The Hotel is just in front of the Nijo Castle. It's beautiful but very quiet. However, There is a metro just outside and the hotel offer free shuttles every 15 mins between the main Kyoto station and the hotel.

The busy part of town is about 30 mins walk or only 2 stops with metro.

We were welcome by an army of female staff dressed in pink kimonos. The place is big, a bit posh and look a bit dated. There is a fake waterfall with plastic dears in the lobby, it's kitch but quite beautiful at night.

They are 5 restaurants offering diferent styles of cuisines but all very expensive.

The room and the bed were big! Quite a surprise for Japan.
The bathroom had loads of free comestic samples from the beauty salon in the basement of the hotel.

There is also a costume rental place with photographer if you feel like dressing like a geisha for a portrait.

All in all good place but need a bit of renovating and the location is very quiet.

The ANA was our second choice for our six-night stay in Kyoto - the Granvia was fully booked - and we chose it because of the hotel shuttle bus service. We had Japan rail passes, so Kyoto station was only 15 or 20 minutes away. The shuttle bus runs every 15 minutes, so it was easy to head into the station from 7.40 am and we were able to get as far as Hiroshima and back in a day with little difficulty. When coming off the train, be careful to exit Kyoto Station at the South side (Hachijō exit) for the shuttle bus, as crossing the impressive station building from North to South can be a nightmare due to poor signposting.

Also, the subway station near to the hotel means the ANA is convenient for getting most places (not the Golden Pavilion - bus from Kyoto Station north side is easiest for that)

Our package was room only, so we had breakfast a couple of days in the nearby Colorado Coffee, clean and inexpensive. We ate in the ANA only once, and had a table d'hote menu. The steak was wonderful - tender and succulent.

The room was spacious, clean and well equipped, with a heated trouser press, but the decor was a bit tired. Still, for the comfort of an electric toilet, you can forgive most things!

Reception staff were attentive and welcoming, the ladies elegant in their kimonos. We had a lovely evening visit to Nijo Castle opposite, to view the cherry blossom illuminated after dark. We also found a very nice little Indonesian restaurant down the next sidestreet .

As well as Hiroshima, we also visited Nara, Himeji, and Osaka by rail during our stay at the ANA.

There is actually nothing to complain, but not much more to thank either than the staff, which were always very polite, and shuttle bus to Kyoto station.

Ana hotel is quite far from any other sights than fantastic Nijo castle. For temple sightseeing the hotel located in eastern parts of the city would match better. But yes, there is subway right under the hotel, which solved the transportation problem most of the times.

Breakfast buffet was okay, but not Asian 4*, like the price that we paid. One person 2380 yen, while cafeterias close by served plate brunch with coffee and juices to two people at same price.

Amenities in the room were great and there were lot of them like trouser press and curling iron. Decorations and fabrics in the room and overall the hotel were cute and very japanese like. It is obvious that the hotel is bit old and worn out, but still good and spotless. Our deluxe king bed room was not very roomy, but had the view over Nijo castle.

We booked a deluxe king non-smoking room, which turned out to very roomy, even by western standards. It was clean, comfortable, and had all the amenities we needed. Very professional staff. Prior to arrival, we inquired from overseas by email about assistance in purchasing tickets for a Miyako Odori performance, which could only be purchased locally. They acquired the tickets and had them available for us to pick up when we checked in. We also sent our luggage ahead using takkyubin service, and they were waiting for us on our arrival. Their breakfast buffet was ample with a variety of choices; great value for money and a good way for us to start a long day. All in all an enjoyable stay.