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The Ritz Carlton Kyoto

Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo Marunouchi
Exploring Tokyo – Part One
Exploring Tokyo – Part Two
The Ritz Carlton Kyoto
Exploring Kyoto
Hiiragiya Ryokan – Kyoto
Souvenirs from Japan

We started our stay in Kyoto at the newly built (opened in 2014!) Ritz Carlton Kyoto. I was very interested to try out this hotel because it was, and still is, the only “Western” style luxury hotel in Kyoto (ryokans of course are another matter). I have to admit that I haven’t had the best experience with Ritz Carltons in the past few years, and will almost always choose a Four Seasons or Mandarin Oriental if I have the choice in any given location.

I am happy to report however, that the Ritz Carlton Kyoto ended up being one of my favorite city hotel stays, ever. It is such a beautiful property, and you can tell that an incredible amount of thought and attention to detail was put into it. Mr. Feather and I had such a great time here, and loved our stay. A warning – this is a picture heavy post!

When arriving at the hotel, we were immediately taken by how well it translated to its traditional surroundings in Kyoto. No tall modern skyscraper like structures here – very unobtrusive yet still elegant.

Ritz Carlton Kyoto Opening

We were greeted at reception and after a welcome drink, were walked up to our room to do check-in in the room. I loved the details on each of the doors  – there were thoughtful touches like this all over the hotel.

Ritz Carlton Kyoto Hallways

And then, our room. So pretty! And, quite a nice size! The couch was super comfortable to lounge on and the perfect place to perch while the other person hung out on the bed.

Ritz Carlton Kyoto Living Room

My favorite aspect of the room – the view. There was a gorgeous sitting area that looked out onto Kyoto’s Kamo River. Often we’d just sit and have tea and look out over the water and people watch. And then when we walked back to the hotels ourselves, we’d head down the same riverbanks!

I loved that there was an individually selected bonsai tree for each room, and it was switched out each day.

Ritz Carlton Kyoto Bedroom

Little details all throughout the bedroom/living space – individual robes which were hung in the closet, and Tivoli alarm clocks. I don’t know how many times I’ve entered beautiful, super expensive hotel rooms only to encounter cheapie and very old alarm clocks. No stone left unturned!

Ritz Carlton Kyoto Bedroom Details

There was also a lovely minibar area that not only had the ubiquitous Nespresso machine, but also a contraption for making the perfect tea via pod capsule. I had never seen this before, am I just behind on the times?

The Ritz Carlton also had the prettiest in room tea service set and minibar out of any place we stayed. All of the silverware was Christofle. Very nice touch.

Ritz Carlton Kyoto Room Minibar Tea Service

And then, there was the bathroom. I typically don’t gush over bathrooms, but the Ritz Carlton’s was lovely. Lots of counter space of course, with separate areas for the tub and waterfall shower.

Ritz Carlton Kyoto Bathroom

The best part was the tub. There were gorgeous wood floors like in a traditional Japanese onsen bath, and look at the beautiful walls. I took a few baths here, how could you not?

Ritz Carlton Kyoto Bathtub

Toiletries were stored in a pretty lacquer box. Hair, bath and body products  were Asprey. Nice touch to have something different, but am I the only one who wouldn’t mind having some actual “good” hair products in the room? Give me some miniature Fekkai and I’ll be taking home a whole set out in my luggage.

Ritz Carlton Kyoto Bathroom Details

Now you can see why it was hard to leave our room…but of course we did, especially with so many other great facilities in the hotel. Including the beautiful pool (I hardly ever saw it used).

Ritz Carlton Kyoto Pool

And a fantastic spa. Mr. Feather and I each enjoyed several massages here. I had the best pre-natal treatment ever as well! So comfortable and I was snoring away in no time. Our therapists were all fantastic.

Ritz Carlton Kyoto Spa

And then, of course the food! The Ritz Carlton Kyoto, like most Japanese luxury hotels, had a variety of great dining options, both Japanese and Western. What made the hotel truly unique however in my opinion, was its close collaboration with Pierre Herme. It is the only hotel in the world (that I know of) to have a Pierre Herme location actually inside, and the Ritz collaborated closely with him for its own menus.

Each morning, we’d head downstairs to enjoy our breakfast.

RItz Carlton Kyoto Dining Entrance

Each morning, there was a spread with the usual delicacies on offer – Chinese, Japanese, and Western options. You could either sit with a lovely view out the window, or in one of the private rooms. We always ate in one of the rooms to have some space and quiet time. I usually would opt for some version of the Japanese menu, it was delicious!

RItz Carlton Kyoto Breakfast Private Room Spread

However, I also couldn’t help but indulge in a sweet treat afterwards. All the bakery goods at breakfast were Pierre Herme, as was the fruit salad, muesli, and yogurt and jams. Ispahan croissant, anybody?

