Many modern urban hotels like to boast of their connection with the art community but few, we wager, can hold a candle to Kyoto’s newly minted BnA Alter Museum.
Located within a few minutes walk of fabled Gion, Karawamachi and the Kamo river, the 10-storey building hides a kaleidoscopic fantasy within its relatively nondescript narrow white façade .
A vertical wing, rising up the building’s entire 10-storey height, is taken up by four art galleries (collectively named SCG) with the museum shop, café and lounge that looks like the result of a one-night stand between the Jetsons and Takeshi Murakami, and a bar staking the ground floor.
Meanwhile, 31 bedrooms occupy the third to tenth storeys. We use the word ‘bedroom’ loosely because each is literally a permanent exhibition by 15 Japanese artists who collectively have created an extraordinarily eclectic mix of interior designs, some of which feature charged swirls of colours and three-dimensional installations that seem to pour out of the ceiling. A particular treat is that some of the rooms look directly into the SCG art galleries.
If calmness is key to your sleep, we suggest booking the all-white serenity of the Daito Manabe-designed room or the Brutalist-inspired D_R_M room by the vocalist, EYE.
ADDRESS
267-1 Tenmacho
Shimogyo-ku
Kyoto
-
A celestial New York exhibition showcases Roman and Williams’ mastery of lightingLauded design studio Roman and Williams is exhibiting 100 variations of its lighting ‘family tree’ inside a historic Tribeca space
-
‘He immortalised the birth of the supermodel’: inside Dior’s career-spanning retrospective of photographer Peter LindberghOlivier Flaviano, curator and head of Paris’ La Galerie Dior, talks us through a new Peter Lindbergh retrospective, which celebrates the seminal German photographer’s longtime relationship with the French house
-
Take a bite: Laila Gohar and The Luxury Collection’s ‘Cakes & Candles’ are a sweet treat for the sensesLaila Gohar’s six cake-inspired candles draw on The Luxury Collection’s hotels around the world – where guests can enjoy matching edible confections
-
First look: Noma Kyoto returns and aims to ‘double-wow’ dinersNoma Kyoto opens on 8 October for a ten-week pop-up inside Ace Kyoto. Thomas Lykke, co-founder of OEO Studio, tells us of the interiors’ autumn-forest inspiration
-
Kengo Kuma’s new Kyoto hotel is ‘a sanctuary of ethereal beauty’A former ryokan inn, Banyan Tree Higashiyama Kyoto offers onsen rooms equipped with natural hot spring water, and a contemporary take on a Noh theatre
-
A minimalist teahouse makes a serene addition to a Tadao Ando-designed Kyoto hotelOgata at The Shinmonzen is a contemporary reinterpretation of a Japanese teahouse that sells traditional blends, confectionery, crafts and fragrances
-
Tour the new Four Seasons Osaka, where time stands stillSet within a 49-storey tower, Four Seasons Osaka takes the traditional ryokan experience to new heights
-
Aman Residences Tokyo float high above the Japanese capitalAman Residences Tokyo, Aman Group’s first standalone branded residences, feature dramatic yet serene interiors by Yabu Pushelberg
-
Step inside this rare Shiro Kuramata-designed cocktail bar in JapanShiro Kuramata designed hundreds of bars in his lifetime, but few remain intact. Now fans are making a pilgrimage to Comblé Bar in Shizuoka
-
Find yourself at Six Senses Kyoto, the brand's breathtaking Japan debutSix Senses Kyoto opens its doors boasting tranquil, luxurious interiors by Blink Design Group
-
Dip into Janu Tokyo hotel, Aman’s sociable new sibling brandStep inside the Jean-Michel Gathy-designed Janu Tokyo and discover its state-of-the-art wellness facilities
