New hotels in Kyoto: choose the neighbourhood first

Next up is the Songtei Kyoto, Shangri-La Signatures, which opens in late 2026. Miyagawa-cho, Gion and Nijo offer different stays: choose the neighbourhood before choosing the room.

Photo: the four-storey façade of Capella Kyoto · Capella Hotel Group

Updated 31 October 20262 min readHow we write the guide

A place within the city

Capella developed its signature restaurant with SingleThread, Kyle and Katina Connaughton’s restaurant in California.¹

Imperial preserves the old building’s exterior tiles and terra cotta and reconstructs its copper roof.³

Opened since March 2026

Capella Kyoto

Miyagawa-cho · open since 22 March 2026.¹ 89 rooms in a project by Kengo Kuma and Brewin Design Office.¹

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Imperial Hotel, Kyoto

Gion · open since 5 March 2026.³ The former Yasaka Kaikan retains 2 exterior walls and parts of its original frame.³

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The calendar for Kyoto

Late 2026

Songtei Kyoto, Shangri-La Signatures

77 rooms opposite Nijo Castle, with a phased opening.²

Winter 2028

Kyoto Brighton Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton

Around 160 planned rooms after a full renovation.⁴

If you go sooner

2 hotels from the guide for different stays.

A dark timber pavilion with a pitched roof among autumn maples in red and gold and the cedars of the forest.

Aman Kyoto

For a forest stay and evenings among the maples.⁵

The trade-off

The station is about 30 minutes away by car.⁵

Why choose it

Onsen bathing and kaiseki dining are part of hotel life.⁵

Book direct Read Lumina’s hotel guide

The hotel’s low pavilions on the Higashiyama hillside above a stone forecourt with a lantern and a maple, with Ichinen-zaka and a few walkers to the right.

Park Hyatt Kyoto

For Kodai-ji and Higashiyama’s lanes on the doorstep.⁶

The trade-off

The surrounding lanes are busy during the day.⁶

Why choose it

Only some rooms face the pagoda.⁶

Book direct Read Lumina’s hotel guide

We wrote this independently: the hotels read it as you do. We do not sell rooms; links lead to the sources and official sites.

Where we read it