The Ritz-Carlton, Kyoto

The Hotel

The Ritz-Carlton, Kyoto opened on 14 February 2014 on the western bank of the Kamogawa river at Nijo-Ohashi, one of the most identifiable urban locations in Kyoto, with the Higashiyama mountains forming the eastern horizon and the Imperial Palace gardens five minutes' walk to the north. The site was previously occupied by the Hotel Fujita Kyoto, demolished in 2010 to make way for the new Ritz-Carlton, Kyoto's first super-luxury international-brand urban hotel and a property that immediately reset the city's hotel ceiling on opening. The architectural register, by Peter Marino with Tokyo's Nikken Sekkei, references Meiji-era Japanese architecture rendered at a contemporary luxury scale: a low-rise three-storey street-facing block with a double-pitched copper-clad roof, deep eaves, and floor-to-ceiling glass facing the river.

There are 134 guest rooms and suites, generous standard inventory by Kyoto luxury-hotel standards. The standard Deluxe Room runs to 50 square metres with floor-to-ceiling windows facing either the river (east, with Higashiyama mountain views beyond) or the property's central Japanese garden. The Suite Yuhaen and Suite Tsukimi run from 80 to 120 square metres; the Suite Kamogawa, on the third floor with full river-and-Higashiyama views, runs to 280 square metres with two bedrooms, a private dining room for ten, and a private terrace facing the river. The Ritz-Carlton Suite, at 305 square metres, is the most expansive hotel suite in Kyoto. Every room features hand-loomed Tatami textile inserts, hand-thrown ceramic bath products, and the brand's signature 24-hour Ritz-Carlton butler service.

Mizuki, the property's signature tempura, sushi, kaiseki, and teppanyaki dining venues, is a four-restaurant complex on the lower level. The Tempura Mizuki kitchen holds one Michelin star and runs the most considered hotel tempura programme in Japan. The Kaiseki Mizuki kitchen offers a working multi-course Kyoto-kaiseki programme; the Sushi Mizuki and Teppanyaki Mizuki kitchens round out the Japanese-cuisine offer. La Locanda, the property's Italian dining room facing the river, runs a contemporary Northern Italian kitchen under a chef trained in Piedmont. The Lobby Lounge serves the property's afternoon-tea programme; The Pierre, the property's evening cocktail bar named for the late Pierre Cardin who collaborated with Marino on the original interior commission, runs an Old World cocktail and Japanese-whiskey programme that is the city's most considered hotel bar.

The Ritz-Carlton Spa runs across the property's lower level with eight treatment rooms; the property includes a 20-metre indoor pool and the brand's signature onsen-tradition relaxation circuit (separate male and female steam-and-sauna rooms, private soaking tubs in deluxe-suite product). The fitness centre is open 24 hours. The Ritz-Carlton's Kamogawa-side position is the practical advantage: walking distance to the Imperial Palace, ten minutes' walk to Nishiki Market, fifteen minutes by car to the Higashiyama temple corridor (Kiyomizu-dera, Yasaka, Maruyama Park, Chion-in, Kodai-ji). Kyoto Station is 12 minutes by car or six minutes by subway from the adjacent Kyoto Shiyakusho-mae station. For Kyoto luxury at the Forbes-recognised, central-and-river-anchored end, this is the most decisive booking.

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