In Japan, Hyatt Hotels Corp. has opened the Park Hyatt Kyoto in the Higashiyama hills historic district.
“We are delighted to celebrate the opening of Park Hyatt Kyoto, the second Park Hyatt hotel in Japan in 25 years, and to offer guests a refined home-away-from-home in this remarkable city,” David Udell, group president, Asia Pacific for Hyatt, said in a statement. “We are grateful to the hotel’s owners, Kyoyamato and Takenaka Corporation, for their trust, support and deep understanding of luxury hospitality.”
Jointly developed by Japanese architecture, engineering and construction firm Takenaka Corporation and interior design firm Tony Chi and Associates, the hotel’s design and construction incorporates traditional Japanese design and architecture. Several historic buildings—including an Edo-era teahouse as well as the Japanese garden that is central to the site—have been preserved and carefully restored.
That historic garden has steps leading to Kyoyamato, a ryotei (traditional Japanese restaurant) that dates back to 1877 and serves Kaiseki cuisine. Kyoyamato, one of the hotel’s owners, is a seven-generation, family-run business and consists of several historic buildings including Soyotei, a teahouse from the Edo era with a private room where feudal warlords once met in secret.
The low-rise hotel has 70 guestrooms. Public spaces include four restaurants, a ballroom with 2,153 square feet of event space and a spa that has a private bath house with Japanese-style bathtubs as well as dry and mist saunas.
The hotel is next to the Kodai-ji temple and is within walking distance to several local attractions. The property is less than a mile from the Kyoto train station, which connects travelers to Tokyo in just over two hours via the Nozomi Shinkansen bullet train.
As of June 30, there are 40 Park Hyatt hotels open worldwide.