Hyatt Place Kyoto Review: A Prime Spot for Budget Travelers

For budget-conscious travelers visiting Japan, the Hyatt Place Kyoto offers fantastic value with its helpful amenities and prime location atop a subway station.

While not the fanciest Hyatt in Kyoto, the property’s modern decor, natural wood aesthetic and use of greenery will almost make you forget you’re staying at a Hyatt Place, a mid-tier Hyatt brand.

During my four-night stay, I found the Hyatt Place Kyoto to be a cozy yet comfortable base for exploring the city’s attractions and taking day trips to nearby cities like Osaka.

The Hyatt Place Kyoto is in the center of the city. Cultural sites like Nijo Castle and the Kyoto Gyoen National Garden, home to the Kyoto Imperial Palace, are within walking distance. There are also plenty of convenience stores nearby if you’re looking to stock up on snacks and drinks, and a major supermarket is a 13-minute walk from the hotel.

The hotel’s best perk is its proximity to the Marutamachi subway station, which has an entrance located on the ground floor of the hotel.

From there, you’re only a few stops away from the downtown shopping district and Kyoto Station, where you can catch the Shinkansen bullet train to Tokyo or other rail lines to nearby cities like Kobe and Osaka.

Nearby bus lines can take you to popular sites including the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, Kiyomizu-dera Temple and the Yasaka Shrine, where hundreds of lanterns are lit up at night.

While the facade of the building is a bit drab and gray, stepping into the Hyatt Place Kyoto is an entirely different experience.

From the moment you enter, you’re greeted by natural wood tones, as well as large green plants.

That’s a theme reflected throughout the lobby, with its wooden furniture and green accent pillows.

The decor projects a sense of calm and peacefulness, a contrast from the urban sprawl just steps outside.

The Hyatt Place Kyoto does not offer free breakfast for guests, a departure from what you might expect if you’re a frequent guest at Hyatt Places in the U.S. The one exception is for those who hold Hyatt’s top-tier Globalist status.

I have the World of Hyatt Credit Card, which grants me bottom-tier Discoverist status; however, I was generously gifted a Guest of Honor award by a Globalist, which meant I could enjoy the perks of being a Globalist, such as free breakfast, for the duration of my stay.

The buffet-style breakfast is tasty and offers a variety of Japanese and Western options, including grilled salmon, smoked salmon, pork belly, fruit, hash browns, baked goods, scrambled eggs, and rice with a variety of toppings and garnishes.

You can also get made-to-order Japanese-style omelets, which I thought was a fun touch. Milk, cereal and juices are also available.

If you don’t get free breakfast, expect to pay about $17 per person each day. Breakfast is available from 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

My favorites included the curry with rice and brioche muffins. There was also a green tea broth that paired well with rice — a delicious and soothing combo, especially since I started to develop a cold toward the end of the stay.

The hotel breakfast is convenient, but I also saw plenty of people opt for the cheaper option of buying breakfast at a local convenience store and bringing it back to eat in the lobby area.

Beyond breakfast, the Hyatt Place Kyoto also has its grab-and-go Lobby Bar, where you can buy snacks and drinks. It’s a bit of an eclectic menu, with items from chips, cookies and ice cream bars to cup ramen, sake, juice and mini bottles of champagne. There are also utensils here, which is a plus if you’re ordering takeout.

You can even pour yourself a glass of wine for about $7 using the self-serve machine. If you’re looking to grab a cup of coffee, there are free-to-use Nespresso machines in the lobby.

Since I was traveling with a friend, we booked the standard room with two twin beds and a bathtub.

The room itself was not very large, but I found it to be well-designed and spacious, especially for Japan. The natural wood tones that continued from the lobby made the room feel bright and calm.

The room comes with your typical hotel furnishings, including a clothing rack with plenty of hangers, a safe, a mini fridge and a TV.

There’s also a chaise lounge chair that converts into a pull-out sofa bed, a table and an additional stool. Other amenities include pajamas, a shoe brush, and a bottle of air and fabric freshener.

In an eco-friendly move, the hotel does not provide water bottles for guests. Instead, there is a jug in each room that can be filled at water and ice machines located on each floor.

