In the heart of Japan’s ancient capital, the Park Hyatt Kyoto is considered to be the marquee points and miles city hotel in the world. At only 70 rooms/suites, availability is extremely rare due to its prime limited real estate in the Higashiyama neighborhood. This stay is 1% skill and 99% Chai Bear luck ✌️
Booking
Availability popped up one late evening during Christmas/New Years week. Santa Claus is that you? I quickly jumped up and logged into my Hyatt account like I’m booking a sold out Taylor Swift concert. Since it’s peak season, it is bookable for 45,000 pts/night
Considering cash rates is over $2000+ USD/night, this redemption feels like a Christmas present. After yen conversion, that’s ¥330,000… that can almost buy a Van Cleef jewelry in one night 😵💫
Thanks to our Globalist friends, we were also able to apply a Guest of Honor certificate to this stay. This definitely sweetened our experience during check-in.
Tsuboniwa Garden Terrace
Prior to arrival, I checked room inventory and noticed it was a completely sold-out night. To our surprise, we still got proactively upgraded to a room that features our own private zen garden.
The room is immaculate with luxury in the details like a Balmuda kettle just for hot water. You can even request instant ramen noodles as one of the amenities.
The sofa can get converted to another bed too, which is great for kids.
Yasaka Pagoda
Park Hyatt Kyoto is right next to the historic Yasaka Pagoda, which dates all the way back to the 6th century. It’s the most famous and well preserved Buddhist temple in this city. The main advantage in staying at this hotel is that you can roll out of bed during sunrise and stroll around this district without tourists.
When the town wakes up, a lot of them likes to dress up in Kimonos to immerse themselves with the Japanese culture.
Kyoto Bistro Breakfast
We feasted like dynasty royalties. Breakfast starts every morning at 7am and you can choose between Western or Japanese set. We picked both of course. Just epic, noms-tastic epic.
Western Breakfast
Japanese Breakfast
the food gets specially prepared at Kyoyamato which is a Michelin Star Kaiseki restaurant
Onsen
Like the Park Hyatt Niseko, there’s an onsen hot spring bath at the spa. It’s a great amenity to use after a long day of excursions. In both times we used it, we had the whole place to ourselves. Perks of only 70 rooms/suites at this hotel.
Overall, the Park Hyatt Kyoto lives up to its hype. This place flawlessly blends its luxury and architecture while preserving the feeling of Kyoto’s historic charm. Its location is unrivaled and cash rates definitely reflect the demand of this premium property.
For 45,000 points/night, this high end boutique is a fantastic value redemption. It’s a bucket list hotel that all points and miles members should experience.
Chai Bear World 