Four Seasons Kyoto
- Room Type: Four Seasons Heritage Garden Room
- Typical Nightly Rate: 250,000 JPY
- Price Paid: Hosted stay
- Loyalty Program: FSPP
Intro
Kyoto is my favourite city on earth; I’ve been a frequent visitor since it first captured my heart in 2008, however until recently the luxury hotel scene here was rather lacking.
This all changed when Ritz Carlton opened in 2014 and showed that high-end travellers were very interested in Japan’s ancient historical capital.
Four Seasons took notice of this and opened their property two years later, offering an entirely different take on a Kyoto hotel. The property is more of a resort than a city hotel, which in many ways is a trend that we have seen develop globally over the past decade. Four Seasons Bangkok and Rosewood Hong Kong are two prime examples of hotels located within very busy Asian cities and offering a resort-like escape, a sanctuary from the chaos.
Hong Kong and Bangkok are considerably more densely populated than Kyoto though, so I was curious to see how the concept would hold up here and if it would tempt me away from my preference of being more centrally located, in order to enjoy the nightlife…
Booking
Our clients are able to enjoy Four Seasons Preferred Partner (FSPP) benefits when booking any Four Seasons hotel through us.
An example of FSPP benefits, which may be available on your stay:
- Upgrade of one room category, based on availability at time of check-in.
- Full breakfast, for up to two in room guests. Either at the restaurant or via in-room dining.
- $100 Hotel Credit.
- Early check-in/late check-out, subject to availability.
There are numerous additional offers available throughout the year too, including:
- free nights
- guaranteed upgrades
Your booking will be direct with Four Seasons. However, since we manage the booking on your behalf, we are able to negotiate all the above extras for you.
Additionally, if you find a cheaper rate elsewhere, we can help to get the price matched AND STILL add the FSPP benefits to your booking!
Arrival and check-in at Four Seasons Kyoto
Four Seasons Kyoto is located to the South of Kyoto’s Higashiyama tourist district, within walking distance of Sanjusangendo temple and less than a 10 minute taxi ride away from Kyoto Train Station.
After our short taxi ride from Park Hyatt Kyoto, we arrived at the sprawling Four Seasons estate. A long driveway, flanked by beautiful Japanese gardens, led to the hotel’s very dramatic entrance pavilion.
Where Park Hyatt was all about a cosy and boutique feel, clearly Four Seasons’ approach is all about doing things on a grander scale.
A team of bell staff in black suits confirmed our booking name, took care of our luggage and ushered us towards the hotel lobby. Once our names were confirmed at the desk, we were asked if we preferred to take a seat in order to make the check-in experience more comfortable.
The seated check-in area featured a really beautiful and modern design and ostensibly, this is the hotel’s library. In reality this area only ever seemed to be used for check-in, check-out or people waiting for a taxi, though.
I feel like a library area needs to be a little more quiet and separated from the hotel entrance, in order to really fulfil its intended purpose.
From here, the front desk agent escorted us past a vintage rickshaw, en-route to our room.
If the high ceilings, wide hallways and marble floors didn’t give away the scale of this place, the sign next to the lifts certainly did. A resort with a subterranean pool, a salon, a wedding chapel and banqueting facilities was certainly quite a very different proposition to my previous experiences of Kyoto.
Our Four Seasons Heritage Garden Room was located on the 4th floor. I was really impressed with the size and design of the hallways here, much like my experience at Four Seasons Bangkok. More striking still was the view of the wonderfully picturesque lake and Japanese garden outside. This is one of the key selling points of the property, rightfully so in my opinion.
FS Kyoto : Four Seasons Heritage Garden Room
Floor Plan
Four Seasons Heritage Garden Room : Entrance
Upon entering our room I was immediately impressed with the fact that there was a bench by the door, so that we had somewhere to sit when changing in and out of our shoes. Neither Ritz Carlton, Roku or Park Hyatt Kyoto have this feature.
Much like our room at the Park Hyatt, all of our wardrobe space was located in this hallway, rather than being located inside the bedroom itself. Unlike the Park Hyatt, this wardrobe area featured plenty of space to store and open our luggage, which really helped to make the rest of the room feel more spacious.
I’ve always been a fan of the wardrobe amenities in Four Seasons hotels, particularly the beautiful wooden hangers. I’m happy to report that the Kyoto property is no exception in this regard.
Four Seasons Heritage Garden Room : Bathroom
A critique often levelled towards Four Seasons hotels is that they are almost identical inside. It’s rare to see many design elements that truly represent the destination in which the hotel is located.
