Ace Hotel Kyoto

Character and identity

Set inside the 1926 Shin-Puh-Kan building on Karasuma Street, with a new wing wrapped in an angular gridded facade by Kengo Kuma in collaboration with LA's Commune Design, this 213-room hotel is the loudest, most extroverted address in a city that trades in restraint. Expect a cavernous lobby anchored by a communal table and maximalist art, ground-floor boutiques and restaurants around a courtyard, and the work of more than 50 Japanese artisans threaded through the interiors. Three restaurants (Piopiko for tacos, Mr Maurice's for Italian, Kosa for farm-to-table) and a 24-hour gym round it out. Service is young and relaxed by local standards, but still polished.

Who's it for

Bottom line

The draw here is the building itself and the design conversation between Kyoto craft and Ace's Americana, not square footage or hushed reverence. Spend the money if you want a sociable, creative base in central Kyoto, and specifically request one of the 27 rooms in the original 1926 wing for the high ceilings and arched windows that make the architecture sing.