Ritz Carlton Kyoto Breakfast Pierre Herme

I stuffed myself silly at breakfast. It was a bit shameful. I’d think that I’d eaten all I possibly could ingest of sweet baked goods. Yet come each afternoon, when we returned to the hotel from our afternoon activities, I couldn’t help but stop for a few macarons. I mean, they were right there! And there was a special flavor just for the Ritz Carlton Kyoto which I loved…green tea with black sesame.

Ritz Carlton Kyoto Pierre Herme On one of our last days in the hotel, I decided to indulge and complete my full Pierre Herme experience, by booking afternoon tea. I love a good afternoon tea anywhere, but of course this was again special – it was Pierre Herme.

The setting, in the lobby lounge, was of course gorgeous.

RItz Carlton Kyoto Afternoon Tea Room

And the food and tea themselves were fantastic. The savories were delicious and the desserts included mini Ispahan tarts, eclairs, and of course macarons. I decided to go full gorge and added on a Pierre Herme hot chocolate as well. Refills of the drinks were included. Pierre, I love you!

Ritz Carlton Kyoto Pierre Herme Afternoon Tea

Overall, I absolutely loved our stay at the Ritz Carlton Kyoto. Definitely one of my favorite hotel stays ever, and my favorite Ritz Carlton. The hotel was just stunning….each person has their own individual design decor preferences, and I have to say that this property’s was perfect for me. I loved that so much thought and detail went into it.

What I loved? The design of course as I mentioned…the food (please make sure to book a package which has breakfast included), and the service. The service was wonderful (of course, it is Japan), but what really made our experience stand out was that I felt the staff cared. The concierge made a small error when advising us on a sight one evening, and we ended up spending a bit of the time wandering in the cold outside. No big deal and I let the evening concierge on the duty  know that the directions had been slightly off when we returned. The following day, our original concierge was not only completely gracious and apologized, but presented us with a small gift she had selected for our baby. It was a wonderful gesture and made our interactions more personal.

Areas for improvement: Honestly this is quite difficult, because I loved our stay so much. I might say…the price! The Ritz Carlton is by far the most expensive Western option in Kyoto, and in high season (or during periods like Chinese New Year while we were there), rates can start at $750+, and that was already with a weaker yen. But in my opinion….the hotel can easily command these types of rates, and it was indeed full during our stay.

Thanks for reading my (very long) hotel review, and next time I’ll be covering more of our sights and eats in Kyoto!

12 Comments

  • Reply
    Kimberly
    March 26, 2015 at 9:31 am

    Thanks for posting so many photos. Your room was huge! I’ve never stayed in a hotel room in Japan with that much room. Kyotos such a great place to visit; looking forward to hearing about the rest of your trip.

    • Reply
      Katherine
      March 26, 2015 at 12:30 pm

      Thank you! I know, hotel rooms in Japan are usually so small!

  • Reply
    Elise
    March 26, 2015 at 1:48 pm

    This hotel has been everywhere lately and it looks sooo gorgeous! Sad to hear you haven’t had great experiences with Ritz Carltons, but it looks like this one made up for it.

    Those robes and Asprey products look heavenly. And I always love a crisp, modern and simple design in a hotel…so relaxing. Glad to have found your blog through blog lovin!

    Elise

    http://www.madeforelise.com

  • Reply
    Sanita
    March 26, 2015 at 2:38 pm

    I can’t wait for your recommendations for Kyoto as I’m heading there in about a week!
    Please, Please hurry up! I don’t want to miss anything worth seeing 🙂

    Thank you Katherine

    • Reply
      Katherine
      March 29, 2015 at 1:17 pm

      Ah, lucky you! Okay I hope to get it out next week then, have fun!

  • Reply
    Kim
    March 26, 2015 at 3:06 pm

    I loved this post. Everything looked so delightful- from the afternoon tea and the pastries to the cute pool. Thank you for the great pictures. Your recent posts have definitely moved Japan (especially, Kyoto) up on my travel list! Quick question- did you ever find language to be a particular barrier to traveling/eating/sightseeing while you were there? Eagerly awaiting your next installment 🙂

    • Reply
      Katherine
      March 29, 2015 at 1:18 pm

      Language was not a barrier but I recognize enough Chinese letters and we used our phones to look for last minute translations on anything we needed. I would recommend having a smartphone with a data plan, helped immeasurably and free wifi can be a little annoying to find. Locals tend to be very kind and helpful though.

  • Reply
    Mod
    March 27, 2015 at 9:17 am

    Soooooooooo dreamy! Thanks for sharing 🙂

  • Reply
    Vivian
    March 27, 2015 at 6:46 pm

    Ispahan croissant, omg, that’s TDF!!!

  • Reply
    Miss Spaist
    March 31, 2015 at 1:52 am

    The Hyatt Regency Kyoto is no slouch either…but the Ritz is something else entirely lol. Wonderful pictures and write up. Felt like I was almost there!

    • Reply
      Katherine
      March 31, 2015 at 4:10 pm

      We were originally booked there..love that they offer complimentary pick up from Kyoto Station too.

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