I have to say that this viewpoint is 100% valid in the context of the bathrooms at Four Seasons Kyoto. Truly a sea of generic beige and brown stone. This could just as easily be the bathroom at Four Seasons Tunis, Four Seasons Singapore or Four Seasons Amman.
The only minuscule nod to Japanese culture in terms of design was a bamboo beam beneath the sink:
However, unlike most bathrooms in the world, ours of course featured a Toto Washlet.
For some reason the toiletries were by little known Italian brand Lorenzo Villoresi, which also seemed like an odd choice. Particularly when you consider how many Japanese cosmetics companies could have been used instead. Indeed Kyoto brand POLA was represented but only in the form of a single sachet of bath salts.
Traditional Japanese bathrooms tend to feature the bath and shower together in a single encased room. The design here really cleverly allowed for a direct path through to the bedroom, with the bath and shower kept separate.
However, the shower doors could also swing outwards to create a traditional enclosed bathing space.
The inclusion of a small wooden shower bench was another minor nod to Japanese bathing culture.
Four Seasons Heritage Garden Room : Bedroom
Heading past the bath we entered the bedroom; this of course featured the supremely comfortable Four Seasons bed that we all know and love.
The two bedside tables featured a variety of light switches, and USB power. One side was provided with a universal adapter and a Bose speaker whereas the other had an iPad. In my experience these serve primarily to take up desk space and to generate light at night time but I’m sure somebody at Four Seasons corporate got a promotion for the genius idea of putting one in every room across the chain.
At the foot of the bed was a TV with and extra long console table beneath it and a minibar area to one side.
The minibar featured an entry-level Nespresso machine. My preference is always for the superior machines made by Illy and Lavazza but Nespresso offers very attractive pricing to hotels and I appreciate many people don’t generally care as much as I do about coffee quality.
The kettle was also a really standard and basic model, rather than the matte black gooseneck kettles that you so often see in Japanese hotels at this price point.
The Japanese tea set was great to see though, adding a bit of wabi sabi flair to an otherwise fairly perfunctory minibar.
I also appreciated the fact that we were provided with sweet and savoury snacks, which were replenished daily.
Four Seasons Heritage Garden Room : Living Room
The Four Seasons rooms are really Junior Suites in all but name, with a sizeable living room area located to one side of the bed.
Our welcome amenity was very generous indeed, as tends to also be the case for our clients booking FSPP rates at Four Seasons hotels – particularly those in Japan.
On one table we were presented with a bottle of Billecart Salmon Brut Nature, alongside a board of daifuku, chocolate pebbles and matcha chocolates, in the shape of a zen garden.
Alongside this was a plate full of very fresh and delicious seasonal fruits, together with two wooden sake cups filled with candy.
The desk space was ample enough that two of us could easily work there at the same time, sitting face to face.
There was also a universal power adapter, in addition to two USB ports, an HDMI socket and a control for the integrated Bluetooth audio system.
One small additional detail which I really appreciated was the addition of a power socket and USB port just behind the sofa, ideal for anybody wishing to sit and use a laptop there.
Four Seasons Room, Kyoto : Balcony
Perhaps the most enticing feature of Heritage Garden Room categories at this property is the large outdoor balcony space on offer.
Sitting here and enjoying a coffee, first thing in the morning, with a view of the lake, the pagoda and the surrounding mountains, I felt like I could have been in a resort hundreds of miles from civilisation, rather than in a city of 2.6 Million people.
This was also the perfect spot to enjoy a glass of two at night, as the sun set over the mountains.
Four Seasons Kyoto housekeeping
Housekeeping at this property was absolutely excellent. With our room cleaned seamlessly every time we returned from breakfast and all the little extra Four Seasons touches very much in place.
This included custom-made lens cloths being places next to any lens or screen:
Our toiletries were also laid out on custom-made cloths, made to fit the bathroom countertops.
Of course, this attention to details extended to the nightly turndown service too!
FS Kyoto Two Bedroom Presidential Suite
As part of my site inspection of the hotel I was given the opportunity to tour the two bedroom presidential suite, as well as a number of the Residential Suites.
As soon as I walked into the Two Bedroom Presidential Suite, it was immediately apparent to me that this was a much larger space (245m²) than that offered at the Park Hyatt’s Pagoda House (135m²). The light wood and muted pastel tones of the furniture were otherwise very similar though.
This suite features a full-sized and separate dining room with space for 8 guests. Despite the grand dimensions, I found the overall decor to have quite an austere feel to it, due to the total absence of colour or any plants or flowers. Presumably some sort of floral centrepiece is placed here when guests occupy the suite.
