Makino Kogen Onsen Sarasa

The room was comfortable, well-appointed, and surprisingly spacious for Namba. The air conditioning and television were also very easy to use, which is a welcome touch for non-Japanese-speaking travellers, as hotel room controls in Japan can sometimes be difficult to navigate, even with AI translation tools. What let the hotel down, however, was the breakfast experience. There were lengthy queues each morning simply to be seated, as only one hostess was managing the process. Most guests do not want to begin their day by waiting in line for up to 15 minutes, particularly when there are plenty of vacant tables available in a large dining area. It seemed unnecessary for guests to have to wait to be formally seated. Once inside, there was further congestion due to there being only one coffee machine and one toaster, resulting in even more queuing in what is clearly a very busy hotel. Overall, the room itself was excellent, but the breakfast operation would benefit from some improvements to better accommodate the number of guests.

The property is very unassuming from the exterior but it’s a lovely hotel. The staff is very friendly and helpful. They offer to call taxis for you and will graciously assist with any other questions that you may have. The Cicon Bakery in the lobby is superb and is a welcome relief from the convenience store food that we were consuming at our last hotel. Everything is freshly baked and they had breakfast sandwiches, doughnuts, fresh fruit, drinks and more. The roof top bar is a great place to hang out at the end of the day with a beautiful view and fire pits. The water pressure in the shower is phenomenal and taking a shower was a highlight of each morning. The beds were very comfortable. The location was nice because it was close to many temples and shrines as well as pottery retailers and kimono rental stores. Now here are the negatives. There are not enough places to hang towels!!! That’s a pet peeve and I don’t understand how you can expect three people to hang towels on two tiny hooks. Please get install more places to hang towels! You certainly have enough wall space to do it. There is a shuttle to Kyoto Station but it only departs 4 times per day and they won’t take your luggage unless it’s super small. We never used it since it wasn’t available when we needed it. Kyoto Station is not close enough to walk to unless you want to get all sweaty. Other than those two things, it’s a great place to stay!! Would stay again!

Very nice hotel and very close to shops/malls etc. it’s right in the Main Street making it noisy due to traffic. Hotel has couple restaurants, barista and shop so very convenient. They don’t offer any amenities like other hotels in Japan which was little painful since we didn’t bring any. Very clean and spacious.