Banyan Tree Higashiyama Kyoto

Overall, my stay was great. The bed in the room was absolutely massive, and I loved being able to use the hot spring on the first floor every night. The hotel only has one restaurant for both breakfast and dinner, so the food options were a bit limited and repetitive.

We stayed here for a family trip over Children's Day in May. Banyan Tree is such a renowned brand even in Korea, so I had high expectations when I booked our stay. However, we were hoping for a mountain view, but instead, we got a cemetery view – and on a dark, rainy night, it was quite enough to give us nightmares. If you're looking for a relaxing experience, like soaking in a Japanese cypress (hinoki) bathtub, you'll be satisfied, but I have to say the view was extremely disappointing. On the positive side, the Japanese tatami room vibe was very pleasing, and the aroma oil program at the spa was really interesting.

Not bad, not bad, not bad.

When we chose this hotel, we saw pictures and videos that made us think it was a resort estate, but it's not. There's very little to see inside the hotel; I could walk through the entire property in 5 minutes. Secondly, the hotel advertises natural hot springs, but the public ones reek of disinfectant as soon as you walk in, which is very unpleasant. The room itself was okay and had character, and the bathtub was very large with a pleasant woody scent when bathing. Finally, the breakfast – honestly, the taste was just mediocre. I wouldn't choose this hotel again at the same price point.

The hotel's location isn't ideal; there's a very steep slope to walk up, but thankfully I had a car. The room itself was lovely, but outside there were a lot of tombstones, so I kept the curtains closed. The breakfast menu changed daily and tasted good.

Had such a wonderful experience, I'd love to visit again!