The primary bedroom almost had the feel of an Alpine chalet to it, with a lowered ceiling panel placed directly above the bed to make the sleeping space feel more enclosed and cosy. I love how there are glimmers of the open-plan bathroom through glass walls to add a real feel of modernity. However, these can easily be covered with the far more traditional sliding doors.
One area which I felt was lacking in wow factor was the bathroom, which was of a similar size and design to that of the standard rooms.
The fact that there was an entirely separate dressing room was more of a Presidential touch, though.
The Presidential Suite also offers a butler’s pantry, which features modern Miele appliances and is designed in keeping with the rest of the suite, so that guests certainly wouldn’t feel uncomfortable using the space themselves, in the absence of a butler.
Finally the Presidential Suite features a twin bedroom, which honestly has a rather neutral and beige design style that wouldn’t look out of place in a Sheraton! Again, the total absence of colour was very noticeable here.
FS Kyoto Residential Suites
In addition to the 180 rooms and 13 suites, Four Seasons Kyoto also features 57 Residential Suites.
The residential suites all feature kitchens, dining rooms and laundry facilities and are therefore designed for guests who are intending to stay for a week or more.
Of course, our FSPP benefits apply to all Residential Suite bookings and additionally all Residential Suite guests receive a variety of included benefits as standard:
FS Kyoto Residential Suite Benefits
A GLASS OF WELCOME CHAMPAGNE AT EMBA KYOTO CHOPHOUSE OR TEA HOUSE FUJU
Raise a toast to quality time together as we invite our Residential guests to enjoy a complimentary glass of champagne upon arrival.
A GIFT FROM THE SPA
Open up a gift from THE SPA to make your stay more memorable.
INDOOR RESIDENTIAL KIDS’ CAMPING EXPERIENCES
Let the little ones camp out in style and create memorable staycation experiences to last a lifetime. Young guests ages 3 to 8 will receive a tent. Advance request is recommended due to limited availability. Suitable for children ages 3 to 8.
DAILY REPLENISHED IN-SUITE “MY BAR” (EXCLUDING ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES)
COMPLIMENTARY RETURN TRANSFER FROM KYOTO STATION
UNLIMITED GARMENT PRESSING ON YOUR ARRIVAL DAY
20-MINUTE EXTENSION OF ALL TREATMENTS AT THE SPA
IN-ROOM LOCAL CALLS
OVERNIGHT VALET PARKING
Broadly speaking, there are three types of Residential Suite:
- Standard (interior terrace facing a wall)
- Heritage Garden (balcony/ terrace facing the Heritage Garden)
- Tatami (balcony/ terrace facing the Heritage Garden with traditional tatami living room and Twin bedroom)
Both the Standard and Heritage Garden Residential suites can be configured with Two bedrooms if needed.
The Tatami Residential Suite is only available as a One-bedroom option.
No matter which residential suite you opt for, you will find a half bathroom, with shower, next to the suite’s entrance. This is ideal for families who have children on rollaway/ sofa beds in the living room.
There is also a laundry cupboard equipped with a modern washer/dryer located at the far end of the kitchen, close to the entrance too.
The kitchen is identical in all three residential suite types, with an oven, fridge freezer, butler sink and hob, in addition to a more typical minibar area at the end.
The Tatami Residential Suites feature a traditional tatami style dining room next to the kitchen:
Meanwhile, all other residential suite types feature a Western style dining room setup:
All the one bedroom Residential Suites feature similar living room spaces, with large TVs and the same work desks that are found the regular hotel rooms.
Tatami Residential Suites follow the Japanese custom and offer only Twin Bedding as an option.
Meanwhile the other Residential Suite types come with with either King or Twin Beds and can be configured as either one or two bedroom suites.
The main bathroom in the Residential Suites is more compact and lacks natural light compared to the regular guest rooms, however you do gain a dressing room and walk-in wardrobe, which is a huge plus on a loner stay.
Food and Drink at Four Seasons Kyoto
Breakfast at Emba Kyoto Chophouse
Unlike the majority of hotels I’ve previously visited in Kyoto, Four Seasons is built on a truly epic scale and nowhere is this more apparent than in the hotel’s main restaurant: Emba Kyoto Chophouse.
As you descend the grand stairs from the entrance lobby above, the impact of the enormous floor to ceiling windows is hard to overstate. Sunlight streams in from outside, offering guests wonderful views of the pond and pavilion to start the day.
