Six Senses Simply Opened a New City Retreat in Kyoto — Right here’s What It’s Wish to Keep

Effectively-known for its heritage and tradition, Kyoto brims with Shinto shrines, Buddhist temples, and well-preserved districts. Regardless of its deep roots and proliferation of historic landmarks, the traditional Edo capital has certainly developed since its imperial heyday. The present cultural framework appears to be like completely different than it did even a couple of a long time again. Right this moment, Instagrammable matcha retailers sit astride kaiseki eating places and artisan studios specializing in kintsugi, and delicate serve joints line the primary avenue of Arashiyama.

Located within the Higashiyama Ward, the brand new Six Senses Kyoto, which opened its doorways in late April 2024, blends previous and current in essentially the most beautiful method — honoring its historic environment, rolling out industry-leading sustainability initiatives, and making a serene sanctuary for visitors to unwind after temple hopping (or skipping the sightseeing and simply blissing out all day).

Impressed by the Heian interval — the golden age of artwork and tradition in Kyoto — however designed by Singapore-based BLINK Design Group with a extra up to date, eco-conscious lens, the resort epitomizes a Zen city retreat. It’s luxurious but relaxed and trendy, with nods to millennia-old traditions that give it a wealthy sense of place and soul.

Company are welcomed with tea, Japanese sweets (decided by the present micro-season), and Zuko (rubbing incense powder), a purifying Buddhist ritual meant to cleanse the spirit and set the tone for a halcyon keep. The five-star property doesn’t demand silence or formality regardless of the palpable sense of tranquility. The doting employees is heat and at all times smiling. And there is an undercurrent of levity and whimsy.

Beautiful in its simplicity and a focus to element, the biophilic foyer — which opens onto a central courtyard teeming with greenery, water, and rocks  — options stone flooring, gentle wooden, and customized paintings. Hanging behind the reception desks, a folding display screen made from native Rakuyaki tiles evokes the silhouette of the sacred Mount Kurama, the birthplace of Reiki therapeutic. On the other wall, a contemporary interpretation of scrolls of frolicking animals nods to the primary manga.

Folksy fox masks guard every of the 81 luxurious rooms — and cleverly gentle as much as point out a do-not-disturb choice. Sounds of pleasure reverberate from the Develop With Six Senses youngsters membership. The eating places serve recent, domestically sourced delicacies that resonates with applaudable sustainability efforts. The Earth Lab permits visitors to hook up with native tradition, study, and get inventive. Nowhere is the stability of pampering and peacefulness extra obvious than the spa, a sanctum of holistic self-care able to reworking even essentially the most tightly wound traveler right into a Zen grasp.

Right here, all the pieces it’s good to find out about Six Senses Kyoto.

The Rooms

Each room is consciously designed for consolation and elegance. All of the lodging overlook nature and have soaking tubs, enhancing the enjoyable vibe. One element I liked is that stunning panels conceal televisions, so that you get a tech-free feeling with out sacrificing Netflix to beat the jetlag. This aligns with the model’s portfolio-wide mission to advertise a greater snooze, as do the bespoke mattresses, temperature-regulating pillows, and natural cotton linens.

Like the remainder of the property, peppered all through the rooms are moments of shock and delight, similar to wood blocks that spin behind the beds. Care and a focus go into each fastidiously thought-about element — even the snacks. The home-made lemon cookies, beet soy sauce crackers, and candy potato chips hit the spot once you’re feeling peckish.

We stayed in a Premier Suite Backyard on the bottom ground, a spectacular area with a non-public Japanese backyard for sitting in stillness or napping on the outside sofa. I can be dreaming of the stand-alone soaking tub for years to return.

Preferrred for multi-general households or teams, the Penthouse Suite flaunts three bedrooms (a rarity for a metropolis resort) and expansive dwelling areas with sweeping views.

Meals and Drink

Calling the delicacies farm-to-table doesn’t do it justice: The meals right here is hyperlocal, with nearly all the pieces both grown on-site or sourced from regenerative farms and fisheries inside a six-mile radius.

A celebration of the 24 micro-seasons of the traditional Japanese calendar, Sekki, the all-day restaurant helmed by govt chef and Kyoto native Hiroki Shishikura, serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The bountiful morning buffet is filled with pickled greens, fresh-baked pastries, housemade granola and yogurt, and fruit. Company may also order a la carte dishes. I like to recommend the dashi maki tamago, a Kyoto-style tackle an omelet, and the roasted candy potato. To clean it down? Pressed juices and zesty pictures. Within the night, miso-marinaded Tamba pork and Kyoto wagyu are meaty standouts from the land part of the menu. Veg-forward choices embody roasted cauliflower with a vinegared leek and turnip tapenade and stir-fried greens from the backyard. Seafood followers will fortunately dive right into a plate of scallops with homegrown Manganji peppers and enoki mushrooms. The adjoining café is the spot for espresso, tea, housemade kombucha, and freshly baked pastries through the day.

