1/5

The Hotel Seiryu Kyoto Kiyomizu

Kyoto • Higashiyama • SPLURGE

avg. $530 / night

Includes $28 / night in cash back

Cash back is redeemable via Virtual Visa, Venmo, or bank transfer starting 24-48 hours after check-out

LHW Leaders Club property

Exclusive PressBeyond Benefits

Get to where you see yourself

Ultra-clean, global, hand-picked hotel curation & imagery designed to help you visualize enticing environments and the elevated social experiences they create

Cash back

5% cash back on all completed stays (redeemable via Virtual Visa, Venmo, or bank transfer starting 24-48 hours after check-out)

Credit card points

Credit and debit card charges are processed directly by the hotel (i.e. not PressBeyond), meaning that any travel-specific credit card points or incentives that you normally get as a cardholder for direct hotel bookings are preserved

Hotel loyalty points

Points accrual and status eligibility with major hotel loyalty programs: Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors, World of Hyatt, and others

Free breakfast

Breakfast-included rate options available

Room upgrades

Complimentary room upgrades (subject to property availability)

Extend your stay

Early check-in and late check-out (subject to property availability)

Part of Leading Hotels of the World

Location

Loading map...

PB hotel design editorial

Built in 1905 as the Kyoto City Higher Girls' School, the Western-style brick and stone structure that now houses Hotel Seiryu Kyoto Kiyomizu has spent more than a century anchoring the lower slope of Higashiyama, close enough to Kiyomizu-dera that the temple's five-storey pagoda fills the upper-floor windows like a painted screen. That adjacency — ancient sacred geometry framed by steel-grid casements designed for a Meiji-era schoolhouse — is the central pleasure of the property, which opened in 2020 after a sensitive conversion that preserved the original masonry arcade and arched fenestration while threading contemporary hotel infrastructure through the bones of the old building. The interiors navigate the same dialogue between periods with some confidence. The library lounge sets lacquered ebony shelving and a grid-panel ceiling drawn from shoji screen geometry against wide-plank oak floors, a bare sculptural branch rising from a patinated bronze vessel at the room's centre. Guest rooms in the converted wing keep the palette deliberately restrained — warm timber panelling, linen upholstery in greige and grey, brass pendant lights — letting the view do the compositional work. The rooftop bar strips everything back further still: a raw concrete counter, rope-wrapped bar stools, and an unobstructed panorama across Kyoto's low grey roofline to the Higashiyama mountains, with the Yasaka Pagoda positioned, almost impossibly, at the centre of the frame.

Travel notes

No travel notes provided yet.

About

Located a short 8-minute walk from Kiyomizu-dera Temple, the Hotel retains vestiges of the former school building from its first to fourth floors. In addition to an expansive garden and rooftop area, as well as 48 guest rooms that have been converted from classrooms, the Hotel is also equipped with a restaurant (capacity: 44), a guest lounge (capacity: 30), a fitness gym, and three private baths.

Amenities

Room service

Restaurant

Bar/Lounge

Free Wifi

Non-smoking rooms

Fitness center

Laundry Service

Concierge

Minibar

Rooftop Bar

The Hotel Seiryu Kyoto Kiyomizu Reviews

40 reviews

"I don’t know where to start with praise for this hotel and don’t typically write long reviews. In this case I believe it is beyond justified. I will start with the aesthetic of the property and grounds which are wonderful. The property represents a perfect example of adaptive reuse as the site was once a school. This gives the hotel incredible charm a character that make you feel like you are a part of the community within Kyoto. You are not just staying at some newly built touristy hotel. This also displays what are in fact large grounds creating a private enclave in a very popular section of Gion. Now for the staff. They went above and beyond to answer our every request. I will be honest and say my family was not an easy customer. We have a 14 month old baby and I arrived with a terrible stomach bug, so we were a handful. Everyone at the hotel was so helpful and sincere throughout which is beyond appreciated. I will end with saying that experience at this hotel to me felt like as good as one could dream to experience in Kyoto. The property has the best view in the city at the awesome rooftop bar. The guest lounge is an incredible touch. It is open all day with complementary food and beverage being served along with cultural performances is an incredible perk. Finally the location in Gion makes the most popular part of the city accessible to you by foot. I don’t know the next time I’ll be in Kyoto, but when I return I will unquestionably stay at Hotel Seiryu again. Nothing could’ve been better."

A Tripadvisor traveler review

Jan 18, 2026

"This hotel is extremely beautiful yet not pretentious and location is perfect. The staff is very highly trained service professional and food is Michelin quality"

A Tripadvisor traveler review

Dec 12, 2025

"I can’t say enough about this wonderful hotel located in an old elementary school in a great location for walking. The common areas, restaurants and rooms are beautiful and the staff is extremely helpful and very nice. I loved the roof top bar at sunset and “the library” for breakfast. Ask to see the old before and after photograph book of the process of transforming a classic old school into a classic new boutique hotel. Hope I can come back again one day."

A Tripadvisor traveler review

Nov 09, 2025

"Excellent staff and amenities ! Superb location! Wonderful architecture ! Bénoit restaurant is one of the best with succulent menu and extensive French wine list."

A Tripadvisor traveler review

Nov 04, 2025

Reviews and certain descriptive content powered by

The Hotel Seiryu Kyoto Kiyomizu | Best Design-Driven Stays in Kyoto