Fab 40: The Screen Hotel, Kyoto

Japan

We love Kyoto for its geishas, rickshaws and teahouses, but at the end of a long day of temple trekking, sleeping on the floor of a creaky ryokan inn can be one tradition too much. Instead, we opt for the Simmons beds, free broadband and Bose stereo systems at Kyoto’s only truly designer hotel, The Screen.

See more of The Screen hotel, Kyoto

The hotel offers 13 unique rooms, showcasing the work of 13 creatives, including London-based architect Hikaru Kitai, French painter Dominic Lutringer and Thai sisters Pirada and Paradis Senivongse. Outside, the stark modern building is cool grey while inside the minimalist white dominates.

But touches of colour, such as Kotaro Nishibori’s primary-hued washi paper umbrellas in the lobby, Tetsuei Nakamura’s Nihonga-style paintings of camellia in French-Japanese restaurant Bron Ronnery, and the timber-decked Sho-ki roof-top bar give the hotel warmth. Refreshed and relaxed, you’ll find old Kyoto waiting for you at the doorstep in the morning.

www.the-screen.jp

14 October 2009 | Travel