Capella, Imperial and Regent: five new luxury hotels in Kyoto, in the heart of Gion or facing Nijo Castle

In 2025, the city of Kyoto welcomed 62.79 million visitors, a record and the first time above 60 million, according to the city’s annual survey. In this record-breaking city, five luxury hotels are opening or will open between March 2026 and 2028, four of them in places steeped in history. From the Capella to the Regent, here is what each one offers, what it costs and when to stay.

☰Contents

1. A record 62.79 million visitors for Kyoto
2. Japan’s first Capella, in a former school
3. The Imperial: 55 rooms in a Gion landmark
4. Late 2026: the Songtei, facing Nijo Castle
5. A 33-room retreat on Mount Hiei
6. A century-old garden for the Regent in 2028
7. What does a night in the new Kyoto cost?

A record 62.79 million visitors for Kyoto

According to the city survey published in summer 2026, there were 12.68 million foreign visitors among the 62.79 million, and 16.59 million people stayed overnight, 8.09 million of them from abroad. Tourist spending reached 2,047.4 billion yen. This total covers the city of Kyoto alone, Japanese tourists included, whereas Japan as a whole welcomed 42.7 million foreign visitors that same year.

The newcomers remain small: from 33 to 89 rooms. In a city where land is scarce and building heights are strictly controlled, they are betting on old buildings, gardens and historic districts.

Japan’s first Capella, in a former school

Open since 22 March 2026, Japan’s first Capella has 89 rooms, including 29 suites, over four storeys in Miyagawa-cho, in the Higashiyama district, opposite Kennin-ji temple. Kengo Kuma and Associates designed the architecture and Singapore’s Brewin Design Office the interiors. The hotel occupies the former Shinmichi primary school, whose timber was reused in the Japanese restaurant, and forms a single ensemble with the restored Miyagawa-cho Kaburenjo theatre, where the geiko and maiko, Kyoto’s geishas and their apprentices, perform their dances.

Six Onsen Suites have their own hot spring bath opening onto an inner garden, and the 206 m² Capella Suite takes up the top floor. The Auriga spa brings together three private onsen rooms. For dining, the 12-seat SoNoMa by SingleThread is run with SingleThread, the three-Michelin-star restaurant in Healdsburg, California; alongside it are Yoi, a Japanese bar and restaurant, the French brasserie Lanterne, a patisserie and more than 100 works of art on display.

The Imperial: 55 rooms in a Gion landmark

Open since 5 March 2026, the Imperial Hotel, Kyoto occupies the Yasaka Kaikan, built around 1936 and registered as a cultural property of Japan, within the grounds of the Gion Kobu Kaburenjo, the dance theatre of the Gion geiko. It is the brand’s fourth hotel and the group’s first opening in some thirty years. Its 55 rooms, in five categories, are spread across the historic section, where the original pillars and windows have been kept, the main building and a new north wing limited to 12 m in height.

This north wing houses the brand’s first tatami rooms, with interiors by Tomoyuki Sakakida. The hotel has a spa, a pool, the restaurants REN and YASAKA, the Old Imperial Bar and a rooftop. A member of The Leading Hotels of the World since April 2025, it received a Michelin Key, the Michelin Guide’s hotel distinction, in the 2026 selection.

Late 2026: the Songtei, facing Nijo Castle

The Songtei Kyoto, Shangri-La Signatures will welcome its first guests in late 2026, ahead of a full opening in early 2027. Its 77 rooms and suites will face UNESCO-listed Nijo Castle, on the former residence of the Kyoto Shoshidai, the Tokugawa shogunate’s representative in the city, with views of the castle’s Kita Ote-mon gate. It is the second address in the Shangri-La Signatures collection, after The Silk Lakehouse in Hangzhou, China.

The group’s press release announces a private spa with hot baths indoors and outdoors, an indoor pool, an all-day lounge, a fine-dining Chinese restaurant, a kappo-sushi counter, where the chef cooks in front of guests, and a bar. Room categories and bookings will be announced later; the whole project is covered in our article on the Songtei Kyoto.

A 33-room retreat on Mount Hiei

In spring 2027, Keihan Hotels & Resorts will open THE THOUSAND HIEI, Mui Okuyama on Mount Hiei, above Kyoto, in Ichihonsugi, in Sakyo ward. This 33-room retreat, including 26 standard rooms, replaces the Rotel du Hiei hotel, taken over by the group. The mountain is also home to Enryaku-ji, a UNESCO-listed temple.

The concept is built around Eastern medicine treatments: therapeutic diet, acupuncture, moxibustion (stimulation through heat) and hot baths in Hiei no Reisui spring water. A terrace with a water basin will look out over Lake Biwa, alongside a spa, a restaurant and a bar. The exact opening date has not yet been announced.

A century-old garden for the Regent in 2028

The last in the series, the Regent Kyoto will open in 2028 in the Okazaki district, backed by IHG and GI Capital Management, which broke ground in May 2025. Its 83 rooms will surround a garden designed more than a century ago by Kumakichi Kato, on a site that is also home to Tsuruya, a century-old ryotei, in other words a traditional Japanese restaurant.

What does a night in the new Kyoto cost?

Only two prices have been published. At the Capella, a night costs €1,623 for two in a Deluxe City room, breakfast and taxes included, from 9 to 10 December 2026 (checked on 23 October 2026 on Booking.com). At the Imperial, expect 227,700 yen for two in a Premier King room, without breakfast, taxes and service included, from 2 to 3 December 2026 (official website, same check date). The other three have not yet published their rates.