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.

The staff was so helpful and friendly, and the concept of the rooms was beautiful and interesting. Really good breakfast, too! The staff spoke fluent English and the bartenders were great. I loved this place and will absolutely stay again. I extended my stay here when the Shinkansen got shut down for the day and took the opportunity to try a different room, and I hope I can come back to see more!

this is one of the best and most interesting places i've stayed at :) upon arrival, the staff was extremely welcoming and did a fantastic job at explaining the room's concept to us. we were offered early check-in, and since we booked a different room for each night, they even offered to transport our packed luggage from room-to-room while we were out travelling. the customer service is excellent and they also provided us with lovely recommendations for local restaurants and delights. location wise, it is very close to a bus stop that takes you to the main tourist area and also kiyumizudera. but i found that kyoto buses did not run on a very strict schedule. it is a survivable walking distance away from a train station :) the rooms themselves were simply fantastic, and i had such a great time soaking up the deliberate, and sometimes interactive, designs and concepts. every aspect of the room was carefully thought-out, and i have no complaints over the cleanliness. it was such a wonderful experience and it left me wanting to return to check out some of the other rooms. this specific room was incredibly large and had an INCREDIBLE view. i still dream about this place.

The location was really great, next to a lively central street with a lot of cafes/restaurants etc. The fact that there is a cafe in the building with nice coffee was very convenient. The room was interesting and definitely unusual, it has different levels of light.

It was good to stay somewhere a bit quirky and different to regular business hotels. Our double room (Vault 803) was light and airy, with some thoughtful visual art and mixed media installations. Fab spacious bathroom and power shower. Great location - close to many attractions and bus stops nearby. Plenty of good bars and restaurants around too. I loved my avocado breakfast but my husband (vegetarian) found the choice of breakfast sets limiting, however the staff kindly reheated gyoza for him and provided a mountain of toast! Excellent value for money.