Kyoto was the Imperial capital of Japan for more than one thousand years. It is now the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture located in the Kansai region, as well as a major part of the Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe metropolitan area. With over 1,600 Buddhist temples, 400 shrines, many palaces and gardens, Kyoto is one of the best preserved cities in Japan and a sharp contrast to Tokyo. Most first-time visitors to Japan want to visit both Tokyo and Kyoto. In this post I will show you the best hotels in Kyoto on points.
[SEE ALSO: Best routes and cheapest miles to Japan from mainland U.S. ]
[SEE ALSO: Best hotels in Tokyo on points from four major hotel chains ]
Where to stay in Kyoto
I am not a Kyoto expert by all means as my first trip to Kyoto is finally around the corner. But since I booked my flights last April, I also booked a trip for my sister-in-law. I am traveling with my best friend and our youngest kids., I spent many hours over the last ten months researching online where to stay (at the cheapest cost)! Hopefully what I learned will make it easier for you to plan your family’s trip to Kyoto.
Kyoto is a relatively small city with an excellent public transport system. Taxi is readily available and much cheaper than in Tokyo. While staying near subway station is still beneficial, it is not as important as in Tokyo. There are a few things you want to keep in mind when looking for hotels in Kyoto on points:
- There are only FIVE hotels in Kyoto on points, and two of them cost lots of points per night!
- BOOK EARLY, as early as you can, especially during peak season like cherry blossom.
- THREE hotels on the list will go up one category on March 7, 2017, so book now if you are planning to go during 2018. You can always cancel later.
- If you can’t find any award nights in Kyoto, try Osaka which is an easy train ride from Kyoto.
- Award rooms are usually for standard rooms with two twin beds. But at some hotels they are actually two double beds and technically can accommodate a family of four.
Just like in Tokyo, there are many well-located independent hotels in Kyoto in the $150-$250 range. You can book these hotels through online travel agencies (best with a discount code such as one for Orbitz). You can redeem bank points such as Barclay Arrival points or Chase Ultimate Rewards points to cover the hotel cost.
If you plan to use Kyoto as base for day trips out of the area, consider stay near JR Kyoto Station area. One hotel worth mentioning is Hotel Granvia Kyoto, located directly above the Kyoto Station. From here, you have direct and easy access to all over Kyoto, Kansai International Airport, and major cities across Japan including Osaka, Tokyo, Hiroshima, Nagoya, and Fukuoka. The hotel, rated highly on Tripadvisor, is very popular among tourists due to its location and excellent services. My brother had visited Kyoto many times and he always stayed here.
Best Hotels in Kyoto on points (and Osaka too)
There are only five hotels in Kyoto on points from the four major chains, two of them require lots of points. Which one is the best depends entirely on your personal preference. If you have a free night certificate for Ritz Carlton, Kyoto might be a better choice than Tokyo. If you have a free night to use at Hyatt, you will have to choose between Park Hyatt Tokyo and Hyatt Regency Kyoto, two highly-rated properties that are dramatically different.
Because Kyoto is a short train ride from Osaka, I am including Osaka hotels in the list to give you more redemption choices. Obviously if you are visiting Kyoto you should stay inside Kyoto. But during peak cherry blossom season award nights will be hard to find in both cities. Luckily you can train back and forth between two cities easily. Regardless where you stay, be sure to book early if you have plans to go to Kyoto, even if your flights are not booked!
