For a short, 3-night leisure trip, I enjoyed the unique experience of sleeping on traditional futons on tatami mats at Tabist Sparkling Dolphins Inn. the room had a nice balcony, separate toilet, and bathroom. the staff was friendly, and there were two adorable turtles in the entrance room, adding a charming touch to the stay. Additionally, the location was convenient with easy access to public transportation and various dining options nearby.

Can just recommend this hotel.

They want money for everything: new towels, internet, teapot, coffee...

Overall, its a friendly backpackers place, great for meeting other travellers.

Many restrictions, cannot this and that notices are pasted on almost every wall!

Price, comfort and location close to Kyoto Station.

Ceiling light is too bright especially at night. Should have a dimmer.

After paying by credit card for the 4 days, at the head office, Ryokan Seiki, we went to Sparling Dolphins Ryokan 500 meters further, we check in our room, we almost fainted . For 145 $cdn per night, our room is dirty, it's a hotel for young bagpackers. There is soap in half a bottle, the hall of the room is lined with dirty tatami. They offer old dirty worn used slippers, we must pay 200 y for 2 new slippers. The pillows, sheets , covers are yellow old, it smell human odors from previous customers. We want to decline and find other hotel but it's tooo late , they have withdrawn money from my credit card, no return money. We were very angry and we will tell our friends. Please check the origin of your hotel before annonce it on internet.

Friendly staff

Have to check in at an alternate address which was difficult to find.

I really dont like this hotel. The staff is really bad. He has no manner at all. There ia no service too. If I want to do anything in this hotel I have to pay money. I already pay money for stay so why I have to pay more money? The staff only want the money from customer. The other hotel that I stayed, the staff is really kind and take care me really well.I Travel in japan for 1 month and this hotel is the worst!. How can Booked.net has this hotel as a list. It make me feel that Booked.net does not have any qualifiquaton for the hotel. It make me feel your hotel list are untrustable and dont want to book ant hotel from this website anymore.

My son and daughter enjoyed the ryokan much more than I did. They enjoyed the traditional Japanese hotel. They thought it was different to sleep on the mats on the floor. The owners/caretakers were very nice though.

I am used to sleeping in beds and found the mats uncomfortable. The room was too sparce and lacked basic amenities like, soap, hand towels, cup and kleenex. There was not even a table for the tv. The key prevented you from leaving the air conditioning on during the day and the room was very hot when we returned. You had to go to the main room to use the internet.

i find chip and good restaurant near the ryokan

This Ryokan is very basic in what it provides, but then its also cheap compared to the other hotels in Kyoto. We were 4 people and shared the same room. The room size reminds me of College, was really undersized for 4 people. On the other hand, Kyoto is a large city with a lot of sites to visit hence a lot to walk during the day. By nightfall we were already exhausted and the room was just fine to sleep. There are 3 supermarkets nearby and some sort of kitchen if you want to eat noodles/heat food. However, we would strongly recommend the japanese restaurant at the corner of Kujo/Aburanokoji. It's easier to get to almost every place in Kyoto with the bus, although at rush hour can be quite slow. If you take more than 3 buses a day, it's cheaper to buy the 1 day pass either at Kyoto Station tourist center or ask at the Ryokan. IPhone owners can get the free application MetrO (by Kinevia) and then download the Kyoto city to access the public transportation routes. For Yakiniku lovers there's a good restaurant on the Kujo boulevard, 1 stop before Toii temple (Kujo Shako Mae) If price matters to you, this is a good backpackers choice. If comfort matters, you will have to pay almost double and go somewhere else.

It seemed clean when we enter the room, but when we looked under the bed there was a lot of dirt/objects from previous guests. We also found in one bed a lot of hair from a previous person.

The wifi did not work in our room on level3 - as too far from modem. The bedding did not smell fresh and I suspect it wasnt washed. The room was v noisy with traffic as building is on a main road. On 3 occasions other guests tried to enter our room 'by mistake' as they got off the lift on wrong floor. I did not feel safe staying here with my daughter. This is the only place I stayed in Japan where it did not feel safe and secure. There was no handsoap in the sinks and I thought it very unhygienic.

This Ryokan is very basic in what it provides, but then its also cheap compared to the other hotels in Kyoto. We were 4 people and shared the same room. The room size reminds me of College, was really undersized for 4 people. On the other hand, Kyoto is a large city with a lot of sites to visit hence a lot to walk during the day. By nightfall we were already exhausted and the room was just fine to sleep. There are 3 supermarkets nearby and some sort of kitchen if you want to eat noodles/heat food. However, we would strongly recommend the japanese restaurant at the corner of Kujo/Aburanokoji. It's easier to get to almost every place in Kyoto with the bus, although at rush hour can be quite slow. If you take more than 3 buses a day, it's cheaper to buy the 1 day pass either at Kyoto Station tourist center or ask at the Ryokan. IPhone owners can get the free application MetrO (by Kinevia) and then download the Kyoto city to access the public transportation routes. For Yakiniku lovers there's a good restaurant on the Kujo boulevard, 1 stop before Toii temple (Kujo Shako Mae) If price matters to you, this is a good backpackers choice. If comfort matters, you will have to pay almost double and go somewhere else.

It seemed clean when we enter the room, but when we looked under the bed there was a lot of dirt/objects from previous guests. We also found in one bed a lot of hair from a previous person.

The amenities in our room were clean, and the traditional bedding was excellent. Once familiar with our location we found it accessible, and within walking to Toji Temple.

Entrance and instructions on use of facilities not apparent, no sign in front of hotel for first identification.

It's close and value for money. Basic facilities are available but nothing extra. Probably because it is a family-run low-budget motel,

Very limited English of the staff, in spite of their general politeness. No special service available, not even morning call can be provided

Friends and I stayed in a traditional-seeming room with modern tatami- like mats on the floor and very thin mattresses that rolled out for sleeping. We were initially sceptical of the mattresses, but all found we slept well and had none of the aches and pains one often gets from a night on a hotel bed. We stayed for four nights, and enjoyed all of our time there. I would recommend the Station Ryokan Sparkling Dolphins to anyone.

The wi-fi connection we had in our room was sporadic, and it was not mentioned to us as a feature of the room. So it could be we just lucked out in the evenings and mornings with a few hours of piggy-backing on an unsecured connection. I honestly don't know. But Kyoto, like most big cities, has remarkably few open networks so if being connected is crucial the Sparkling Dolphins might not be the place for you. If an hour a day at Starbucks will suit you, though, then this should not keep you away.