Hotel The Mitsui Kyoto Review

Hotel The Mitsui Kyoto sits right across the road from Nijo Castle, on the land where the Mitsui family (yes, that Mitsui) kept their Kyoto home for more than 250 years. It opened in November 2020, it has about 160 rooms, and you walk in through a wooden gate that was built in 1703. It's part of Marriott's Luxury Collection, it's on the World's 50 Best Hotels list, and Kyoto lovers talk about it in very hushed tones.

I'd heard two things about it over and over. That the hot spring under the hotel is the best hotel bath in the city. And that it's the most peaceful hotel in Kyoto. After a few days of fighting the crowds in Higashiyama, peaceful sounded like exactly what I needed.

It isn't cheap. A typical night runs about $1,100 to $1,200, often a little less than the Park Hyatt, and in cherry-blossom season and the November maple weeks it's well over $2,000. Here's what you get for it.

Things I Loved about Hotel The Mitsui Kyoto

The gate and the garden. You arrive through the Kajiimiya Gate, an old wooden gate that's been standing since 1703, and the noise of the street just disappears. Inside, the lobby opens straight onto a courtyard garden with a pond, stone lanterns, running water and a big weeping cherry tree right in the middle. On a nice day they open the windows and the garden comes right into the room. I spent a lot of time just sitting there.

The hot spring. This is the reason to book. Under the hotel there's a thermal spring spa, with mineral water pumped up from about a kilometre underground, and it's beautiful…dark stone, rock pillars, a mirrored ceiling that makes the whole place glow, two jet tubs, and a little cold-water shower to wake you up. It's open from 6am to 11pm, and the TV in your room shows how busy it is, which is genius. We went every afternoon and usually had it almost to ourselves.

One thing to know: the main bath is mixed, so you wear a swimsuit (they lend you one if you forget). If you want the traditional, no-swimsuit onsen experience, you can book a private onsen room for an hour or two. It's a big, gorgeous space with its own lounge, and it fits a whole family. It's a splurge, but it's one of the best things we did in Kyoto.

The staff. Many of the women on the front desk wear kimono, and they're some of the kindest, sharpest hotel staff I've met in Japan. We arrived on a hot afternoon, and before anything else there were cold towels, iced tea and a little sweet, then someone knelt beside our sofa to check us in. The doormen bow every single time you come or go, and always ask if you need a car. By day two they knew our names and our plans. They closed the lobby curtains when the sun was in my eyes before I'd even noticed it. The concierge called ahead to get us into restaurants we couldn't book ourselves, and planned temple routes on the edges of the city to dodge the crowds. And when we left, a manager came out to see us off.

Turndown. Turndown here is lovely. Each night there was a different little gift…matcha lip balm one night, a matcha face mask the next, chocolates, and once a little mandarin wagashi sweet that tasted like sunshine. Pyjamas are laid out on the bed, and there's a personal note from the team.

Our room. We were upgraded on arrival to a Nijo Castle view room, a little over 40 square metres, and the window is the whole show…the big wooden gate of Nijo Castle is right there across the road, close enough that you feel you could reach out and touch the roof tiles. The design is by André Fu, and it's calm and warm: walnut, tatami, kimono fabrics and soft lamps that look like they were made for the room. A huge wooden tea table doubles as a desk, and the bed is soft enough to sink into. I slept so well here.

The little things are lovely. There's a bench by the door for your shoes, a wooden minibar with a coffee machine and a proper tea set, a Bose speaker by the bed, and a clever corner that works as a luggage room and open wardrobe, with space for even the biggest suitcase. Our bags were already waiting in the room when we got there. They're generous with upgrades, too…they offered to move us to a Garden Suite for the rest of our stay. We loved the castle view and stayed put, and I still half regret it.

The bathroom is bright and beautiful, with light pouring in, two basins, a huge soaking tub, a separate shower, a Toto toilet, and the hotel's own bath products, made by a Japanese perfumer, that made the whole room smell like a forest. I took a bath every night, even after the hot spring.

My one tip on rooms…skip the city view. The cheaper Deluxe rooms look out over the city and the houses behind the hotel, some through a bamboo screen. Book either a Nijo Castle view room, for the gate and the watchtower lit up at night, or a Garden Room, which looks down onto the courtyard and the weeping cherry. And if you're splurging, the Onsen Suites have their own private outdoor hot spring bath in a little garden with stone lanterns. They're one of the most special rooms in Japan.

Breakfast. Breakfast is at Forni, the Italian restaurant, with big windows onto the garden. There's a buffet of vegetable dishes, mushrooms, pastries and fruit, plus a menu of dishes cooked to order. The Japanese set is beautiful, with grilled fish, tamagoyaki, miso and okayu, but give it 10 to 15 minutes. And the eggs Benedict were some of the best I've had anywhere. If you don't eat meat, this is one of the rare hotel breakfasts where the vegetarian options aren't an afterthought.

