In the midst of such a fascinating, culturally rich city, Capella Kyoto is yet another layer that offers little ones a sense of wonder. It starts with the architecture, by national treasure Kengo Kuma, and the artwork, which are both immersive and striking from the time you enter and a 360-degree straw sculpture embraces with tactility and scent. There’s a massive indoor waterfall, which captured my daughter’s attention, and an indoor courtyard where I caught her gazing up at the clouds drifting overhead. Each night a geiko or maiko performs, answers questions (yes, even from a five year old), takes photos and hands out her calling card stickers my daughter was thrilled to collect. And at meals, the servers would set a special place for her favourite stuffed animal; they even served her milk in a Champagne flute.
The guest rooms, too, completely Japanese and sumptuous – and equipped with things like bed guards, baby bathtubs, a children’s toilet or high chair, diaper pail and more, as desired – offer plentiful space to play, like in an in-room tent. While I had one of the best meals of my life at the adults-only SoNoMa by SingleThread downstairs, my daughter had an incredible time playing and doing origami with a bilingual babysitter. And we savoured long, luxurious baths together in the obsidian-hued tub designed to overflow, a very cool effect, with her special star-shaped sponge and toiletries before changing into tiny pajamas, slippers and bathrobe. The hotel offers a plethora of gratis Capella Moments, hands-on cultural and artistic activities, several of which are quite kid-friendly, like sewing our own omamori pouches with a wish inside. A major highlight was getting dressed in exquisite (in my daughter’s case, kawaii) kimono and having our hair styled with plenty of ornamentation before climbing into a rickshaw for a thrilling tour, shrine visit and lots of photo taking.
Price: From about £1,180 per night.