Places to stay in Osaka and Kyoto

planning to stay 2 nights in Kyoto and 3 nights in Osaka.

Has anyone stayed in Dormy Inn Shin-Osaka and Chisan Hotel Shin-Osaka? Are they within walking distance from JR station?

What about Kyoto Dai-ichi Hotel? Any feedback on these hotels?

Shin-Osaka is a convenient are but not the prettiest and it is not quite Osaka (Kita or Minami) so if you have a JR pass you might as well stay in Kyoto all the time and commute by train. Anyway, all the hotels in Shin-Osaka are close to the station.The Chisun is a bit closer then the Dormy Inn but in a different direction. Check www.japanhotel.net for more hotels there. Some are across the street from the station. Be sure to check on their internet site for the closest station exit.
the Kyoto Dai-Ichi is a standard business hotel, like the 2 you noted in Shin-Osaka (did you Google them all for photos, maps etc?)

A good place to check out hotel pictures, maps (walking distances etc) is http://www.hotelpepper.com/

Another good site is http://www.japanican.com/

Both have hotel price searches too :)