In the warmer months you can even enjoy breakfast outside on the restaurant’s terrace, starting your day in an unmistakably Japanese (and very tranquil) setting.
Inside, there are all manner of seating options, inside a very modern and vibrant dining room.
Larger groups are well catered to as well, something which would be much harder to achieve in places like the Park Hyatt.
During our early spring visit it was too chilly to sit outside but we made do each morning with a table close to the windows.
Service was extremely polished and professional here, as you would expect in a Japanese hotel of this calibre. Menus were brought over the moment that we sat down, with coffee and water offered immediately too.
The coffee was very decent (as you would expect with an Italian in charge of the F&B at this property). There was also a revolving selection of freshly squeezed juices to be found at the buffet, including yuzu juice!
The main buffet display featured a selection of fresh items but wasn’t overly inspiring…
…the salad station was comprehensive, as one expects in Japan. However the fruit selection was rather unexciting.
Similarly, there was an extremely limited offering of charcuterie and grilled mackerel:
Those of a less healthy disposition were catered to fairly well, with a freshly baked selection of breads and pastries.
However there’s no question that the quality was significantly below that on offer from the Pierre Herme bakery at the Ritz Carlton.
The hot dishes also seemed like an afterthought, with the thin sausages and soggy bacon not really up to the standards that one expects from a Four Seasons.
Conversely, the a la carte dishes were excellent. I ordered truffle onsen eggs every day and it felt like they had come from an entirely different universe to the buffet!
Usually I find it hard to resist a breakfast buffet in an Asian hotel but there’s no question that FS Kyoto falls short in this regard. What this does mean for our FSPP guests though, is that premise of ordering complimentary room service breakfast is a lot more enticing!
Lunch at Emba Kyoto Chophouse
On the day of our arrival we were too late for the sushi restaurant, which meant that we had to have lunch the main restaurant since it was the only option other than room service.
I know that the Japanese are true masters of Italian and French cuisine but I always feel slightly dirty, like I’m cheating on Japan, by not eating domestic cuisine.
Having said this, the food here was fantastic for the most part.
We started with a frittura mista that featured a very thin and crunchy batter, with no traces of oil whatsoever.
My Caesar salad was decent but in contrast to breakfast, the bacon was way too crispy this time and reminded me of the shrapnel-like stuff that you get in packets at M&S.
Kamara’s crispy Amadai fish was absolutely wonderful though, in terms of both presentation as well as flavour.
Dinner at Emba Kyoto Chophouse
Although I usually try to spend as much time as possible exploring local restaurants whenever I’m in Kyoto, we actually ended up having a sales dinner at Emba on the final night of our stay. This gave us the opportunity to see yet another facet of the kitchen’s capabilities!
The homemade Tagliatelle with kelp, Italian sausage and broccoli was excellent, a very welcome departure from the typical red sauce pasta that one expects to see in hotel restaurants.
Four Seasons Kyoto Facilities
The primary appeal in selecting Four Seasons Kyoto over somewhere like the Ritz Carlton or Park Hyatt is in having access to a complete resort experience, a property offering world class leisure facilities.
Of course the trade off is that you are no longer 5 minutes walk from the busiest parts of the city centre. The question of whether this is ultimately a worthwhile trade-off will largely come down to the personal preferences of each traveller.
Four Seasons Kyoto Heritage Garden
There is no doubt that the grounds of this property are stunning, the landscaping of the heritage garden is fully in keeping with traditional Japanese design and despite Four Seasons being a Western brand, there is an irrefutable sense of place to this property, thanks largely to the Heritage Garden.
Not only is the garden and pond beautiful to look at, local wildlife is drawn to the space, which further adds to the appeal.
As one would expect, the pond is filled with Koi fish and there is even a family of terrapins living here!
At the far end of the pond is an overwater teahouse, where guests can enjoy anything from a simple cup of coffee, to the most elaborate of traditional tea ceremonies.
Four Seasons Kyoto Spa and Pool
The Japanese taking bathing very seriously, with saunas and long soaks in onsen pools being an integral part of the culture. Thankfully the era of tattoo-phobia seems to be well and truly over, at least when it comes to the Western hotel chains, this means that more artistically inclined individuals, such as myself, are able to enjoy the expansive facilities without any issues.
The changing area was bathed in warm light and filled with natural materials, immediately creating a sense of calm and separation from the outside.
A variety of basic amenities were on hand but I was surprised to see a rather simple looking hairdryer as opposed to something more luxurious like a Dyson and no sign of any high-end Japanese moisturisers, found in other hotels at this price point.