| Hotel Name | Hotel Program | 5th night free | Points required per night | Room for Family of 4 (2 adults 2 kids under 12) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crown Plaza ANA Kyoto | IHG | No | 30,000 | No. Bedding type and smoking preference not guaranteed |
| Hyatt Regency Kyoto | Hyatt | No | 20,000 | Yes, reserve with 2 adults 2 kids |
| Westin Miyako Kyoto | Starwood | Yes | 10,000 (12,000-16,000 after 3/7/17) | Technically yes, reserve with 2 adults 1 kid |
| The Suiran, A Luxury Collection Hotel | Starwood | Yes | 30,000-35,000 | Technically yes, reserve with 2 adults and email hotel to add 2 kids |
| The Ritz-Carlton Kyoto | Marriott | Yes | 70,000 | Technically yes, reserve with 2 adults and email hotel to add 2 kids. |
| Hyatt Regency Osaka | Hyatt | No | 8,000 | No. Club room (12,000 points) will allow only 3 people. |
| Crown Plaza ANA Osaka | IHG | No | 25,,000 | No |
| Holiday Inn: Osaka Namba | IHG | No | 30,000 | No |
| InterContinental ANA Osaka | IHG | No | 50,000 | No. Bedding type and smoking preference not guaranteed |
| Sheraton Miyako Hotel Osaka | Starwood | Yes | 7,000 | No |
| The Westin Osaka | Starwood | Yes | 10,000 (12,000-16,000 after 3/7/17) | Technically yes, reserve with 2 adults 1 kid |
| The St. Regis Osaka | Starwood | Yes | 20,000-25,000 | Yes, reserve with 2 adults and email hotel to add 2 kids. |
| Courtyard Shin-Osaka Station | Marriott | Yes | 30,000 | No |
| Osaka Marriott Miyako Hotel | Marriott | Yes | 35,000 (40,000 after 3/7/17) | Technically yes, reserve with 2 adults 1 kid |
| The Ritz-Carlton Osaka | Marriott | Yes | 50,000 | Not sure |
| Hilton Osaka | Hilton | Yes | 50,000 | No |
| Conrad Osaka | Hilton | Yes | TBA | Opening summer 2017 |
Finding a hotel room for a family of four
Finding a hotel room for a family of four in Kyoto is surprisingly easier than in Tokyo! Most of the hotels listed above have two double beds in the standard room (even though they are labeled as twin beds). The trick is to know how many people to put in the reservation, and also email the hotel directly with your request.
The Crown Plaza Kyoto is located near Nijo Castle in Central Kyoto. At 30,000 points per night it is a great value. But award nights does not guarantee bed type and smoking preference, which could be a deal breaker for most people.
The Westin Kyoto is located in Northern Higashiyama district of Kyoto. It is also good deal at 10,000 points a night. Standard rooms here actually have two double beds which should fit a family of four. But hotel will only allow you to reserve the room for 2 adults and 1 child. The hotel does not have great reviews on Tripadvisor. The Westin Kyoto is moving from category 5 up to category 6 on March 7, 2017, and will cost 12,000 points to 16,000 points per night. So book before March 7 if you plan to stay here prior to August 8, 2018 (the date current schedule ends).
Hyatt Regency Kyoto is located in Southern Higashiyama district of Kyoto. It is among the top rated Kyoto hotels on Tripadvisor. Hyatt Diamond Suite Upgrade certificate cannot be used here. The Standard Twin room costs 20,000 points per night and can accommodate two adults plus two kids! The same room can also be booked using 10,000 points plus about $150 a night. The Deluxe Twin room here will accommodate five people with a rollaway bed added! But you cannot book the deluxe room using points. After I booked a standard twin room using points and cash, I emailed the hotel and ask if they could add a rollaway bed. They offered to change my room type to Deluxe Twin for additional 7200 yen per night, and add a rollaway bed free of charge. I took the offer but stupidly cancelled it two weeks prior to my trip. When I rebooked my reservation, they did not make the same offer again. If you have a family of five traveling, it is definitely worth trying this trick.
Surian and Ritz Carlton Kyoto are two top luxury properties in Kyoto. Basic rooms at both properties have two double beds, and also accommodate a rollaway bed at additional charge. But hotel websites only allow you to reserve for two people. If you want to stay here on points, email the hotel directly after you make the reservation and inform them you would be traveling with children.
Conclusion
Now that you know how to fly to Japan using the cheapest miles, and how to book hotels in Kyoto on points (and Tokyo too), are you going to take the family to see that beautiful cherry blossom? 😉
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
Planning a big November Japan trip with the kids ages 7 and 8. Really, really appreciate these tips about what to do with kids and how to keep the cost down over there.
I know this is a points blog, but if there’s a time and place to pay cash at a non-chain, Kyoto is it. Generally, all Japanese hotels are clean, so you’re really just paying for slave and location. I was able to book a tiny hotel room in a perfect location for under $100/nt (I believe it was called the Gran Miss Kyoto). Save your points for someplace else.
I hope this didn’t come off too negative; you obviously put a lot of work into this post and many people will find it useful. However, I feel strongly that Kyoto is a place to immerse yourself, which includes staying at an independent hotel. Kyoto is my favorite destination of anywhere I’ve traveled to.
Yes I agree! At some point it will be better off paying cash instead of points. The problem for Japan (and the rest of Asia too) is, when you need a room that accommodates a family of 4, the price advantage of independent hotels (especially the small ones) over chain hotels disappears quickly. It is not to say, they don’t exist. Just really need to look hard for it.
I’m trying to find those types of deals. Hotel Gran Ms Kyoto is over $330 a night for my family of four in December. It looks like a great place and I’d love to stay there, but if points save us $1000 on a 3 night stay I’ll have a hard time justifying to myself.
