Ace Hotel Kyoto sits between the more cosmopolitan side of the city with the nearby Museum of Kyoto and Kyoto Art Centre, as well as the traditional landmarks, such as Kamesuehiro, the home of the iconic 200-year-old confectionary. This juxtaposition is also reflected in the Ace Hotel Kyoto’s construction. The hotel partially occupies the historic Central Telephone Office, Kyoto’s first registered cultural property, where Kengo Kuma & Associates, Commune Design, and Atelier Ace preserved its original features while adding a new structure in collaboration with NTT Urban Development. Kuma’s exterior juxtaposes the old brick façade with materials like copper, cedar, and ink-mixed concrete and screens that create a play of light and shadow.

Japan has long inspired the Ace Hotel founders, who sought to channel the reverence for Japanese design seen in the works of Frank Lloyd Wright, Antonin Raymond, and Charlotte Perriand. In the guest rooms, Perriand’s influence is evident in the furniture, from inlaid laminate tops to shelving and record storage that reflect her time in Japan in the 1940s.

Each guest room follows a similar entry sequence: wood plank floors, a Donald Judd-inspired bench, and a Sputnik coat hook by Osvaldo Borsani. Bathrooms blend contemporary and Japanese elements with wood panelling and water closets. Japanese fashion designer Akira Minagawa and his textile company Mina Perhonen, collaborated with Atelier Ace to create exclusive fabrics for the curtains and furnishings. At the same time, each bed is accented with Ace’s signature leather, denim bolsters, and tatami-lined bedside tables. Artwork by the late Samiro Yunoki, a member of Japan’s Mingei folk art movement, features in every room, just as his Noren curtains and banners in the lobby. True to Ace tradition, rooms come equipped with record players, some with guitars and Pendleton custom wool blankets.