Aman Kyoto is 26 suites — 24 rooms and two two-bedroom villas — set inside a 32-hectare forest garden on the northern edge of the city, at the foot of Mount Hidari Daimonji and a short drive from Kinkaku-ji. It opened on 1 November 2019 and was the last completed project of the architect Kerry Hill, which is a real part of why it looks the way it does. The rooms are reworked ryokan: tatami, deep ofuro soaking tubs, floor-to-ceiling glass facing nothing but trees. It is among the most beautiful hotel properties in Japan and, on the evidence of its guest reviews, also an inconsistent one — this review covers both. Rates run from about HK$23,700 a night.
What it actually is
The estate was a private garden and forest that had been effectively forgotten; Aman rebuilt it around the existing trees rather than clearing for a building. Twenty-six keys across a 32-hectare site means an extraordinary amount of garden per guest — the Michelin Guide describes the result as a vast private garden and an expanse of unspoiled forest, inside the city limits.
The buildings are separate pavilions, only two storeys high, dark timber against moss and maple. Stone paths, jizo statues and yama momiji maples are worked into the planting. Coming from central Kyoto — ten minutes of ordinary streets — the transition is abrupt and complete.
The design
Kerry Hill Architects also designed Aman Tokyo and Amanemu, and Aman Kyoto is the quietest of the three. The brief was ryokan and onsen rather than hotel: tatami floors, low platform beds, ofuro tubs deep enough to stand in, and full-height glass that frames forest instead of a view. Rooms are on upper or lower floors of the pavilions; both work, and both look into trees rather than at each other.
This is the rare luxury hotel where the architecture is genuinely subordinate to the landscape. It is why people forgive it a great deal — and, as the reviews below show, sometimes more than they should.
The rooms, and the pricing question
Three room categories, priced very differently. Guest reviews are unusually blunt about this: the layouts, amenities and quality are essentially identical across the three, and the difference is location on the property and how much forest you look at. One reviewer calculated that the top category costs more than US$1,000 a night over the entry room for what is largely the same experience, and called it disproportionate.
That is worth knowing before you book, because it argues for the entry category or the level above — provided you are honest with yourself about how much the specific view is worth to you. The villas, with their own onsen bathing, are a different proposition again.
Wellness — read this before you book on the strength of it
The indoor and outdoor onsen are lovely, and the outdoor hot spring is the thing guests consistently name as a highlight. But be clear about what is there: essentially two baths. There is no sauna, no steam room, no cold plunge, no experiential shower, and no proper changing and recovery area. One recent guest put it plainly — the facility is "simply two baths," and for a hotel positioning itself around wellbeing and restoration, it does not feel complete.
The gym is the more practical problem. There is no on-property gym. To work out you travel to a separate facility, coordinate a transfer, register at a second property, reserve a time slot and state how long you intend to exercise. Something that should take thirty seconds takes a phone call and a car.
Yoga is advertised as available across the property, with mats in the room. Guests report arriving to find no mats, and having to ask.
Eating, and the tea ceremony
Dining is centred on the Living Pavilion, with a Japanese and a Western dinner option and the usual hotel tiers of breakfast, lunch and kaiseki-style dinner. Guests rate the food highly; one review of the 10/10 variety singled out the service around food and drink.
The consistent highlight in every account is the matcha ceremony — led, when one guest visited, by a tea practitioner from north of Kyoto, and described as intimate, graceful and genuinely memorable. It is the experience people bring up unprompted. If you are considering what to add to a stay, add that.
The criticism worth carrying: the omakase dinner does not always come with the price stated clearly in advance — including whether drinks and sparkling water are charged separately. At this level, guests should not have to ask what they have committed to.
Champagne is poured at happy hour. On one guest's first evening the unlimited 4pm-to-6pm service worked exactly as advertised; the following day a second glass took over an hour to arrive. At 26 rooms, with this staff-to-guest ratio, that gap is the thing reviewers keep coming back to.
Check availability and current rates for Aman Kyoto →
What it costs
Reference price: around HK$23,700 per night (US$3,040) — October 2026, varying by season and room type
Aman has no loyalty programme, so there is no points route in. The rate varies considerably by season — cherry blossom and autumn colour are the two peaks, and villa rates are a further step up. Booking through an Aman preferred-partner travel agent costs the same as booking direct and generally adds breakfast, a room upgrade subject to availability and a hotel credit; on a stay at this price the credit alone is worth arranging.
What to know before you book
Book dinner and cars before you arrive. Guests on two-night stays have arrived to find the Japanese dinner fully booked and the hotel cars fully booked, with no flexibility offered. Neither is recoverable once you are there, and the property is deliberately remote — a car is not a convenience here, it is the difference between seeing Kyoto and not.
The entry and top rooms are effectively the same room. Price the difference and decide.
Do not come for the wellness programme specifically. Come for the forest, the architecture and the quiet, and treat the onsen as a beautiful extra rather than a spa.
Bring a contingency for the grounds closing. The estate is genuine forest and wildlife turns up — during one guest's stay a bear on the property meant guests were confined to their rooms, with no access to the gardens or pavilions that are the entire reason for staying. Safety first, but at this price the hotel should have programming to fill the gap, and guests report that it did not.
It is not central. Takagamine is in the north of the city, convenient for Kinkaku-ji and Ryoan-ji, and a drive from Gion and the southern temples. Plan your days around that.
Frequently asked questions
How many rooms does Aman Kyoto have?
26 suites: 24 rooms and two two-bedroom villas, spread across low pavilions on a 32-hectare forest estate. The villas have their own onsen bathing.
When did Aman Kyoto open?
1 November 2019. It was the final completed project of the architect Kerry Hill, who also designed Aman Tokyo and Amanemu.
Where is Aman Kyoto?
In the Takagamine district in northern Kyoto, at the foot of Mount Hidari Daimonji, a short drive from Kinkaku-ji (the Golden Pavilion). It is a 32-hectare private forest garden inside the city limits.
Does Aman Kyoto have onsen?
Yes — indoor and outdoor onsen, and the outdoor hot spring is the most-praised facility on the property. Note that beyond the two baths there is no sauna, steam room or cold plunge, and there is no gym on site.
How much is a night at Aman Kyoto?
Rates run from around HK$23,700 (US$3,040) per night (2026年10月), varying by season and room category. Aman has no loyalty programme, so there is no points redemption.
Is Aman Kyoto worth the money?
The setting, architecture and silence are close to unmatched in Kyoto, and the tea ceremony is exceptional. Service, room-category pricing and the wellness offering draw consistent criticism from recent guests. Go for the forest and the quiet, with your eyes open about the rest.
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Sources: Aman Kyoto (official) · Kerry Hill Architects · Guest reviews, via Luxury Link