Kyoto Pedal

The room here was absolutely fantastic for the price and the bikes were brand new and great quality. However our stay was let down by some major issues, and the place was really disorganised. We arrived to check in at 7pm and no one was at the front desk. We spent ten minutes ringing the bell, which mustn't have been working. We shouted hello up and down the stairs for a while, but the place seemed deserted. Ten minutes after more shouting and bell ringing and a guy walked down. He was confused about our booking (which we'd paid in advance for) and asked if we knew our room number. Of course we bloody didn't know our room number! After some to-ing and fro-ing on his ipad he said our room wasn't ready and needed to be cleaned - it was 7.30 in the evening! So we waited 15 minutes more whilst he finished cleaning it before being let in, about 45 minutes after we arrived. The room itself was huge. Our twin room had a small kitchenette, a separate tatami area, a table and chairs, two single beds, bathroom with bath and a separate toilet. Not many complaints about the room as it was the biggest place we've stayed in Japan, was comfortable and had AC. One thing worth mentioning is that although it has a hotplate, the kitchen is otherwise extremely limited. There are two forks, spoons, plates and glasses and a pan, and that's it. We had to ask for a knife to cook with, and there were no mugs so we used paper cups from downstairs. No bowls so we ate cereal out of the pan etc. There's a free coffee pod machine downstairs, which was nice. We borrowed bikes and these were fantastic. New and worked perfectly. These are included with the room. After cycling round all day we got back completely knackered at 3pm and all the front doors were locked and the password for the keypad wasn't working. No contact number or way to get in contact with the hostel and the front desk had a shutter over it. We spent 20 minutes outside before someone came down and let us in. Really poor, especially after the check in debacle. Location is in a quiet residential area, and you definitely need to use the bikes or get a bus to get around. There's not really a convenient metro station. There's no convenience stores nearby, but there's a few local supermarkets within 5-10 mins walk. The room and bikes were great. I just wish they were better organised here as being unable to check in when we arrived and then being locked out really put a downer on our stay.

Big room, bikes free, good bed and air conditioner good. However is so far away for a lot of nice sightseeing. I recommend the place!