Kyoto, Japan

Banyan Tree Higashiyama Kyoto

Price per night from$669.70

Price information

If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (inclusive of taxes and fees) available in the next 60 days.

Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (JPY104,510.00), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.

Banyan Tree Higashiyama Kyoto Photos

Style

Shoji sanctuary

Setting

Temple-toting Higashiyama

Explore

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A polished encapsulation of the city it calls home, Banyan Tree Higashiyama Kyoto is a cultural and contemplative retreat. You’re close to centuries-old temples and shrines, but a quiet, sanctuary-like atmosphere washes over the hotel’s onsen-blessed suites, restorative spa and performance-hosting bamboo pavilion. Its kaiseki restaurant will whet your appetite for Kyoto; you can satisfy further cravings at tea ceremonies, all-senses omakase and sake-sipping evenings. 

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Facilities

Photos Banyan Tree Higashiyama Kyoto facilities

Need to know

Rooms

52.

Check–Out

11am; check-in, 3pm. Both are flexible, on request and subject to availability.

More details

Rates at Banyan Tree Higashiyama Kyoto include a traditional kaiseki or American-style breakfast.

Also

Unfortunately, this hotel isn’t suitable if you have reduced mobility.

At the hotel

Round-the-clock gym, communal onsen and free WiFi throughout. In rooms: TV, Bluetooth speaker, air-conditioning, tea- and coffee-making kit, minibar, free bottled water, bathrobes, slippers and bespoke bath products.

Our favourite rooms

At Banyan Tree Higashiyama Kyoto, your old-world setting is countered by contemporary design. This is noted in the rooms, where you’ll have to slip your shoes off at the door to protect the traditional tatami-mat flooring, before revelling in the polished, picture-window-adorned interiors. For a true taste of your locale, the Onsen Retreat King restores with garden views and a private Hinoki-wood soaking tub.

Spa

Seek out all-senses soothing at the Banyan Tree Spa: each treatment room is furnished its own steam room, onsen and tropical garden views. After practising the tradition of toji (a time-honoured type of hot water therapy), ramp up your relaxation with a deep-tissue massage or signature facial.

Packing tips

Patience: most of Kyoto’s sights draw a crowd, so you’ll often be among camera-wielding company. If you’re wandering Gion and other geisha districts be sure to put your lens down — these artists aren't to be photographed.

Also

The open-air bamboo pavilion sets the stage for forest-gazing views and traditional Noh (Japanese theatre) performances.

Children

Under-11s stay for free; under-fours also dine for free, and kids between four and 11 get 50 per cent off breakfast. Over-12s are charged as adults. There’s a kids’ menu at the restaurant.

Food and Drink

Photos Banyan Tree Higashiyama Kyoto food and drink

Top Table

Windowside seats make for scenic picks year-round, particularly so during cherry blossom season.

Dress Code

Keep it classic and cool, perhaps with a debut from your latest vintage finds from Shinkyogoku Street or boutique buys from Beams.

Hotel restaurant

Seasons are integral to Ryozen. The restaurant overlooks the bamboo pavilion, where views showcase autumn foliage and spring’s sakura season, and it centres its kaiseki dinners around prime, local produce. What’s presented on the chef’s table often varies, but you can expect to sample a selection of bites, bowls and grills, spotlighting wagyu fillet, sea urchin or scallops, marinated with yuzu, dried seaweed or miso. A traditional breakfast follows a similar little-bit-of-everything suit, with a medley of elements and flavours, or you can opt for simpler American-inspired alternatives.  

Hotel bar

Bar Ryozen specialises in rice wines, such as local sake and sweet mirin, but you’ll also find other locale-nodding tipples in the form of green-tea-laced cocktails. Afternoon tea spotlights favourite ingredients — matcha, strawberry — in a decadent array of treats.

Last orders

Breakfast is served from 7am to 10.30am; lunch is between 11.30am and 3pm, and for dinner, it’s 6pm to 10pm. The bar pours from 5pm to 11pm; its afternoon tea runs from noon to 4pm.

Room service

You can order dishes from a dedicated menu to your door around the clock.

