BnA Alter Museum

We LOVED our stay at BnA Alter Museum and would happily stay again. I originally booked our stay here because my niece, who’s creative and works in style and artistic production, was traveling with us and I knew would appreciate the unique art rooms, created each by a different artist. We first were in a quirky, whimsical room with Murphy-style pull down beds. It was such fun. We extended our stay an extra day and were moved to a beautiful, calming room by a sculptural artist with gentle warm lighting, minimalist wooden pieces and 5 yen coins flowing along portions of the walls, floor and ceiling, with opportunity to add your own. This hotel provides a unique and modern experience while still offering distictive Japanese features (robes and low beds, dense mattresses, bathrooms you want to transport home with you, etc). The hotel was comfortable and quiet, the location was fantastic… a very close walk to beautiful, narrow traditional lanes along the river and Gion with its picturesque Kyoto charm, vibrant, modern shopping thoroughfares and massive covered market “maze” offering a mix of old world and new, food lanes, thrift shops, every kind of thing you can imagine, and frequented by locals and visitors alike (a place to spend a day and get happily lost, especially if the weather is challenging). Just beyond all these things, across the river and easily reached by foot are the famous temples and gardens of Kyoto. Hospitality is huge in Japan, but I can’t say enough about the staff at BnA Alter Museum… warm and approachable while still offering impeccable hospitality. In particular, my elderly mother joined us our third night there. The only room available (the beautiful 5-yen coin room) had very low beds. The staff made sure to put a good, stable chair in the room for her as requested specifically to aid her getting in and out of bed and offered to do more.

We didn’t dislike anything. Just things to be aware of: The space to move about or spread luggage and things out (at least in the two rooms we had) is very limited, and the bed height and density of mattresses and pillows may be challenging for some (though we were quite comfortable). I’d communicate with the staff beforehand if this is an issue for you. These aren’t criticisms, just things to know if you’re one who wants what you’re used to in a big hotel chain. We have no complaints whatsoever.

I loved the theme of the hotel: it is a real museum! The rooms were designed by different artists and they are works of art. My room was the Continuum, very spacious and minimalist. The bathroom was amazing: a super nice and big bathtub and big shower. The view from my room was also beautiful. They offer as courtesy in the rooms delicious, good quality, coffee and tea. I wish I could have stayed longer in Kyoto to enjoy more the hotel! The breakfast was amazing, you can select from 4 delicious dishes and they come with salad and soy-base soup (breakfast is vegetarian and vegan friendly). The cafe latte I had was the best of the trip! I really recommend this place! The location is also very good: right behind the beautiful and quiet Kiyamachi-dori, which is full of nice bars and restaurants, and walking distance to the busy Kawaramachi and many other attractions.

No complains.

What an awesome and unique hotel! We loved the vibe of the hotel, and all of the different art throughout. It was also great having the cafe in the building, as well as the bar in the lobby. The staff were incredibly helpful providing recommendations and directions, and we greatly appreciated the amenities provided at the front desk. The rooms were larger than most we stayed in while in Japan, and very comfortable. We loved the art installation in the room we chose, and appreciated all of the information (audio and visual) that accompanied it. The location of the hotel was also ideal and very walkable to different points of interest as well as public transportation. We would definitely stay here again.

It was a great, unique stay which we loved as part of our Japan trip. The lights in the room changed the artwork which was great fun. We stayed for three nights and found the location to be perfect and central between everything we wanted to visit. We tried the charcoal coffee in the cafe which was good too.

The natural light in the room was a bit difficult as the privacy curtains were very thick so you had to open both curtains to get good lighting. The room would have benefited from more mirrors (even just fold away ones) as there was only one mirror in the bathroom for the whole room.

