{"id":54081,"date":"2026-05-21T08:48:38","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T00:48:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=54081"},"modified":"2026-05-21T08:48:38","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T00:48:38","slug":"asias-newest-luxury-hotels-blend-tradition-and-modernity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=54081","title":{"rendered":"Asia\u2019s newest luxury hotels blend tradition and modernity"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">Familiar names in unfamiliar territory, modern takes on time-worn tradition, buildings repurposed for the discerning traveller: the post-Covid rush of new hotels throwing open their doors in Asia has continued apace in the past few months. Here are some of the most interesting:<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\"><strong data-qa=\"ContentSchemaRender-defaultRenderMapFunctions-Component\" class=\"css-1mniedq ex3nmsa17\">Imperial Hotel Kyoto (Japan)<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"image-inline-container e1a5rv550 css-1llrc1m e1yqhwb40\" data-qa=\"Component-renderMap-StyledDiv\">\n<div class=\"image-inline caption e1fvabeq0 css-19sk4h4 ea9pn0s0\" data-qa=\"Component-Container\">\n<figure class=\"image-inline caption ea9pn0s1 css-12vv9w2 e1gf69pb0\" data-qa=\"ArticleImage-ArticleImageContainer\">\n<div data-qa=\"ArticleImage-handleRenderImage-ImageContainer\" class=\"css-bjn8wh e1gf69pb3\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Imperial Hotel Kyoto is housed in a former theatre and cultural hall. Photo: Instagram\/imperialhoteljapan\" data-qa=\"BaseImage-handleRenderImage-StyledImage\" class=\"e1gf69pb2 css-6ikqhs e445x7d0\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/img.i-scmp.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto\/sites\/default\/files\/d8\/images\/canvas\/2026\/05\/13\/a734cb7d-c097-4107-abde-625ebc7ed936_7390c88c.jpg\" title=\"Imperial Hotel Kyoto is housed in a former theatre and cultural hall. Photo: Instagram\/imperialhoteljapan\"\/><\/div><figcaption data-qa=\"ArticleImage-DescriptionContainer\" class=\"css-1bj5zno e1gf69pb1\">Imperial Hotel Kyoto is housed in a former theatre and cultural hall. Photo: Instagram\/imperialhoteljapan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">In the heart of the upscale Gion district, the latest and fourth member of the Imperial chain occupies the 1936 Yasaka Kaikan building, its 55 rooms, eight with tatami flooring (a first for Imperial), found in the Main Building and the North Wing, a black timber extension.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">Yasaka Kaikan was once a theatre and cultural hall for the <em data-qa=\"ContentSchemaRender-defaultRenderMapFunctions-Component\" class=\"css-1mniedq ex3nmsa15\">geiko<\/em> (geisha) and <em data-qa=\"ContentSchemaRender-defaultRenderMapFunctions-Component\" class=\"css-1mniedq ex3nmsa15\">maiko<\/em> (apprentices) of Gion. This connection informed the restoration of the building: workers salvaged more than 16,000 exterior tiles dating from the 1930s to reuse and the design includes a copper-tiled roof and a central tower that mimic those of a Japanese castle keep. In the grounds stands a school where <em data-qa=\"ContentSchemaRender-defaultRenderMapFunctions-Component\" class=\"css-1mniedq ex3nmsa15\">maiko<\/em> are still trained, adding to the atmospherics.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">REN (French-Japanese), YASAKA (teppanyaki) and the Old Imperial Bar supply the food and drinks, but none tops the visuals at the seasonal Rooftop bar (for guests only), its views towards the Higashiyama mountains having been made all the better by the granting of an exception to local building regulations: the Yasaka Kaikan was allowed to remain 100 foot (30.5 metres) tall whereas a 40-foot limit applies elsewhere in Gion.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\"><strong data-qa=\"ContentSchemaRender-defaultRenderMapFunctions-Component\" class=\"css-1mniedq ex3nmsa17\">Capella Kyoto (Japan)<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"image-inline-container e1a5rv550 css-1llrc1m e1yqhwb40\" data-qa=\"Component-renderMap-StyledDiv\">\n<div class=\"image-inline caption e1fvabeq0 css-19sk4h4 ea9pn0s0\" data-qa=\"Component-Container\">\n<figure class=\"image-inline caption ea9pn0s1 css-1qeofuq e1gf69pb0\" data-qa=\"ArticleImage-ArticleImageContainer\">\n<div data-qa=\"ArticleImage-handleRenderImage-ImageContainer\" class=\"css-bjn8wh e1gf69pb3\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The interiors at the Capella Kyoto were designed by Brewin Design Office. Photo: courtesy Brewin Design Office\" data-qa=\"BaseImage-handleRenderImage-StyledImage\" class=\"e1gf69pb2 css-6ikqhs e445x7d0\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/img.i-scmp.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto\/sites\/default\/files\/d8\/images\/canvas\/2026\/05\/13\/6ff153a9-a38d-4df7-b4df-1a192bf622c8_5a065258.jpg\" title=\"The interiors at the Capella Kyoto were designed by Brewin Design Office. Photo: courtesy Brewin Design Office\"\/><\/div><figcaption data-qa=\"ArticleImage-DescriptionContainer\" class=\"css-1bj5zno e1gf69pb1\">The interiors at the Capella Kyoto were designed by Brewin Design Office. Photo: courtesy Brewin Design Office<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/postmag\/travel\/article\/3353406\/asias-newest-luxury-hotels-blend-tradition-and-modernity?utm_source=rss_feed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article At Source <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Familiar names in unfamiliar territory, modern takes on time-worn tradition, buildings repurposed for the discerning traveller: the post-Covid rush of new hotels throwing open their&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":54082,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4840],"tags":[4876,13362,2301,3656,15013,1883,5408],"class_list":["post-54081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel-globetrotting","tag-asias","tag-blend","tag-hotels","tag-luxury","tag-modernity","tag-newest","tag-tradition","wpcat-4840-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54081","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=54081"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54081\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/54082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=54081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=54081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=54081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}