Location

Photos Banyan Tree Higashiyama Kyoto location
Address
Banyan Tree Higashiyama Kyoto
7 Seikanji Ryozan Cho Higashiyama Ward
Kyoto
605-0861
Japan

Banyan Tree Higashiyama Kyoto’s name is a bit of a clue to where you’ll find it: in Kyoto’s eastern Higashiyama Ward district, a short stroll from the city’s top temples and shrines.

Planes

Osaka’s Kansai International Airport is under 90 minutes’ drive from the hotel.

Trains

Local trains and Shinkansen routes from other major Japanese hubs call at Kyoto Station, which is a 20-minute taxi ride away.

Automobiles

Ditch the wheels in Kyoto: the city is walkable, many of the roads to the big sights are taken over by pedestrians, and taxis or subways can whizz you further afield.

Worth getting out of bed for

Banyan Tree Higashiyama Kyoto places several of the city’s customs within its walls: stretch out in a private yoga class at the bamboo pavilion, which also doubles as a stage for Noh theatre performances, or unwind with a sigh-releasing soak in the communal onsen.  

Kyoto’s best-loved Buddhist temples are on your doorstep: start at legend-steeped Kiymozu-dera, then loop past Kodaji for a tea ceremony on your way to Kenninji, where groundspeople raking its zen garden beats any ASMR video. Continue onto moat-bordered Nijō Castle or gold-leaf-clad Kinkaku-ji, in between lunches along Pontocho Alley and Nishiki Market. 

Summon deities at Yasaka Shrine, wander the Philosopher’s Path or glimpse geisha and maiko in Gion on their way to entertain. For a day out, hop on the JR train to Fushimi Inari Taisha, a mountain-scaling procession of Shinto shrines, before continuing onto Nara Park, where docile deer roam in search of selfies and snacks.

Local restaurants

Kyoto delivers as many culinary delights as it does cultural. Named for the acronym form of Kobe, Okinawa, Kyoto and España, starred Koke themes its innovative tasting menus around water and fire. The concept of omakase gets an international edge at intimate Monk, where wood-flamed pizzas might be presented after seasonal vegetables and yellowtail sashimi. At Jiki Miyazawa, kaiseki cooking is given a fine-dining spin and its only-counter-seats set-up means you’ll get to see each dish transform from prep to plate.

Local cafés

Ichikawaya Coffee is a cosy neighbourhood café with house-roasted beans and fruit-and-cream sandwiches. While its green teas and traditional sweet treats are pick-me-ups, Zen Cafe doubles as a tranquil spot for quiet contemplation. 

Local bars

Scotch & Branch’s low-lit interiors are as warm in hue and spirit as its bourbon- and whisky-based tipples. Komorebino is a tucked-away natural wine bar that pours arcane bottles from around the world as well as Japanese vintages, such as pétillants from Hokkaido and oranges from Yamanashi.

Reviews

Photos Banyan Tree Higashiyama Kyoto reviews

Anonymous review

By Mr & Mrs Smith

Every hotel featured is visited personally by members of our team, given the Smith seal of approval, and then anonymously reviewed. As soon as our reviewers have returned from this tranquil hotel in Kyoto and unpacked their Noh masks and Nishiki Market memento, a full account of their cultural break will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside Banyan Tree Higashiyama Kyoto in Japan… 

Harmony is integral to Japanese culture, especially with its equal consideration of Buddhist and Shinto beliefs, and Banyan Tree Higashiyama Kyoto draws on this deep-rooted heritage for a mind- and body-balancing stay. 

Shintoism is intrinsically linked with nature, so you might find yourself worshipping the hotel’s hillside setting, where verdant views beam over bamboo groves and extend from bedrooms and the spa’s suite-like treatment rooms. Rituals are a core part of the religion, too, and here they come in the form of ceremonious afternoon tea, spells in the onsen (or your room’s Hinoki-wood tub) and mindful meals at the kaiseki restaurant. 

Meditative moments — Buddhism’s contribution — come during yoga at the Bamboo Pavilion, and botanical-oil massages put you on track for enlightenment. Days at large in Kyoto, strolling between shrines, temples and quaint cafés are set to have a similar effect. 

Banyan Tree Higashiyama Kyoto exudes peace, and soon, so will you. 

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Price per night from $656.89

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