Kyoto finally gets a super-luxury hotel

Drawing 50 million visitors a year, it's the place to learn to whip up a cup of matcha green tea, admire the craftsmanship of a geisha's kimono and study the art of the zen garden in an ancient temple before sitting down for a $500 kaiseki (Japanese haute cuisine) dinner. Readers of "Travel+Leisure" magazine even voted it world's best city this year, citing its "emerging style scene that's cutting edge." Yet despite Kyoto's obvious allure, until earlier this year there was one glaring absence from the city's travel scene -- a top tier, super-luxury hotel brand, Kazinform refers to CNN. Ritz-Carlton ended that drought in February with the opening of its fourth Japan property, located close to popular downtown areas like Gion and Kawaramachi-dori, the city's retail and entertainment district. "It is actually quite odd that there have not been international ultra-luxe hotel brands in Kyoto until recently, considering the fact that Kyoto is an extremely popular tourist destination," says Catherine Heald, CEO of luxury travel planner Remote Lands. "Kyoto's Hyatt Regency is very nice and it has sufficed, but it is not a Park Hyatt which is more in line with Ritz-Carlton and Four Seasons. The most sumptuous accommodations to date have actually been Hoshinoya [by Japanese brand Hoshino Resorts], which is what I call a Japanese hybrid ryokan (a cross between a ryokan and a hotel), very little known outside Japan. " The decision to open in Kyoto was a matter of catering to demand, says Ritz-Carlton, Kyoto general manager Yuji Tanaka. "The Ritz-Carlton is constantly listening to its loyal guests and a constant theme for us is to build hotels where our guests want us to be and Kyoto was high on the list," he says. "Bringing the brand to Kyoto is a major milestone -- a global iconic city, a window to Japan while being sensitive to centuries of tradition. We were fortunate to be able to work with like-minded partners in a rare location." Billing itself a modern international luxury ryokan, the property has 134 rooms and suites and faces the Kamogawa River and the Higashiyama Mountains in the distance.

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