepared to walk in the extreme heat/humidity with all of your luggage for that length if booking here.

Hotel and staff are lovely. Ideal if you have a car. Thankful for free shuttle bus to station if you haven’t. Not much to do / see immediately around the hotel. But great location for seeing the bamboo forest.

Great place!

Everything is too old and smells as you enter the room

The property was nice and very convenient. It was hot in our room and they need to bring an electric fan as the room temp was centralized. The whole ambience was really nice and the staff were very friendly.

The hotel was nice and the room was great. Make sure to have dinner at the hotel. It is a bit pricey, but it is a great experience.

We had a deluxe double room which was quite large and included a table and two chairs as well as two single beds. Originally we were only going to stay 2 nights but ended up staying 6 as the hotel is very nice. Just one caution is that it’s 15 minutes from the station and the opposite side of town from the tourist areas but there are two bus services into central Kyoto (91 & 93) bother of which are every 20 minutes. They do have a minibus service available in the morning but you have to book it. Did not have breakfast or use the onsite restaurant which seemed expensive. There are limited food options available locally but there is an organic Chinese restaurant opposite and a Sato Japanese restaurant just up the road.

Friendly staff. Good restaurant.

People were nice and very friendly for first time visitors. The hotel is surrounded by quiet, peaceful, and traditional environment, but I had a little bit of difficulties in communication at the reception due to their English shortage. Overall, my wife and I were very satisfied with service the hotel have provided.

This hotel is quite faraway from the Saga JR Station. The shuttle bus service is rather limited with two trips to from the hotel to the station in the morning and two reverse way in the afternoon.

A bit disappointed because there were no wifi inside the room. Just a 15min ride to arishayama and an hour or more to kyoto station. The bus station is convenient.

This hotel charged me $80 dollars for my friend who arrived from Chicago and stayed up one night out of the three I was there. This was after I talk to a translator who said they would not charge me. There were major communication issues they charge you for coffee in your room just very bad the rooms are not comfortable. I was willing to look over past the discomfort of the room in the language barrier until the last day when they overcharged me. It took two hours to work this out even after I told them which worker it was that I talk too and also to a translator. I paid too much for this room as it was. I cannot recommend it to anyone after what they did.

Overall the Sun-Members Kyoto-Saga was a very good hotel and a great fit for travelers with more experience traveling in and navigating Japan, including speaking and understanding basic phrases. The rooms were clean and well-appointed in the manner familiar to Japanese travelers, the staff were courteous (with very limited English), and the meals in the hotel restaurant were well above average. There are a lot of resources in the neighborhood for do-it-yourselfers and more budget-conscious travelers, including a laundromat, market (Mandai), and quite a few decent local eateries - including an excellent teppanyaki and bakery and a very good coffee shop (Time Cafe). The 'neighborhood map' provided by the hotel was useful for getting oriented, and the shuttle Arashiyama-Saga Sta saved time and walking, which you will do plenty of regardless. Taxis to and from the station were about Y560 and readily available during the day; at night you can have the hotel near the station call one for you. The hotel is relatively close to Arashiyama-Saga and the temples and sites on the western side of the valley, but conversely it is quite far (and usually 1-3 trains) from the attractions in central Kyoto and the eastern side of the valley, so factor in extra transit and walking time for your days.

Stuff was friendly. Hotel located away from city center. Rooms are very small to the extent end we needed to rearrange the furniture to enable open the suitcases. No wifi in the room. Wifi in public area was unstable. Price was low and matched our budget. Shuttle service provided in the mornings to the train station.

Only one night stay, but had a lot of fun. Only con about the neighborhood was distance from subway (15 min walk), otherwise great, small town feel area. The hotel service was fantastic.

Wonderful meals included ,

Smoking every where, very poor Wi-Fi in hallway entrance where this is the only Wi-Fi, while people smoke. Not happy with hotel.

The hotel was great! The staff is very accommodating despite of the language barrier. You can choose western or Japanese style breakfast. We tried both and both were great. 10 minute walk from train station and easy bus stop right across the street to take you to Arashiyama for bamboo forest, etc. We even rented bikes one day. Would recommend this hotel!

Ended up here as booked late but was very happy. Room ( just one traveller) was fine. Cleaning done meant you could see your face in the room as anything shiny was polished up. Full linen change every day. Very helpful staff and fantastic food (Japanese) I took/ended up with a meal option so got a 9 course meal of the highest quality every night. Superb. Close to a station ( is a few stops out of town as the only downside) and a major Shrine and the famous monkeys all in walking distance from the station ( Hotel runs a shuttle to the station)

... ok hotel. Restaurant too high art and expensive. Japanese breakfast overpriced to what you get. Western breakfast light and not possible to have every morning...