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Reviews of Guesthouse Soi

2 out of 5
Guesthouse Soi
509-2 Shimoma-cho, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto

Reviews

9.2

Wonderful

Rating 10 - Excellent. 184 out of 288 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 86 out of 288 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 14 out of 288 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 4 out of 288 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 0 out of 288 reviews" "

9.2/10

Cleanliness

9.2/10

Staff & service

9.2/10

Amenities

9.0/10

Property conditions & facilities

10/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

10/10 Excellent

Leon

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 3 nights in Dec 2023

10/10 Excellent

Ariane

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The owners are the sweetest. The hostel owner would give me snacks whenever I was working the common area, called taxis for me, and even directed me to a local festival happening in the area. The staff can speak english very well, and there was also many forgeiners in the guesthouse which was very reassuring. The room was very cozy, and it was fun to stay in a traditional style japanese room. I liked the futon, but others who do not fancy firmer beds may be a little uncomfortable. Overall, an amazing value and experience!
Stayed 3 nights in Sep 2023

10/10 Excellent

Dianne

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The hosts were very friendly and helpful. They helped us figure out the bus system, helped us to choose sites to visit, and they were very welcoming. The room was close to the bathrooms which were private and very clean. I like having a small western breakfast available each morning.
Stayed 4 nights in Aug 2023

10/10 Excellent

Maribel

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Wonderful hotel run by a lovely family. Very clean and nice looking. Warm welcoming environment. Walking distance to several area attractions. I highly recommend this lodging. Would stay again.
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2023

10/10 Excellent

Malinda

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
While it is a bit of a walk to the nearest station, there are convenient buses nearby. The guesthouse staff are incredibly friendly and helpful and the rooms and bathroom were clean. Loved it here.
Stayed 2 nights in May 2023

10/10 Excellent

Hephzibah

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Guesthouse Soi was adorable with really unique, artistic decor in the shared spaces. The staff was so welcoming. We stayed in a Japanese style room that had 2 futons but could accomodate a 3rd in neccesary. Our room was spacious, clean with an air conditioner that worked super well. There was a hot pot, tea cups and tea bags in our room which was a nice touch. Of all the "shared bathroom" stays we did on our trip to Japan, this one really got it right: the shared bathroom was a whole area -- kind of like an old school dorm-- but it had three fully enclosed toilet "rooms", three fully enclosed shower "rooms" (with a small dry) area where you could get dressed, and a row of sinks and mirrors. We did walk to Kiyumizudera, but for the most part, vehicular transport was needed to get to most of the sights and the station. There is a bis stop down the street!
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2023

10/10 Excellent

Melissa

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The staff were so kind and took time to give us advice about travel tips and answer our questions. My husband also really enjoyed the traditional Japanese breakfast that was offered and was a very affordable price for the quality.
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2023

10/10 Excellent

WIlliam

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Me and a friend stayed for a night on a two day trip to Kyoto from Tokyo and the guesthouse was perfect! Easy to check in, the staff were extremely helpful giving great local recommendations and the guesthouse facilities were great and clean. Overall a great stay, thank you!
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2023

10/10 Excellent

Michael

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Very personable and willing to help and was very attentive. So very hospitable and I wish I could have stayed longer. Very cozy and quaint which made me feel relaxed. Spacious room was a great change from the small accommodation I had prior.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2023

10/10 Excellent

Harriet

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
The staff, Maki-san and her family, were so incredibly considerate and accommodating. I really appreciated them. We had several hiccups in our plans and they made sure we still had a clean room, gave us medicine and soup for the one of us when she got sick, and invited us to celebrate Christmas and New Year’s with them and fed us cake and traditional soba. I doubt we could’ve had better accommodations anywhere else. Even though it was a bit of a walk to get to a bus and there weren’t many restaurants open near the guesthouse, I wouldn’t change anything about our stay. I highly recommend staying at Guesthouse Soi, and I am planning to send a thank you package to Maki-san and her family to express my gratitude for their hospitality that went above and beyond what was expected.

8/10 Good

Kristen

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Everything was loverly :-)
Stayed 2 nights in May 2022

10/10 Excellent

Eliot

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Nice Place to Stay
Soi is located close to Kiyomizu-dera and not far from anywhere in Kyoto. JIll, the host was very helpful in every aspect that we needed. The room was cozy and very "Large" in Japan's standard. The hostel is accessible by bus from Kyoto station and to all the tourist spot that you may want to go to. My wife and I stayed two nights there in February and will definitely return to stay there again in the future. Thank you Jill.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2020

10/10 Excellent

Eliot

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Budget Stay
Good location, easily accessible by public transportation. Good service by Jill.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2020

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
This is a very good place to stay for both short and longer visits to Kyoto! It was very easy to find - the signage was very clear. The hosts were nice and helpful and could speak both English and Chinese. The location is close to the Gion district and the nearest JR station is a 25 minute walk. The one downside was the communal bathrooms. I would definitely recommend to everyone, and would choose to stay here again if I ever return to Kyoto.
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Lovely staff, go above and beyond to help and make sure you're comfortable
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Great guest house good value and nice people. The service was also very good. I had a late check in and there was no stress about that. You do have to do your breakfast dishes which must be the first time I’ve ever seen that but maybe I do not stay at hostels and guest houses much.
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Loved our time here - great balance of room types - free breakfast and most important lovely staff. Thank you
Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2019