I stayed at The ANA crowne plaza Kyoto and the paid rate was $80/night (in Jan) so a better value than using points. Also recommend staying at a ryokan while there. Amazing experience with the kaiseki meal and personal service. But VERY expensive and a worth-it splurge. I stayed at Shirume Ryokan in the Gion district during both visits to Kyoto
I would love to stay at a Ryokan! Maybe next trip 😉 I already know I will be going back to Kyoto, hopefully sooner rather than later.
Love the list! There are so many hotel options when visiting Japan, Thank you for the great tips.
There’s also a Hilton in Osaka.
Yes and the new Conrad opening in summer 2017 as well. They were on my notes but somehow I forgot to add to the table. Thanks for reminding me!
I did a week at the Westin in Kyoto last summer. I was extremely disappointed. The hotel was not cheap (paid cash around $300 a night). Anyway, the hotel looks like a run down Nazi camp. It’s in the middle of nowhere. They charge for the pool. As an SPG Platinum, I wish I’d stayed elsewhere…
There are a lot of amazing hotels in Koyoto, but the Westin is not one of them.
I used to live in Kyoto as a child and also have visited there frequently, as recently as last year. Some of the listed hotel are not in the best location to tour Kyoto in a time-efficient manner. I see that the Suiran is a very nice hotel, but it is all the way in Arashiyama. Unless you want to just do Arashiyama, you will end up taking a lot of cab rides to the subway station, or end up taking the JR line and transferring to busses/subways, which is a pain. My recommendation (in terms of hotels in general) is to stay as close to the center of the city, somewhere slightly south of the Imperial Palace. Then food/shopping/many of the sights would be really easy to get to.
I couldn’t agree more! There are times it’s better to pay cash for an independent hotel with great location, instead of using points for a chain hotel.
The Osaka Hyatt is far from anything. We stayed at the Westin Osaka – a bargain on points and very close to Osaka station.
For small independent hotels in Japan, I’ve used Chase URs. If you book far enough in advance, they can be a real bargain. Now that the Sapphire Reserve gives you 1.5 pts/$, they would be even more of a bargain if you have a Reserve. The rooms at those hotels, in my experience were tiny (standard in Japan) and sparse (also standard in Japan).
I stayed for two nights in ANA Crown Plaza last September. Loved the location – it is literally across the street from Nijojo (and the photos on the hotel web site take advantage of that fact). Also, it is right besides a subway stop (Tozai line), so you can get around on the cheap.
Do not have breakfast at the Unkai, the on-premises cafe. Well, you can one day, but keep in mind that it’s normally 2500 yen/person (~22 USD), and even with coupon for 500 yen off, 2000 yen breakfast is expensive, especially if you have 4 people, and since around the corner there are tons of really good places on Oike Dori. Heck, Schichifukujin right on the corner had great ramen, and had a sign that they were in the top 3 ramen places in Kyoto. If you are in a hurry, there is a 7-eleven 2 blocks away on Oike Dori, that has the usual selection of bento.
That being said, Unkai serves really good meals, with a choice of Japanese, Chinese and Western cuisines.
I have tons of suggestions as to what to do in Kyoto, but since I am fluent in Japanese, my idea of a good time probably differs from yours. However, one thing that the kids might like, is collecting “Rekishi Kaido” (loosely translated as “road of history”) stamps. One you can get at Nijojo (in one of the smaller pavilions near the exit, I think the one that houses a small museum).
Another oft overlooked place is comic book museum, not that far from Nijojo.
Thanks for the tip. My Japanese friend is joining us in Kyoto so I actually have a local guide! Our itinerary is pretty packed for 3 days.
hi has anyone had any problem adding 2 kids (5,8) to a reservation? we are family of 4 as well. ritz osaka has standard room labeled with twin beds. When i asked to add 2 kids, the customer service rep said max of 2 people only. i asked if she can to contact hotel directly, i was put on hold then was told we would have to book 2 rooms if there are 2 kids and that they are strict because of fines from fire codes. any help is appreciated!
I added 2 kids to my reservation at St. Regis Osaka by emailing the hotel directly. I would suggest you contact Ritz Carlton directly. Here’s the contact info http://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/hotels/japan/kyoto/hotel-overview/contact Email reservation directly should work. Good luck!
It looks like the ANA Strings and other IHG Properties only allow ONE person (!) on a Points Reservation now!? This seems a bit insane, given the size of that gigantic bed…
https://imgur.com/a/oEfkTUl
I would have no problem using our Cert there (expires soon, i know the value is bad) – but we have 3 year old that would be joining us as well… I’d hate to book it for ‘one person’ and show up with 2.5 to be turned down (for what!?)