It is an unique experience to stay in the artsy rooms. We enjoyed the room appearance and multiple lightning options. The art concepts are interesting to observe and study. For sure this is a good break from staying in standard hotel rooms. We think about staying at the hotel again - trying different rooms too. However, the artsy character of some rooms might conflict with the practicality aspect, especially for longer stays. Artifacts on the floor or hanging from the ceiling might make moving inside and using of the room difficult (even despite the fact that the room area is quite big). Our room did not even have any place near the room entrance where to hang our clothes. Thankfully, there was a closet at the back of the room and the bathroom+shower was quite big and perfectly usable. For breakfast you have to make a meal choice one day before, selecting from 4 meals. There is no breakfast buffet, but the meal you get is just enough. We tried 3 of the 4 options and all were tasty and filling. Additionally, you will get a hot corn soup and coffee. The location is quite far away from the main train station (but might be in a longer-walking distance for some), but the river area around the hotel is quite convenient.

This is such a beautiful, unique hotel and very worth staying at when you're in Kyoto. Our room was a chic minimalist space with one of the most comfortable beds we slept in during our 2 weeks in Japan. The view over the river while lying in bed was absolutely magical. The bathroom is also very generous and stylishly designed -- a huge bathtub that was perfect for relaxing after a day walking around Kyoto in winter. Staff were kind and helpful, and the cafe upstairs was a little expensive but made great food and coffee. The chance to stay in a room with a one-of-a-kind artwork was amazing and I'd absolutely stay here again if I came back to Kyoto -- I wish I'd been able to stay in more than one room and see what all the different artworks are like!

Our room had a small table built into the end of the bed, but other than that there was no furniture. There's a storage space on our floor where we could borrow furniture if we wanted it (for example we borrowed a couple of chairs and some coathangers). It's great that this is on offer and that it doesn't cost anything to borrow things, but it might have been nice to have some permanent minimal furniture that was designed with the room's aesthetic in mind.

This hotel had a very friendly and helpful staff. All the staff that we encountered spoke English. All were very fluent so there weren't any misunderstandings at all. They recommended areas and activities if you needed any help figuring out what to do in Kyoto. While staying here we had some really good drinks at the cafe. While we didn't drink anything at the bar, I imagine it would be as good of quality as their cafe is. Honestly, this was a wonderful hotel not only for its beautiful art work in its room but the staff made it that much better.

There weren't really any issues with this hotel. I would have liked to have been closer to the subway but the uniqueness of the hotel makes up for that. There are bus stops nearby but I much prefer subways. It's not too far from the subway just a few blocks away.

The best hotel I’ve ever stayed in. exceptional staff with great English, very welcoming and made me feel very comfortable during my stay. I loved it so much I stayed an extra night! each room was absolutely stunning, I felt at peace and relaxed with the art surrounding me. make sure to go into the cafe and try the amazing coffee! the bamboo charcoal iced coffee and the Ethiopian coffee were lovely. I also purchased some of the books from the shop which are fantastic and I can’t wait to take them home to England with me. you are becoming apart of the art when you stay, not just experiencing it. it is a magical and unforgettable experience. I will be back, I promise. thank you.

The location is ideal and within walking distance to the old quarter and all the shops and main sights. The reception staff all speak excellent English which is a bonus as I found English is generally very basic in Japan. When I ordered a taxi, a staff member would come out to the street and give the taxi driver directions and see me off safely. I liked the sliding panels in front of my two floor to ceiling windows, very neat, and also the interesting hanging rock art installation which I could view through an internal window. The room was decorated with avant garde style artwork which I found amusing (I was advised not to touch any of it). It was the most novel room I had ever stayed in. The bathroom was very nice.

Perhaps I should have done more research but I didn't realise that the rooms are very small with a wall bed, actually two in my room but I left one up on the central wall so I had some walking space. I have bad knees so getting down and up from a floor bed was not easy! There was a tiny bureau with an art piece on top and it unfolded into a drop down table with two child size chairs, very space-saving! It was not a room to spend any time relaxing in. I saw a lot of young people there so it probably suits a younger clientele.

Room was quite big for the price and very comfortable. The room I stayed in was a surround sound experience and so the room must have been well soundproofed, I didn't hear a peep from outside. Staff were very helpful. There was a tablet in room with netflix which was a nice addition.

I stayed in the 'Travellers Room' which had the surround sound experience of nature sounds, however the volume could not be adjusted and I found it quite loud. It was just a novelty though and certainly wouldn't deter me staying here in future.