10/10 Excellent

CW, USA

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
This is a truly unique accommodation: budget dorm-room like, but we secured a "family room" all to ourselves, with own bathroom and shower. The bunk beds were fun!
Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Wonderful stay at the guesthouse with extremely friendly owners who provided us travel and shopping tips to travel in Kyoto. The guesthouse is located at a peaceful neighbourhood and yet near many places of attractions. We enjoy the daily short walk to the bus stop or main road to catch a taxi to Kyoto station. We will come back again.
Stayed 3 nights in Nov 2018

10/10 Excellent

Patricia, Canada

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Kyoto guesthouse - comfy and handy to many sites!
Our stay at Guesthouse Soi was great! The staff were helpful and knowledgeable, sharing ideas on where to go and what to see within our limited time. There are some amazing sites within walking distance and handy bus service to the train station or other destinations. We would enjoy staying there again.
Stayed 2 nights in May 2018

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Wonderful guesthouse
Being in Kyoto for the first time and staying in this guesthouse was such a nice experience. In my opinion it was quite clean, the rooms are reasonable sized and sleeping on the floor with Japanese mattress was an amazing feeling! I was well rested :) A pity it’s a bit far away from the city centre but you can get a bus to everywhere.
Stayed 3 nights in May 2018

6/10 Okay

Agata, Birmingham

Liked: Staff & service, room comfort
Nice hotel close to few attraction's
Staff very friendly, will explain to you where to go and what to visit.
Stayed 3 nights in Apr 2018

8/10 Good

Giselle

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Lovely stay!
The staff was very friendly, the place was cool and clean. It has bikes to rent which is very useful as it's located pretty far from downtown but it's a good distance to do by bike.

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

8/10 Good

Ken shunji

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Big breakfast!
It was a great breakfast. We were three of us and we’ve slept well.
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2017

10/10 Excellent

Aldina, Australia

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Excellent stay great hosts convienent location.
The guesthouse ids clean and comfortable. Excellent facilities. The hosts have great knowledge of the area. Lots of good advice on where to eat . We hired the bikes and we were able to easily ride to numerous temples and shrines. Highly recommend the guesthouse.
Stayed 3 nights in Nov 2017

10/10 Excellent

Antonio

Liked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Perfect for hiking the Higashiyama District
It was my first time staying in a guesthouse and I enjoyed the experience. I was a solo traveler from Canada and I got to meet people from France, Scotland, Shanghai, and Japan. The reason I chose Guesthouse Soi was its affordability and that it was located in the Higashiyama District where I was going to do the entire day historic hike to the Silver Pavilion. With that said, if you don't enjoy hiking/walking or your health is questionable, I would suggest a different accommodation closer to a JR station. The closest JR station is the kyoto station, approximately 25 mins of walking. Otherwise, the location was perfect as I dined in the Gion district often. Maki and her staff were pleasant to talk to. Their cooking skills for breakfast were great. The room I stayed in was a Japanese-style room with a tatami mat and it was clean and comfortable. My reason for the cleanliness rating was that some of the shared facilities such as the washroom & showers could be better, but that wasn't the fault of the guesthouse or staff. It has more to do with the behaviour of the other guests you'll be sharing with. Other than that, you'll always have a nice hot shower. I would book again.
Stayed 3 nights in Oct 2017

10/10 Excellent

Aida & Mustafa, Orlando, FL

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Hospitable,charming Guest House!
We enjoyed our stay at this charming Guest House, owned by a truly lovely couple. Clean, traditional, and near to Kyoto station, Gion and many 'must see' sites. The hospitality and travel tips from the owners are off the charts! Without doubt, their guidance made our ambitious sight seeing experiences in Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, Arashiama and Inari possible. Btw, breakfast is generous & delicious at a great value!
Stayed 4 nights in Sep 2017

10/10 Excellent

Tilleisha

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Absolutely amazing! Authentic Japanese experience.
Brilliant! The staff were super nice and helped us gather our bearings! Beautiful tatami room which gives it an authentic Japanese vibe! Would stop again 100%!
Stayed 4 nights in Aug 2017

10/10 Excellent

Venessa

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Extremely hospitable and very friendly.
A wonderful stay. All staff were very hospitable and extremely helpful. We were made to feel very welcome and given lots of very informative and relevant tips on the best places to to see, according to our specific interests in gardens, art and temples.
Stayed 4 nights in Jul 2017

10/10 Excellent

Angela

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Special place
It is a really nice place for stay. I bit difficult to find it ..but after that it is really near to all main place. The people are really polite in particular Maki, she helps a lot in organize our days in Kyoto without spend a lot of money. Definitely racommended

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Location is meh but great value!
Location was a bit far away from the rest of the action. The rooms were very comfortable though, and defnitely recommend the Japanese style breakfast.

