Shinmonzen Hotel by Tadao Ando Opens in Kyoto

Kyoto, Japan, January 3, 2022 / TRAVELINDEX / At the newly opened Shinmonzen Hotel heritage and contemporary creativity stand in playful contrast throughout the hotel in Kyoto’s historic Gion district. Despite its external appearance, it was built from scratch, designed by world renowned Tadao Ando, and dreamt up by hotelier Paddy McKillen as a little sister of Villa La Coste in France.

Kyoto’s new hidden gem is exclusively located in the beautifully preserved Gion Shirakawa and Shinmonzen Street. The Shinmonzen; a luxury boutique hotel designed by one of the world’s most celebrated contemporary architects – Tadao Ando with cosmopolitan interiors by Remi Tessier and other artist friends. The project has been a labour of love for over 10 years and has been designed for the modern travellers with a deep inspiration of an experience from a traditional Japanese Inn, Ryokan.

Kyoto’s new hidden gem is eponymous of ‘Shinmonzen Dori’ – known as The Street of the Artists, Fine Arts and Antique shops; a neighbourhood rich in arts, historical heritage and cultural legacy. Joining this artistic community and Japan’s cultural capital is The Shinmonzen; a luxury boutique hotel exclusively located in the beautifully preserved Gion Shirakawa and Shinmonzen Street.

The project has been a labour of love for over 10 years and has been designed by one of the world’s most celebrated contemporary architects – Tadao Ando with cosmopolitan interiors by Remi Tessier and other artist friends for the modern travellers.

For Tadao Ando, the starting point of the hotel, constructed on the site of a former parking lot, was balancing an exterior sensitive to its Kyoto surroundings with an interior evoking a sense of Europe. We were obliged to create a wooden façade and Japanese roof tiles known as kawara and we tried to design the outside in a traditional Japanese style, but a completely different new modern world can be found inside.

The Shinmonzen provides a highly personalized experience with Japanese Omotenashi as the core combined with the refined epicureanism shaped by our sister property Villa La Coste in Provence, creating ever-lasting memories of your trip.