Dinner at Toki. Toki is the hotel's signature restaurant, a French-Japanese counter where chef Tetsuya Asano (who used to run the kitchen at the Ritz Paris) cooks a long tasting menu with Kyoto ingredients. It's a big night, and a really good one. Book it before you arrive.

Afternoons in the garden. In the afternoon, there's tea in the lobby looking onto the garden, with seasonal sweets (the chestnut ones in autumn are wonderful). They also do a short tea ceremony in the little teahouse, free morning breathing sessions, and a cypress-wood house in the garden that hosts private dinners and ceremonies. None of it feels like a programme. It all just feels like part of the place. The tea ceremony is about ¥2,000 for a bowl of matcha made in front of you, and it's one of the nicest half-hours in the hotel.

The massage. I had a 50-minute massage in the spa, with a foot bath and tea before and a little snack after, and I fell asleep about ten minutes in. Spa guests get the thermal spring included too.

Nijo Castle on the doorstep. Having a UNESCO castle across the road is a real treat. We walked the castle grounds first thing in the morning, before the tour buses, and from our window at night the gate and the old watchtower were lit up against the dark. Nijojo-mae Station is about three minutes on foot, and the little streets around Nijo and Teramachi are full of tiny restaurants, coffee shops and craft stores. Ask the front desk for their favourite omurice place.

Things That Could Be Better

The rooms are understated for the price. I loved the calm, but the rooms are on the small side for a hotel at this level (the entry rooms start at about 43 square metres), and the public spaces feel smaller than at the Four Seasons or the Ritz-Carlton. If you want a wow-factor room, this isn't it. The beauty here is in the gate, the garden and the bath.

Breakfast gets crowded. The garden-side tables fill up early, it was busy almost every morning, and on our second day the salt bread had run out. Service at breakfast can feel a little stiff and robotic compared with the rest of the hotel. Go early.

The location is quiet. You're by Nijo Castle, in a calm part of central Kyoto, which I loved at night. But it's not on the old lanes like the Park Hyatt, and Gion and Higashiyama are a taxi ride away. The streets around Nijo and Teramachi are full of good little places to eat, though, so ask the staff for their favourites.

Extras add up. The airport transfer the hotel offers costs a lot more than booking a private car yourself, extra beds and children's breakfasts are charged, and the private onsen is priced by the hour. None of it is unusual at this level, but it adds up fast.

Tattoos. In the main bath, you may be asked to cover tattoos with a rash guard. If that matters to you, book a private onsen, where it doesn't apply.

The Mitsui or Park Hyatt?

These are the two I'd choose between for a couple in Kyoto, and they're very different.

The Park Hyatt puts you on the old lanes of Higashiyama with the Yasaka Pagoda in your window, so you can walk the streets before the crowds every morning. It's the best location in Kyoto for a first trip.

The Mitsui is about the bath and the calm. It costs about the same, often a little less, and you get a real hot spring, a garden to come home to and some of the kindest staff in Japan, in a quieter part of town. If it's your second trip, or you've had enough of the crowds, I'd book the Mitsui. Honestly, my dream Kyoto trip is two nights at the Park Hyatt for the lanes, then three at the Mitsui to soak it all off.

And with kids? The Four Seasons, for the pool and the playroom.

Overall

I think Hotel The Mitsui Kyoto is best for couples, honeymooners and anyone on a second or third trip to Kyoto who wants calm, a beautiful bath and staff who look after them beautifully. It's less suited to a short first trip built around Higashiyama, and to anyone who wants a big, showy room for the money.

For the old lanes and the pagoda, I'd book the Park Hyatt. For families and a pool, the Four Seasons. And for the river and an easy walk to Pontocho, the Ritz-Carlton.

So here's my bottom line. I gave it 8.4 out of 10. The hot spring, the garden and the staff are the best things about it, the understated rooms and the busy breakfast are the worst, and it's the most peaceful place to stay in Kyoto. If you've been to Kyoto before, it's the one I'd book.

If you're booking it

Stay three nights, and book a Nijo Castle view room or a Garden Room. Choose a rate that includes breakfast, and book Toki and a private onsen session before you arrive. Use the main hot spring in the afternoon, when it's quietest (check the TV in your room). Pack a swimsuit, though they'll lend you one. Rates are lowest in January, February and high summer, and well over $2,000 in cherry-blossom season and the November maple weeks. On points, it often sits in Marriott's top category, so it's a good use of points when you can find a lower rate. Kyoto Station is about 15 minutes by taxi.