The Ritz-Carlton Kyoto—A New Personal Best in Accommodation! April Suite Kamogawa NUA Approval Review

Hello.

I’m Dr. Baek, director of Lev Dental, the go-to destination for teeth whitening near Sinsa Station.

This was our trip to Kyoto in April 2026.

This time, we planned two nights in Kyoto and two nights in Osaka.

We visited Tokyo before the cherry blossoms bloomed, then Osaka and Kyoto after they had fallen—a slightly disappointing schedule.. ㅠㅠ

Still, this was an incredibly happy high-end hotel stay review.

In particular, both of our two nights at The Ritz-Carlton Kyoto were approved through NUA, allowing us to enjoy a proper room upgrade for the first time this year. It was an incredibly generous opportunity, and I think we were lucky. It costs approximately KRW 5 million per night.

In Osaka, we stayed at Waldorf Astoria Osaka,

using the complimentary night certificate from the Lotte Card Hilton Amex that I introduced some time ago.

I’ll also share our experience enjoying a dinner omakase at the Japanese restaurant.

The Ritz-Carlton Kyoto

(ザ・リッツ・カールトン京都)

The Ritz-Carlton Kyoto was designed by remodeling the former residence of a noble family located beside the Kamogawa River.

It is known to have opened in 2014 and has approximately 130 rooms.

Pierre Hermé, famous for its macarons, has a location here, and the hotel is also known for serving Pierre Hermé bakery items at breakfast.

After landing at Kansai International Airport in Osaka, we immediately took the Shinkansen to Kyoto Station.

This was our second trip to Kyoto as a couple. We visited in July 2023, and I remember it being unbelievably hot....

So this time, we came in the cooler month of April, but it rained on the first day.

When you photograph The Ritz-Carlton Kyoto with the Kamogawa River in front of it, you can see that the property is larger and more stately than expected.

This is what the main entrance looks like at night. It feels stately, yet also linear and modern.

The Ritz-Carlton emblem I always take a photo of!

This is my fifth Ritz-Carlton, following Singapore, Bali, Osaka, and Tokyo.

Perhaps the next Ritz-Carlton I visit will be in Fukuoka~ haha

As you enter through the entrance, you can enjoy a linear design that combines a pond and bridge-like landscaping inspired by a Japanese garden with black and golden lighting.

Just like at Bulgari Tokyo, a beautifully maintained small old pine tree welcomes us.

After seeing them so often, the space now feels somehow empty when there isn’t an old pine tree.

The only disappointing thing is that a single video couldn’t capture this majestic and impressive grandeur.

I had applied for a suite upgrade in advance using NUA, and I visited already knowing that we had been upgraded to a suite five days earlier.

There were several types of suites, and this was one of the higher-category rooms.

It was an incredible 125 square meters.. the largest room I’ve ever stayed in while traveling abroad.

You can think of it as being on the level of winning a prize.

As for the price.. it’s not really a price you can book at, so I’m only capturing it as a keepsake ^^;

We were assigned the third floor. The room was located somewhat toward the corner. Apparently, there were only a few suites on each floor.

This hallway has that distinctive Ritz-Carlton edge.

That’s why we come to the Ritz-Carlton, right?

Wow.. I wonder what it will feel like when I open the door..

The view that unfolded was a work of art.

The moment you enter through the door, the view opens up on the “left.”

The Kamogawa River is beyond those windows.

There were seats for ten people just in the living room.. wow..

You can take a full tour in the video.

I wish my study looked like this~

The combination of black and wood tones always feels luxurious.

There’s a living room.. it looks like at least ten people could sit just on the sofa...

There was a welcome gift on the table at the far end.

There was also a Bang & Olufsen speaker (can you see it?). It costs around KRW 4 million, and it was my first time discovering what the sound of an omnidirectional speaker is like.. haha. It really sounded great.

Of course, I had to take another stylish photo like this~~

You’re the thumbnail~!

There were some truly delicious oranges and strawberries.

I was a little disappointed by Japanese strawberries on our last trip to Tokyo, but I guess it was because I bought ones that were too cheap..

Seeing the words “BAEK SAMA” made me feel oddly happy. It sounds a bit like Yon-sama.

I really like the welcome gifts ^^

This was the view of the rainy Kamogawa River in Kyoto through the wide windows.

