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Best Hotels in Kyoto (2026)

Where you stay shapes a trip to Kyoto. Downtown, around Kawaramachi, Karasuma Oike and Nijo, is the most practical base, with subway lines, shopping arcades and restaurants close by; Ace Hotel Kyoto, Hotel The Mitsui Kyoto and the historic ryokan Hiiragiya are all here. Higashiyama suits travellers who want to step out into old Kyoto, with Park Hyatt Kyoto beside Ninenzaka and Four Seasons Hotel Kyoto around its ancient pond garden in the south of the district. The Kyoto Station area, where Hotel Granvia Kyoto is built into the station itself, is ideal for day trips to Nara, Osaka and Hiroshima.

Budget travellers have good options too. The Millennials Kyoto offers tall smart pods with a social lounge in Kawaramachi, and Len Kyoto Kawaramachi is a hostel with dormitories, private rooms and a café-bar. Prices rise sharply during the cherry blossom season in late March and April and the autumn leaf season in November, so book early for those periods. A night in a ryokan is worth considering for the meals and atmosphere, but check whether dinner and breakfast are included. Japan's luggage forwarding services make it easy to send cases ahead between hotels.

8 places · Updated October 23, 2026

Our top 3 hotels in Kyoto

  1. Four Seasons Hotel Kyoto Luxury hotel, HigashiyamaA luxury hotel in southern Higashiyama built around Shakusui-en, a pond garden of about 800 years old, with a spa, pool and several restaurants.
  2. Park Hyatt Kyoto Luxury hotel, HigashiyamaA low-rise luxury hotel of 70 rooms and nine suites on the slopes of Higashiyama beside Ninenzaka, with the long-established Kyoyamato kaiseki restaurant in its grounds.
  3. Hotel The Mitsui Kyoto Luxury hotel, NijoA 160-room luxury hotel beside Nijo Castle on the site of the Mitsui family's Kyoto residence, with a hot spring spa fed from its own source.

Hotel

2. Park Hyatt Kyoto

Luxury hotel$$$$Higashiyama

A low-rise luxury hotel of 70 rooms and nine suites on the slopes of Higashiyama beside Ninenzaka, with the long-established Kyoyamato kaiseki restaurant in its grounds.

View details — Park Hyatt Kyoto

Hotel

4. Hiiragiya

Traditional ryokan$$$$Nakagyo

A celebrated ryokan founded in 1818 in central Kyoto, offering sukiya-style tatami rooms, kyo-kaiseki dinners and a traditional Kyoto breakfast.

View details — Hiiragiya

Hotel

6. Ace Hotel Kyoto

Design hotel$$$Karasuma Oike

A design hotel partly housed in the former Kyoto Central Telephone Office, connected to Karasuma Oike Station, with a rooftop Italian restaurant and Japan's first Stumptown Coffee.

View details — Ace Hotel Kyoto