In contrast to this, the bath house area was beautifully decorated with what appeared to be cedar wood stools and sinks.
The use of natural, semi-finished stone really added a dramatic flourish to the bathing pools (one hot, one warm) and each was much larger than their equivalents at the Park Hyatt.
In addition to the hot pools there was also a steam room and a sauna.
For those wishing to relax between rounds of heat exposure, there was a lavish relaxation area, replete with very private miniature bedrooms.
I however far preferred the idea of coming to the pool to relax and incredibly, on my first visit, there was nobody else using it!
The design and scale of this pool is breathtaking. Despite being underground, there is still natural light provided by the skylights above the jacuzzis on one side of the pool.
Although I was fortunate enough to have this beautiful space to myself, clearly it was designed to accommodate numerous bathers in relative privacy, thanks for the layout of the various cabana-like structures.
There really isn’t anything that compares to this anywhere in Kyoto or indeed most major cities. This is up there with the very best pools I’ve seen any city hotel. The fact that this exists only 10 minutes drive from Kyoto’s main train station is nothing short of remarkable.
Four Seasons Kyoto Gym
Speaking of remarkable, the gym is in a league of its own. An incredible fitness facility built extremely thoughtfully, with absolutely top quality machinery – no TechnoGym anywhere to be seen!
When I first walked in, I could hardly believe my eyes. You just don’t expect hotel gyms to be this good.
I’ve often said the Four Seasons has the best gyms of any hotel chain and as a result my expectations are always high but this?
This is absolutely next level.
The dumbbells at this gym are by Iron Grip, which is a high quality brand. However, they are all in lbs not kg. So unfortunately these topped out at a rather light 25kg.
It’s not all resistance training though; I’m sure that the cardio crowd would have no complaints about this lineup either!
Overall, an absolutely phenomenal gym. By quite some way the best I’ve seen in any Kyoto hotel and again one of the best city hotel gyms I’ve seen anywhere in the world!
Conclusion
Basics Checklist
☑︎ Power sockets near the bed
☑︎ Easy to understand light switches
☑︎ Coffee machine
☑︎ Separate shower and bath
☑︎ Blackout blinds
☑︎ Stable, fast and free Wifi
☑︎ Feather pillows
☑︎ Quiet and powerful aircon
Four Seasons Kyoto offers a rather enticing proposition: a resort-style property only 10 minutes drive from the main station of a city of 2.6 million people.
There’s no question that Kyoto is a city which is extremely geographically diffuse. The top tourist attractions of Arashiyama, Higashiyama, Kyoto Castle, Fushimi Inari and Kinkaku-ji are spread far and wide.
As such, one can absolutely make the case that no one hotel is ideally located for a first time visitor. No matter where you stay, you will spend a lot of time on trains, buses and taxis – if you’re truly going to see as much of Kyoto as possible.
Once you start to consider day trips like Himeji, Uji and Osaka the balance actually starts to tilt more heavily in favour of being near the station and away from being in the town centre.
By staying at the Four Seasons you miss out on being able to easily walk to Gion or along the banks of Kamo river in the evenings but you gain so much in exchange. The pool and gym are truly world class and the Heritage Garden is effectively a tourist site in its own right.
Some may find the room design to be too sterile and the F&B offerings could certainly be improved upon. The bar here has no chance of bothering the world’s top 50 list, unlike many FS properties in Asia. The fact that there is really only one restaurant for most of the day is also problematic, given the fact that most people will want to take a cab any time they leave the property.
On balance though this is a wonderful resort which is arguably far better located than the other city-resort properties in Kyoto such as Roku LXR.
There’s a lot to like here and I feel that families with younger children, avid gym-goers and those planning to explore the nearby area by rail will be particularly well served by this property.
Book Four Seasons Kyoto with FSPP Benefits
Our clients are able to enjoy Four Seasons Preferred Partner (FSPP) benefits when booking any Four Seasons hotel through us.
An example of FSPP benefits, which may be available on your stay:
- Upgrade of one room category, based on availability at time of check-in.
- Full breakfast, for up to two in room guests. Either at the restaurant or via in-room dining.
- $100 Hotel Credit.
- Early check-in/late check-out, subject to availability.
There are numerous additional offers available throughout the year too, including:
- free nights
- guaranteed upgrades
Your booking will be direct with Four Seasons. However, since we are managing the booking on your behalf, we are able to negotiate all the above extras for you.
Additionally, if you find a cheaper rate elsewhere, we can help to get the price matched AND STILL add the FSPP benefits to your booking!