We have yet to meet a Commune-designed Ace Hotel that we didn’t like. Their latest collaboration has yielded one of our favorite projects yet: Ace Hotel Kyoto, the hipster hospitality chain’s first ever outpost in Asia.
The architect behind the 213-room hotel is Kengo Kuma, who designed the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Stadium. Part new build, part historic structure, it features multiple courtyards and gardens and a distinctly Japanese facade that references the traditional wooden houses (machiya) of Kyoto.
Inside, LA-based Commune Design has interpreted Japanese traditions, by way of West Coast bohemia. Beautiful Japanese textiles are used to cover casual daybeds; a record player in each room is at the ready for sampling retro tunes (we spy a Grace Jones album in one of the rooms); wood built-ins and white walls make for a naturalistic palette.
The hotel opened last spring (high-season rates start at $400). Ready to admire the East-meets-West results? The folks behind Atelier Ace and Commune Design walk us through the finer points.
Photography by Stephen Kent Johnson, courtesy of Ace Hotel Kyoto.
![ace hotel kyoto offers eight different types of guest rooms, from a standard ki 17](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/ace-hotel-kyoto-guestroom-desk-stephen-kent-johnson-733x533.jpg)
![commune designed the built ins and worked with local craftsmen to bring them to 18](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/ace-hotel-kyoto-guestroom-minibar-stephen-kent-johnson-733x916.jpg)
![art by local artists is displayed throughout the hotel. a classic akari noguchi 19](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/ace-hotel-kyoto-guestroom-seating-area-stephen-kent-johnson-733x916.jpg)
![the commune designed daybeds are locally crafted. \2\20;all the textiles 20](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/ace-hotel-kyoto-guestroom-guestroom-seating-stephen-kent-johnson-733x916.jpg)
![two japanese bamboo sudare shades divide the sleeping quarters from the living 21](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/ace-hotel-kyoto-guestroom-stephen-kent-johnson-733x503.jpg)
![minimalist platform beds simply covered with custom wool blankets made by pendl 22](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/ace-hotel-kyoto-guestroom-beds-stephen-kent-johnson-733x856.jpeg)
![the wood clad bathroom. most bathrooms in the hotel also have a traditional jap 23](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/ace-hotel-kyoto-guestroom-single-vanity-stephen-kent-johnson-733x1050.jpg)
![a rendering of the exterior of the hotel, which incorporates the former kyoto c 24](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/ace-hotel-kyoto-courtyard-rendering-733x458.jpg)
For more Japanese inspiration, see:
- Japanese Laundry: Small-Space Solutions (Many via Amazon) from a Spotless Country
- 20 Best Online Shops for Japanese Housewares Design
- Kitchen of the Week: A Custom Culinary Workspace by a Japanese Atelier
N.B.: This post is an update; the original story ran on March 4, 2020.
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