Imperial Hotel, Kyoto

Imperial Hotel, Kyoto is the fourth property from one of Japan's most storied hospitality houses and its first new hotel in thirty years, set within the Yasaka Kaikan on the grounds of the Gion Kobu Kaburenjo in Kyoto's Gion district. The project converts a nationally registered Tangible Cultural Property from theater to hotel while preserving the building's distinctive exterior, pairing the restored structure with newly built wings. Guestrooms in the preservation wing retain the Yasaka Kaikan's original beams, pillars and window frames, and roughly a tenth of the building's decorative roof tiles were salvaged and reinstalled during the works. Fifty-five rooms and suites are served by REN, a counter-style French restaurant, the all-day dining room Yasaka built around a wood-fired oven, a guests-only rooftop, and an Old Imperial Bar that carries forward the interior design language of the hotel's celebrated second main building in Tokyo. A spa, swimming pool and fitness center complete the property, which sits steps from the Hanamikoji lanes, Kennin-ji temple and the geiko and maiko houses of Gion Kobu.