The Best Places to Drink and Stay in Sakyō Ward

A Forbes Five Star hotel on the bank of the Kamogawa River, close enough to the water that the city views from the rooms feel more like a painting than a perk. The Ritz-Carlton brings its full-service playbook to a city long dominated by ryokans, so you get both the deep-bowing formality Kyoto demands and a concierge who will actually map your temple itinerary. Multiple subway stations sit within a short walk.

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2. Michelin Guide 1 Key
3. The 50 The 50 Discovery

A subway station sits directly beneath the lobby, which feels about right for a hotel that has been threading old Kyoto and modern convenience together for a very long time. Marble pillars pull the eye toward a grand staircase, the Higashiyama Mountains fill the upper windows, and the staff manages to be everywhere and nowhere at once, in that particular Kyoto way. A classic full-service hotel on the Kamogawa River.

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Twelve hundred bottles line the shelves here, with around six hundred single malts among them, including some expressions you won't find poured anywhere else in Kyoto. This second-floor whisky bar on Kiyamachi draws the kind of guests who already know what they want before they sit down, yet the service stays easy and unguarded even when the dram costs as much as a hotel night. The kitchen sends out haggis pizza, which tells you something about the place's sense of humor.

1. The 50 The 50 Discovery