10/10 Excellent

yuki, london

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great hostel in Kyoto.
We stayed in Guest house Soi for 1 night when we stayed in Kyoto. The hotel is very well decorated and all of the stuff are very helpful and friendly. The hotel was located in heart of Higashiyama area and very easy to travel everywhere by walk or bicycle. We have rented the bicycle from there for 500 yen all day and when to everywhere by bike. We stayed in the smallest room and the room was Abi small but for the value you will have everything you need and everything was very clean so we were happy to stay there. Also you can pay 500 yen and they offer you very good breakfast everyday as well.

10/10 Excellent

Jordan, South Australia

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Awesome place to stay in Kyoto!
This place was the best place we stayed in during out time in Japan. The family who own/run it are super friendly and helpful (everyone speaks decent English). The room was very cosy and clean. Breakfast was pretty decent for the price. The only thing to consider is the location, as you might need to walk 5 minutes or so to get on the buses, but for us that was not an issue. If I ever went back to Kyoto, I would definitely stay here again, which I can't say I've ever really said for many of the places I've ever traveled.

10/10 Excellent

Kim-An

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great value
Staying at Guesthouse Soi for the Kyoto portion of our trip was a great decision. From Kyoto station it was a short ride on bus 206 to get to this guesthouse, so it was easy to find. It was clean with friendly staff. Room and bathroom was small, but that's to be expected in Japan. Would stay here again if we ever go back to Kyoto. Bonus: Kiyomizu dera temple was close by.

10/10 Excellent

Ben, Melbourne

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
hotel walking distance to Kiyomizu Temple
Myself and 2x boys (8yo & 11yo) stayed at Guesthouse Soi. We arrived from Osaka via Shinkansen, followed the instructions and caught the bus. It was very easy. the bus has a screen indicating the next stops. (later we went to nearest train station, it would be too far to walk with luggage and kids). When we arrived at Soi, it was early and our room not ready. We dropped of our luggage and went out to explore. On returning, our luggage were in our room, the girl showed us our room and explained the guesthouse facilities. The room is good size, modern, clean and well equipped.

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
very nice guest house in kyoto
We stayed here for 4 nights and we were very happy. we had the small room with the japanese style bed in a small loft area. very cozy room. the staff is very nice and friendly. they also help with directions and getting around which is very useful. the japanese breakfast was very nice. the owner invited us for dinner with the family which was a lot of fun. we were initially going to skip fuku-ji but went there on the recommendation of the owner and were very happy we did!

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
First time in Kyoto
I traveled from US with my 3 daughters (ages 16-21). Location is good, can walk to major sites or take a short taxi ride. Owners are extremely friendly and speak good English. Place is clean. We had a loft with a private bathroom. A very pleasant stay.

10/10 Excellent

Jose

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great location with the nicest, finest hosts
Sim and Maki made us feel at home. The Japanese breakfast is delicious. The place spotless, comfy, well-sized loft-style room. We are a family, traveling with three kids. the place has toys for them to play. I really feel sad to be leaving and look forward to some day come back to this very pleasant gust house with a fantastic staff and great location.

6/10 Okay

Anne-Marie, Melbourne

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
a pleasant stay in Kyoto
We enjoyed our time at Soi, even though our room had an unusual smell about it. Had Tatami mats and a nice Japanese vibe. Brekky was good and staff were very helpful.

10/10 Excellent

Vivian, Canada

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
A hidden gem close to major tourist attractions
- very helpful and hospitable staff - great breakfast for the price paid - convenient location - well-equipped rooms with everything you need on a trip

10/10 Excellent

Angel, Texaa

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Home
Great experience!! I will visit again. They made me feel at home.

10/10 Excellent

Anton , Brisbane

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Like a second home
Lovely hostel with a nice homely feel. The staff are friendly and helpful. It is great to have the family live downstairs and see how well they interact. Would definitely recommend it to family and friends.

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

10/10 Excellent

Shawna, Ripley WV

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Completely satisfied
Great stay! The hostess is lovely! Everything you need is there. The place is spotless.

8/10 Good

pinghung

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

8/10 Good

Rachelle, Hong Kong

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Nice host and good location
The host is good and caring. They are able to give you guidance for traveling around Kyoto. Maps are provided and 1-day bus passes can be bought there. The guesthouse is located at Umamachi, basically only a few bus stop away from the Kiyomizu Temple, Gion and the Nishiki market. The room is not too big but ok for us since we only have 1 piece of baggage. There are a common room and a simple kitchen. You can talk to other travelers when you share the resources. Overall the experience is good.

10/10 Excellent

Lin

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
We stayed at a private room. it's clean and very comfy. Love the deco. Perfect location with close proximity to the famous temple. Staff is very friendly and knowledgeable. Highly recommend!

10/10 Excellent

PhuaCS, Singapore

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
A warm & cozy loft holiday stay!
Pleasant experience! Safe & comfortable! Kids love the home-coming feeling.

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Enjoyed my time there
Very friendly owners, gave us great tips while we're traveling around town. I would recommend this place to anyone. Hoping to come back to Kyoto soon and will stay here again.