The bathroom is small but offers ample space. There’s a toilet with a bidet, a sink and a shower with a bathtub.

Bathroom amenities include a hair dryer and dental kits. One dental kit will have a toothbrush with white bristles, while the other will have a toothbrush with black bristles, a thoughtful and helpful design decision for those traveling with others.

If you need room cleaning, use the hotel’s magnetic card system to let hotel staff know. Stick the card corresponding to the desired service (a full, simple or ecology cleaning) on the outside of your room door before heading out for the day.

Our room faced a somewhat-busy street, and since the hotel is only six floors tall, it felt exposed to keep the curtains open.

It would have been nice to have sheer curtains to let natural light in while preserving some privacy.

The building has 239 rooms and three elevators. The elevators move quickly, although your keycard only grants you access to the floor your room is on. If you’re traveling with other people in different rooms, make sure to request rooms on the same floor.

A standout feature of the Hyatt Place Kyoto is its washing machines. Since we arrived at the hotel halfway through our trip, it was nice to be able to do laundry onsite — especially considering how hot and humid it was outdoors.

The laundry room on the ground floor has three washer-dryer combo units, and it takes about two hours to run a full wash-and-dry cycle with detergent included for 600 yen (around $4 in U.S. currency). The machine only takes 100 yen coins. Ask the front desk if you need change.

Keep in mind that these machines are popular, so it might take some time before you can snag one. I found it to be busier at night, so if you’re planning a later start to your morning, that might be a good opportunity to use the machines.

To retrieve your laundry, you’ll need to set up a security code. It’s simple, but it also means you have to wait for someone to come back and get their laundry before you can use the machine. If you find you’ve been waiting a while, don’t be afraid to ask the front desk to remove the other guest’s laundry. They’ll set it aside for pickup at the front desk, and you’ll be able to use the machine.

Next to the laundry room, you’ll find the hotel gym. It’s relatively compact, but it should meet most people’s needs, with free weights, a weight machine, ellipticals and treadmills.

In case you need any toiletries, such as a hair brush or a razor, the hotel has an amenity station located across from the check-in desks.

As one might expect in Japan, the service at the Hyatt Place Kyoto was excellent. The hotel staff were friendly, from those on check-in duty to room service, and I was always greeted with a polite nod.

I arrived at 12 p.m. and was able to store my luggage at the front desk until check-in at 3 p.m. While early check-ins are common in the U.S., that’s not the case in Japan.

While the check-in and checkout processes were smooth, it’s worth noting that the Hyatt Place Kyoto does not have a dedicated elite check-in line. This was a missed opportunity to show appreciation for Hyatt loyalists, in my opinion.

I also had an awkward interaction at the end of my stay. I had requested a 4 p.m. late checkout — another perk of the Guest of Honor award. However, at 2 p.m. (the late checkout time for a Discoverist), a hotel staff member knocked on my door and told me I needed to leave. I quickly explained my situation, and although she apologized about the mistake, it was a disappointing way to end an otherwise fantastic stay.

The Hyatt Place Kyoto offers helpful amenities, and its excellent price point makes it even better.

Whether you’re paying a cash rate or redeeming World of Hyatt points, you can typically find a great deal for rooms at this property. The Hyatt Place Kyoto is a Category 2 property, meaning that you can book a standard room at this hotel for 6,500 to 9,500 points, depending on the time of year.

For example, I searched in October 2024 for a two-night stay at the beginning of April 2025 — during prime cherry blossom season — and found availability for 19,000 World of Hyatt points. The cash rate was roughly $940, a redemption value of nearly 5 cents per point. That’s more than double NerdWallet’s valuation of Hyatt points at 2.2 cents per point.

Always check the cash rates before you book with points, though. During my search, a two-night stay in February 2025 was as low as $180.

If you arrive in Kyoto from Tokyo on the bullet train, it’s easy to get to the Hyatt Place Kyoto. Take the Karasuma line from Kyoto Station to Marutamachi Station, which will drop you off right at the entrance of the hotel.

The Hyatt Place Kyoto is a fantastic option for budget travelers. While it’s not the fanciest option in the city, it’s a comfortable experience with a lot to appreciate.

If you’re looking for a convenient location close to public transportation at an excellent price, add this hotel to your list.