My husband and I stayed at this little gem of a hotel in 2009 for a week. We are revisiting Kyoto in December this year 2010 and have re-booked Econo-Inn.
The room was very clean, the staff friendly and the free internet was a bonus. Having a refrigerator and tea and coffee facilities near the reception added to the experience. Met some great folk over coffee.
Close to most attractions either in walking distance or catch the bus at the door. A supermarket across the road was handy.

Japan is an expensive place to stay, and we found the Econo Inn offered excellent value for money. As 4 friends happy to share, we opted for the Japanese style Tatami room. Complete with two bathrooms (each of which had toiletries included) this was a great option for us, and sleeping on the tatami mats made us feel we were trying out the Japanese way. The lady who worked on reception was amazing, and gave us all a small gift everyday (much appreciated!) They also offer free wifi and plenty of maps and information about Kyoto. Do not be put off by the dim and dingy lobbies to the rooms - once inside ours did not disappoint.

I stayed in this cute hotel for a total of 6 nights. The location is great - walking distance to Kiyomizu Temple and Gion, two of the most famous attractions in Kyoto. It's also walking distance from Kyoto Station (15 minutes). They offer bicycle rental for 500 yen a day, so I was able to visit pretty much everywhere in Kyoto on foot and by bicycle.
Speaking of the hotel itself, the restroom is very tiny (very typical in Japan). If you're over 1.7m, taking a comfortable shower will be a problem. As for the room, it's very clean and cozy. I also like the staff very much. They are very helpful and very kind. I will definitely stay in this place again in my next visit.

Very old building, I think it might be undergoing construction as my japanese style room was very old and there were futons piled up outside in the corridor, but my father (being very disgruntled with the condition of the room) went to another floor to look around and he said it was obviously recently renovated with a new carpet, paint job etc.

It would have been fine if it was old but still clean, but out of the 3 nights we stayed there, my father spotted and killed two cockroaches IN THE ROOM.

Location is... alright. 15 mins bus ride from Kyoto station and 10 mins bus ride to the main shopping area. But bus rides can be pretty expensive in terms of distance travelled as they mostly charge a flat fare so get a day pass if you intend to travel on buses to the sightseeing locations as well as go to the shopping area near the hotel or to and fro Kyoto station.

Bottom line is, it was the worst part of our trip to Kyoto and it was such a relief to check into the much nicer hotel at our next stop in Hakone. The only plus side was the free wireless internet which we could access from our room on the 2nd floor, but I'm not sure if you can get a signal from the higher floors.