Stay Sakura Kyoto Higashiyama Shirakawa in Kyoto

The hotel is located in a quiet area and within walking distance of many major tourist and temple attractions (around 15–20 minutes) . The immediate surroundings are not very animated and offer limited activity. The first thing we noticed when walking to our room was a smell of dampness in the corridor, but also inside the room. The ground-floor room we stayed in was very small, with little to no space. The room itself was dark and uninviting as there was no real natural light (attached room photo was taken at 11:00 am), creating an atmosphere that felt more like an underground bunker than a hotel room. The only window faced a wall barely a meter away, along with next building AC equipment, which added to the unpleasant views and extra noise. The apartment includes a washing machine and the small bathroom is fitted with a ceiling-AC/dryer, which this is useful as it helps clothes dry quickly. However, the self-catering setup is very basic. The kitchen equipment is basic and even the plates provided are more the size of cup saucers. We requested a room change, but the hotel was fully booked, and because we had prepaid, cancelling and moving to another hotel was not an option.