How can it be this atmospheric..... I want to buy a house in Kyoto..

When you turn around, you can see the living room neatly laid out like this.

But there’s something we haven’t seen yet, right? Where’s the bed......

You have to go through the door on the left to reach the bedroom.

How many windows can one room have~...

I love Kyoto’s nature-filled scenery so much...^^

I think we should take a look at the minibar.

This is the one, but it isn’t complimentary.

I’m not sure why I took photos like these. haha

A teacup full of Japanese style..

And an elegant champagne glass.

The food and drinks in the refrigerator were naturally high-quality and plentiful, and there were various kinds of alcohol as well.

Looking again, there was even Yamazaki!? I want that bottle haha

The bedroom is spacious and lovely like this.

Why is the bedroom so huge...

There is also a balcony-like area in the bedroom.

You can lie down and relax while looking out at the Kamogawa River.

This is the ultimate hotel stay. Every minute and second feels too precious to waste ㅠ.ㅠ

The layout is roughly like this!

There is one TV in the living room, one in the bedroom, and one in the bathroom.

Three TVs in a 125-square-meter room.. It was so spacious that it was almost a little inconvenient..

The bathroom is attached to the bedroom, and the bathroom alone is the size of an entire room.

There is a luggage area and a closet farther inside.

A good hotel has two sinks.

It was also unusual to have a TV installed in the middle.

The shower room wall was so beautiful and appealing.

It reminded me of the elevator going up to the Signiel Club. hahaha

The Diptyque Philosykos amenities unique to the Ritz-Carlton that I love!

I used plenty of them with great enthusiasm before leaving.

You know, right? If you take them home, you’ll have to pay for them at a high price~

As expected, there is a separate meditation space.

And what’s remarkable is.. the Kamogawa Suite has two bathrooms.....

I’ll show you the other one in a moment...

Here are all the amenities, for your reference. Nothing is missing.

This is the second bathroom!

The second bathroom was also so spacious.. I think it was three times the size of the bathrooms I saw at Park Hyatt Busan and JW Marriott Jeju in Korea..

I actually got to visit a place like this once in my life...

What an honor! ^^

From the second bathroom, you can see the main entrance we first came through and the living room.

You have a rough idea of the room’s layout now, right? ^^

There was a hotel guide, so I’m sharing it here.

On the lobby level, there is the bar that becomes the breakfast restaurant, as well as an Italian restaurant.

There is also a garden like this in the middle. The natural light is wonderful and the building is beautiful, but it doesn’t come across well in photosㅠ

This space serves breakfast during the day and becomes a bar at night.

It is much larger than it looks. I’ll cover it in a post~

The entire building is shaped like a square with an open center, and there is a spacious staircase in the middle leading down to the lower level.

The lower level has a Japanese restaurant and a souvenir shop, with a seminar-room-like space farther below.

This is a small area in the lobby with the concierge desk and chairs.

If you walk down these stairs, you can see the facilities on the lower level.

There are various shops like these.

To be honest, there was no one around, so we just had a quick look and left.

Looking up from below, you’ll see what a beautiful space it is.

It really feels like a dignified Japanese-style residence straight out of a movie.

If you go outside at night, you’ll see bicycles and rickshaws like these in the lobby.

We signed up for a bicycle tour at dawn and rode around Kyoto city.

It was absolutely fantastic!!!!

There also seemed to be rickshaw tours, but the prices were quite high (!) so we didn’t get to try one. haha

One of the main reasons we chose Kyoto as the destination for this trip was that I wanted to visit The Ritz-Carlton Kyoto.

Moreover... thanks to the effort I put in last year to earn Marriott status, I successfully used NUA and even got to experience the Kamogawa Suite. It was truly an incredibly luxurious and wonderful experience.

It isn’t shown in the photos, but there is a Pierre Hermé bakery on the lobby level.

They also offer the Kyoto Edition macarons, which are only available in Kyoto, so give them a try!

At breakfast, the bread is served with a Pierre Hermé label. It tastes incredible.

We didn’t have enough time to visit the Japanese or French restaurants, but I’ll introduce the breakfast and bar sometime as well.

That was another glimpse into the daily life of Dr. Baek, the dentist!!