The Celestine Hotel Gion

The Celestine Gion is beautiful 4.5 star hotel in the heart of Gion, the primary touristic part of Kyoto. Its location on a quiet side street means that you won’t be bothered by the hellish nightmare of over tourism that Kyoto endures. The rooms are stylish and smart. The bathroom set up may seem jarring to some at first, but it actually is quite tasteful and clearly a design feature and not some sort of workaround. The spa is peaceful and elegant. The staff is excellent and attentive by even the highest standards. This is truly a low key beauty of a hotel and I would recommend it to anyone who isn’t looking for a large resort style or business hotel experience.

This hotel turned out to be our favourite on our multi-city Japan tour. While there are both pros and cons the latter were few and far between. ||Pros: | 1. Service. First and foremost, service is immaculate. The staff we encountered were exceptionally helpful. At first I was a bit concerned over what all the rules were, but I soon relaxed and allowed my every need to be catered to! | 2. Location. The location is top-notch. The hotel is situated in the heart of the historic, picturesque Gion district. Only a narrow street separates the hotel entrance from one of Gion's gems - the 800 yr old Kenninji temple. We were able to stroll through its peaceful grounds during the day and by the light of the moon. Magical. A mere block down the other street is a beautiful tea house where you can book a private tea ceremony or a geisha experience. There are innumerable restaurants, but be warned , it gets busy so check first if reservations are required. | 3. Food. The breakfast buffet is great in both quality and variety. Dinner is equally good although the set menu is the same every evening and it is an expensive option - but worth a try if you are staying longer.| 4. Facilities: Onsen are small but good, and for the tourist it is lovely to have a traditional feature available. ||Cons: | 1. Rooms. The rooms are designed and presented elegantly, functionally less so. My pet peeve was the absence of mirror lighting. There is no natural lighting in the area between the corridor and bathroom, so you have to take a portable mirror to the window to actually see well enough to apply makeup!| 2. Cost. This is high for the hotel space that you get in Japan, and this hotel is no exception. But Hotel Celestine Gion is sure to be a highlight of any visit to this wonderful city and the memories will last a lifetime.

Beautiful hotel. We came for a few days during our honey+baby moon and couldn’t have been better. The location is excellent, facilities are beautiful and breakfast is delicious. But the best part is no doubt the staff - thank you Thorby for your kindness and help during our check-in and check-out. We can’t wait to come back as a family of three!

Beautiful hotel, my room was the perfect combination of modern and traditional Japanese aesthetic. Everything in the room felt brand new. Cannot beat the location with dozens of lesser known temples around. Excellent local dining recommended by staff. Impeccable service. Thank you to all the staff who made me feel so welcome!

My husband and I stayed here on our honeymoon. The location was great, although we often we walked over to the other side of the river (towards Pontocho). Breakfast was amazing and cocktails at the bar were the best we had in Japan. I really appreciated the layout and decor of our room and the whole hotel. We were easily able to arrange luggage transfer service with the staff.

This hotel is beautiful & you can feel the serenity as soon as you step into the lobby. All the staff are warm & friendly. The rooms are spacious & have all the amenities you need. The public bath house is definitely worth trying out. This hotel is in a great location in the Gion district & within walking distance to many things. I would definitely recommend booking this hotel.

First off, it is in the Heart of Gion, certainly the best place to be in Kyoto. It is across a huge shrine complex and garden. Secondly, most of the staff are super friendly and helpful. Minus one star because one person who helped us was very confused and smelled intoxicated 😒. As for the rooms, they are impeccable, big beds, super clean, and with great amenities like a fridge, flat iron, and Espresso machine. The hotel also has happy hour with free drinks and snacks. One of it's best features is the spa. Yeah you shower, bathe in the spa, and change completely nekkid in front of others (boys and girls have their own separate areas), but I went pest 10pm so I had the whole spa to myself. It was around 110F, nice and hot which relaxed my tired legs, but too hot for me to immerse past my waist. The spa automatically replaces water periodically, so it is always clean and fresh. They also have a super convenient shuttle to and from Kyoto station about once an hour. The breakfast was mildly disappointing because the stop replenishing food at ~945am, even when breakfast ends at 1030am. No more scrambled eggs. Out of sweet potato tempura. 😕 And my other critisicism is how my room was cleaned, but not fully. Floors weren't vacuumed and the yukata robes weren't properly hung. At the prices they command, and the fact that they had a Michelin Key in 2024, all these minor issues are completely avoidable.

Best hotel in Japan I’ve ever stayed so far, and this is my fifth trip in 12 months. Excellent location, spacious rooms with super attentive, polite and helpful front desk + concierge staffs whose restaurants recommendations were spot on! Definitely recommend!P/s: the breakfast buffet unfortunately lacked variety (same variety) and was not delicious, and the pillows were not comfortable enough for me.

We just departed and I wish I could go straight back to the gracious welcome we received upon arrival. The onsen was both soothing and lovely. The room was so well appointed and offered everything a traveler might need. The staff were kind and attentive. Each spoke English quite well.

You just cannot beat the location of this hotel!!! Great staff, and very clean. I really enjoyed staying at the Celestine. I highly recommend it.

Very pleasant experience. Beautiful interior spaces, clean & fresh. Professional kind staff. Our room was large and organized well. Great comfortable beds. We'll situated for seeing Kyoto. Quiet area with traditional houses. I highly recommend.

Asian decor through out with a hidden entrance to the lobby and the main guest room elevators. Greeted with a hot tea and a comfortable settings looking into the atrium. The service was impeccable not to mention the rooms. A little pricey but you definitely get what you pay for and it was worth every penny. The continental buffet was very intimate and cozy with fresh food that delights your palette in Japan. Their service was impeccable!