KinmatavsRIHGA Royal Hotel Kyoto
Kinmata and RIHGA Royal Hotel Kyoto are both praised by writers. Overall, RIHGA Royal Hotel Kyoto scores significantly better than Kinmata. RIHGA Royal Hotel Kyoto ranks #11 in Kyoto with recommendations from 4 publications like oyster.com, Fodor's and Frommer's.
Kinmata
 Concierge
 Fodor's
 Travel + Leisure
 DK Eyewitness
407 Dainichicho, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture 604-8044 
From $0/night
- Room Service
 - Restaurant
 - Air Conditioning
 
 "This inn, now in business for more than 200 years, is worth experiencing—if you're lucky enough to get a room." 
 "This high-class ryokan offers a trip back in time. ... The staff is friendly, the atmosphere welcoming, and the rooms are beautiful and decidedly unpretentious." Full review
 "This intimate 1801 ryokan near the Nishiki food market serves owner Haruji Ukai’s seafood kaiseki meals." Full review
 "Only seven rooms means you feel like you’re being welcomed into the home of a (very wealthy and formal) Japanese family,." 
RIHGA Royal Hotel Kyoto
 Frommer's
 Fodor's
 Lonely Planet
 Star Service
 Oyster
1 Taimatsucho, Horikawa-Shiokoji, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture 600-8237
From $72/night
- Bar/Lounge
 - Hot Tub
 - Free Internet
 - Room Service
 - Shuttle Bus
 - Laundry Service
 
 "Rooms are comfortable enough, with adequately sized standard rooms that feature shoji screens and window panels that close for darkness." Full review
 "Even the smallest rooms at this well-established chain hotel are warm and inviting, with delicate shoji windows and elegant bath furnishings." Full review
 "This long-running hotel has all the facilities that you’d expect from a first-class hotel, including a revolving rooftop restaurant." Full review
 "Located 500 meters west of Kyoto Station, this property is five minutes by bus from central shopping and businesses." Full review
 i 
Staffers seem to ignore special requests in favor of handling the masses more efficiently, but business travelers can sometimes weave in and out between the tourist crowds without qualm.
Upper-middle-range
 "This large-scale, three-and-a-half-pearl hotel, with 482 guest rooms and suites, is within a 10-minute walk of Kyoto Station, the city's main transportation hub." Full review