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This Park Hyatt Kyoto Review follows our recent Aman Kyoto Review, Park Hyatt Tokyo Review, Andaz Tokyo Review and Japan Airlines First Class Review. The Park Hyatt Kyoto opened in October 2019, and is Hyatt's second Park Hyatt in Japan, following Tokyo. The third Park Hyatt in Japan, the Park Hyatt Niseko Hanazono, in Hokkaido, opened in January 2020.
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Park Hyatt Kyoto Location and Check-In
The Park Hyatt Kyoto is located at 360 Kodaiji Masuyacho in the Higashiyama district, about a 10-25 minute drive from Kyoto Station depending on traffic, and walking distance from many temples, including Kodaiji, Kiyumizu-dera, Nanzen-ji and others, and from Gion.
The hotel's location is enviable, and is only possible in such a historic area because it's on the grounds of Kyoyamoto, a traditional ryotei (luxury restaurant) that has been in existence since 1877 during the Meiji era. The hotel is owned by Kyoyamoto and Takenaka Corporation, one of the largest architecture and engineering firms in Japan, and Takenaka and Tony Chi designed the property.
We arrived in the late afternoon from Aman Kyoto, which took a good 50 minutes by car, due to rush hour traffic. With no traffic, it would have taken less than half an hour. There was no wait to check-in, which was completed in The Living Room, the hotel's comfortable lobby area.
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TravelSort Clients enjoy these Hyatt Prive perks at the Park Hyatt Kyoto:
- Welcome amenity
- Complimentary full breakfast for up to 2 in-room guests
- $100 hotel credit
- Priority upgrade: confirmed within 24 hours of TravelSort's request (during high demand periods, upgrade is subject to availability at check-in)
- Priority for connecting room availability and early check-in / late check-out
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Park Hyatt Kyoto Rooms and Suites
The Park Hyatt Kyoto is one of the more intimate of Kyoto luxury hotels (apart from Aman Kyoto) with 70 rooms, including 9 suites. For comparison, the Ritz-Carlton Kyoto has 134 rooms and suites, the Four Seasons Kyoto has 180 rooms and suites, and the Hyatt Regency Kyoto has 187 rooms and suites.
The entry level room category is a King or 2 Twin Room with hillside views, which is 484 square feet (45 sq. m.). All rooms except the highest room category have a similar size, and differ only in terms of view; Garden View, Garden Terrace, and View. Note that all of these room types accommodate a maximum of two adults and one infant in a crib, because the room size will not permit an extra bed to be placed in the room.
For TravelSort Clients, we recommend either reserving either a Garden Terrace Room, in order to confirm a Hyatt Prive upgrade to a View Room (with Yasaka Pagoda view) or reserving a View room and confirming a Hyatt Prive upgrade to a King Deluxe Room, which is 732 sq. ft. (68 sq. m.)
In all rooms, we were struck by the beautiful finishings, especially from the beautiful Tamo (Japanese ash) wood used throughout, and warm residential feel.
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A simple but delicious welcome amenity were these perfectly ripe red and white Nara strawberries:
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The Nespresso machine and tea maker, along with bottled water, are inside an armoire in the entrance hallway:
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The bathroom has double sinks, a separate toilet chamber with a Toto washlet, and a wet room with a rain shower and soaking tub.
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Bath products are Le Labo's Santal 33, with sandalwood as the primary scent.
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For guests seeking additional space and natural light, a wonderful option is the Pagoda House suite, which is at the top of the property and enjoys a large living area:
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The bedroom has windows on two sides, and with the trees surrounding it, give you the effect of being in an elegant treehouse:
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The bathroom features a round ofuro soaking tub:
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Here's our Park Hyatt Kyoto YouTube Video Review:
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Fitness Center
There's no swimming pool (as at the Four Seasons Kyoto) or onsen (as at Aman Kyoto) but the hotel does have a fitness center. Chances are that you can get excellent exercise walking or running around Kyoto, however.
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Kyoyamato Japanese Breakfast
For breakfast, guests have a choice of a Western breakfast at the casual Kyoto Bistro, or a Japanese breakfast courtesy of Kyoyamato, served in the Living Room lobby. Please note that a limited number of Japanese breakfasts are prepared, so be sure to reserve in advance if you'd like the Japanese breakfast, which we highly recommend.
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This was the Kyoyamato breakfast menu:
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The koshihikari rice (on the left of the below photo) was still cooking when it was brought; the server noted that once the flame went out it would be perfectly steamed.
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The miso-marinated broiled fish was fantastic, and all the dishes, beautifully presented in a lacquer box, were delicious, particularly the wagyu beef and sardines with fushimi pepper.
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A single plump strawberry dusted with powdered sugar made a sweet finale.
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The Verdict
The Park Hyatt Kyoto is one of our favorite city Park Hyatts, along with the Park Hyatt Vienna. It's sensitively designed given its historic location in the heart of the Higashiyama district, walking distance to several of Kyoto's temple and to Gion. The rooms and suites are handsomely finished, and service was very good during our stay. Especially notable was the cuisine, both the tasting dinner at Yasaka, the signature restaurant (review forthcoming), and the Japanese breakfast.
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