Granvia Kyoto, KyotoGranvia Kyoto in Kyoto, Japan has a corrected score of 3.7 ± 0.2 (solid evidence, 4 of 4 platforms), ranked 38 of 105 hotels we score in Kyoto. Its platform ratings, normalised to 0-5, average 3.7 before correction: Booking.com 3.8, Tripadvisor 4.1, Google 3.3, Agoda 3.9. Rooms from about $231 a night (cached, not a live quote).Hotel Granvia Kyoto is a large five-star hotel built in 1997 and set directly above Kyoto Station, so trains, the subway and city buses are steps from the lobby. It has 537 rooms with modern interiors, plus an indoor swimming pool, gym, spa and massage services, and several restaurants and bars on site. Room service, parking, Wi-Fi and family-friendly facilities are available, and meeting and banquet spaces suit business guests. Rates start around $231 a night. It works well for travellers who want transport on the doorstep and a full range of facilities. The scale is the trade-off: with hundreds of rooms, the atmosphere is formal and busy rather than small and personal.What stands out

Directly connected to Kyoto Station

Refurbished, spacious and spotless rooms

Wide choice of on-site dining

Pool, gym and spa facilities

Watch out for

Large and impersonal, not intimate

Google review score notably low

Better-scored in Kyoto

Stitch Hotel Kyoto, Kyoto: 4.4 ± 0.2 (fair evidence, 2 of 4 platforms). Stitch Hotel Kyoto is a five-star property in central Kyoto, set in a renovated five-storey building where 51 rooms were created by joining spaces together, which gives…

Nazuna Kyoto Gosho, Kyoto: 4.4 ± 0.2 (solid evidence, 3 of 4 platforms), from $562 a night. Nazuna Kyoto Gosho is a small luxury ryokan in Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto, made up of two renovated kyomachiya townhouses joined by a garden.

The Shinmonzen, Kyoto: 4.3 ± 0.2 (fair evidence, 3 of 4 platforms), from $1,915 a night. The Shinmonzen is a nine-suite boutique hotel in Kyoto's historic Gion district, designed by architect Tadao Ando.