Woci
Google
So totally transformed our experience of Kyoto! We came here at the last minute after a very rude staff interaction at another Kyoto hotel, and it was like night turning to day. Momoka at the Fauchon came running out to meet our taxi and we were escorted to a checkin table where we sat and were offered tea and snacks while they swiftly checked us in (early—at noon). Through an American Express Travel deal we received a free upgrade to a suite as well as $100 food and beverage credit, as well as free breakfast at the splendid top floor restaurant overlooking the river and mountains. ||The breakfast was top quality with a perfect French omelette made to order, fresh basket of pastries, sustainable eggs and local yogurt, fresh squeezed juices, small fruit salad, and a light salad with yuzu dressing. Dinner overlooking the river and mountains was also top quality, both a La carte and prix fixe options available.||The suite was fabulous with a well stocked series of treats (complimentary), a huge stone onsen tub, views of the mountains and plenty of room including a walk in closet stocked with pajamas, slippers, and bathrobes. ||After the stress of the prior hotel experience I took a massage downstairs and had a relaxing treatment, dozing off in the private room with a friendly and communicative masseuse. When we ventured out we were right in the heart of old town Kyoto with many traditional stores, museums, geisha district and riverside stroll. ||There is a wonderful Fauchon store downstairs which like its Paris parent has artisan pastries, light sandwiches, brand goods and packaged foods. Fauchon of course is a centuries old French bakery and foods provider with a brand just recently expanded to Japan (the hotel is about 4 years old and the new, stylish furnishings were top notch).||The manager of guest relations, Daigetsu, went out of his way to research artisan shops for certain crafts which were unique to Kyoto, even to the point of researching options after I had left for the day (without my asking him) and providing them to me when I returned to the hotel. He and the other staff speak fluent English and were uniformly helpful and friendly, even coming out to the curb after calling our taxi to bid us farewell.||All in, from the staff behavior to the plush new furnishings, many complimentary amenities, central location and top notch Brand, we were utterly pleased with Hotel Fauchon. As extensive world travelers, my wife and I would rank this hotel in the highest tier…and yet it is priced well below where its peers are. We enthusiastically recommend this hotel to the point of it being a magnet for us to return to Kyoto again.