The second location of the acclaimed, Osaka-based Sushi Oga permits patrons to strive an omakase (chef’s alternative) of flawlessly reduce fish that sits elegantly atop signature crimson vinegar sushi rice.

In distinction to the remainder of the sunshine and ethereal property, the 9 Tails bar is undoubtedly a visible departure. Jewel tones and dim lighting create a seductive environment for grown-up visitors to sip Japanese whisky, inventive cocktails, and mocktails.

Actions and Facilities

A chalkboard signal within the foyer particulars the every day actions, which vary from yoga and mat Pilates to sound therapeutic and sustainability excursions to origami and Sashiko stitching.

One of the attention-grabbing areas on the resort, the Earth Lab, invitations visitors to partake in interactive cultural workshops — together with studying the time-honored Japanese artwork of Shodo calligraphy and zero-waste furoshiki wrapping.

Complimentary wood Coco-Mat bicycles are ready out entrance for visitors eager to discover the neighborhood.

The Spa

The spa is, definitely, the star of a property with so many excessive factors. The bathhouses, separated by gender, think of conventional onsen rituals. I spent an hour sweating it out within the sauna and steam room, floating within the sizzling swimming pools, and cooling off within the chilly plunge earlier than my holistic therapeutic massage.

On the cutting-edge facet of issues, diagnostic well being screening machines give visitors knowledge about sleep and stress in minutes. Specialists then use the evaluation to suggest tailored applications. The tech-forward biohacking lounge, outfitted with vibration remedy chairs and LED masks, is great for a fast wellness hit to fight jetlag and promote restoration or, as most spa-goers do, as an addition to lengthier, bespoke journeys which may comprise shiatsu, a 24k gold facial, a pearl-infused physique masks, and acupuncture. There’s additionally a watsu (aquatic bodywork) pool — the one one in Kyoto. The remedy rooms are impeccably designed and completely serene. After rituals, the comfort room encourages visitors to sip tea and transfer the rake across the miniature Zen sand gardens.

The Alchemy Bar, a trademark throughout the portfolio, presents visitors the possibility to craft DIY magnificence merchandise with components plucked from the resort’s backyard. Who wouldn’t need to carry residence an exfoliating inexperienced tea physique scrub? The boutique shares luxurious all-natural skincare traces, handwoven kimonos, and incense from Tenkhodou, a family-run enterprise courting again 4 generations that provides ceremonial aromatics to essentially the most sacred temples in Kyoto.

Household-friendly Choices

Discovering a resort that feels so polished and peaceable but caters to households is uncommon. The way in which that the property considers its youngest visitors impressed me tremendously. Everybody was so candy and considerate to our boys, chatting up Miles about his day and newest drawing and taking part in peek-a-boo with Leo.

The youngsters membership, referred to as Develop with Six Senses, is on the bottom ground and open every day from 11:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Clearly, a dad or mum had a say in issues as a result of it’s proper down the corridor from 9 Tails and Sekki and open late sufficient for mother and pa to get pleasure from drinks and dinner with a facet of grownup dialog. The room itself appears to be like like a type of brilliantly designed playrooms you see on Instagram, however don’t think about anybody having it in actual life. Assume wood toys, books, puzzles galore, yoga mats, and this lovely butterfly tree sculpture to spur creativeness.

Maybe essentially the most magical ingredient is an interactive play space with a slide and boulder-shaped pillows that mirror the inexperienced areas exterior the window. For teenagers ages 5 to 12, it’s a drop-off scenario (therefore the suggestion for a date night time), however a dad or mum or guardian should accompany youthful youngsters. Nonetheless — we introduced our 3-year-old, and he had the time of his life.

Accessibility and Sustainability

The resort is designed and inbuilt compliance with native accessibility requirements, with one accessible room out there.

Sustainability is a driving power behind the Six Senses model — very true of its Kyoto outpost. Conceptualized with a profound respect for individuals and the planet, almost each facet of the LEED silver-certified resort — from the supplies and practices used within the building course of to implementing plastic-free insurance policies and to the visitor experiences — displays values of social and environmental accountability. Guests can take part in eco-conscious actions like portray Sensu (folding followers) with pure pigments coloured by meals scraps on the Earth Lab. Kitchen waste can also be composted and used as fertilizers for the backyard. A part of the resort’s income instantly funds forestry conservation and schooling.

Location

The Higashiyama Ward gives a extra enjoyable, residential-feeling various to town heart. Its slender lanes are dotted with tea homes, kaiseki eating places, and pottery retailers like POJ Studio. Sanjusangen-do Temple and the Kyoto Nationwide Museum are inside strolling distance of the Six Senses Kyoto. And it’s straightforward to hop in a automotive to go to the various different must-see sights.

Find out how to Get the Most Worth Out of Your Keep

Cherry blossom season attracts vacationers worldwide, which rolls into Golden Week in early Might. E book exterior this era when you’re searching for fewer crowds and extra wallet-friendly charges.

The Six Senses Kyoto is a part of IHG’s luxurious and life-style portfolio. That comes with the perks of the IHG One Rewards loyalty program.