Granvia. To me Granvia is the perfect place to stay and I will forever hold a fondness for it. The hotel and hotel lobby smelt lightly of vanilla, jasmine and oranges as did the rooms. I'm not quite sure why I am so fond of Granvia, maybe it was because I felt as if our time in Kyoto seemed never ending (in a good way), and perhaps it was just that I really connected with its blend of modernity and tradition.
The toilet was probably one of Jason's favourite things about Gravia - it was heated, a little spout would pop out of the toilet, spin around and then retract back inside, and there were so many different buttons you could press to adjust to your liking. Among other things. I loved the shower and bath, you were given the option to wash traditionally with the bucket of water and then hop into a warm and soothing bath, or use one of the many functions of the shower with its back water massagers.
Although we were right above the Kyoto Station, the little announcements and music playing wasn't loud enough to be disturbing and instead proved extremely handy, useful and a time saver when needing to get from A to B. Furthermore, our hotel was right outside of Kyoto Tower, had a really beautiful little courtyard and was situated atop The Cube, a shopping centre with many other levels of goodies, a quick walk will take you to Porta, another shopping centre, with Granvia itself opening out to a much loved and needed Isetan. It's on the door stop of Kyoto's largest shopping centre and filled to the brim with various levels of restaurants and eateries. Level 10 is where to get the yummies and when in Porta there's a specific dining section with restaurants flanking either side. A little walk further and you'll find an electronics base, BIC Camera (for the geeks out there) and H&M.
This made shopping so easy and convenient, I could shop as much as my wallet would allow and bring it back to my room with ease without worrying about having to carry everything back as the distance was so minor and it also meant I could stop in at any passing cafes. There's a huge walk way where you can walk out and above the station and a mural of steps which have changing pictures shone by lights (although no one takes the steps, escalators are the way to go because there's so many of them!). I miss Hotel Granvia a lot and I'll definitely be returning.
On a side note, please ignore the bags scattered about the desk, we had bought a fair amount of foods to nom for when we got hungry in the night, which was not a bad idea and it lets you try a little bit more of the city you're in, back in your hotel room instead of getting sidetracked by room service. I mean, if you're there, why not try as much of Kyoto as you can?