Aman Kyoto — Hotel in Kyoto

To：AMAN GROUP

On February 20, 2024, I had a rather unpleasant experience while dining at Kyoto.

1: Booking related issues I have confirmed in the email that there is no problem with the dining time at The Living Pavilion at noon (original: There's no problem with time. No food allergies. Do you still have Taka an menu?) At 11:43, when I went to the hotel entrance, the doorman confirmed for the first time that he would take us to the restaurant. At 11:50, when I was at the restaurant entrance, I confirmed my reservation again. I also emphasized on site that I had chosen a package of 15000 yen and 18000 yen. At 12:00, when I was in the courtyard, the foreign staff explained that they could not find my reservation and needed to take my phone to confirm the package of 15000 yen and 18000 yen. After confirming, they informed me that there was no problem. After sitting down at 12:15, I was informed that my package had not been successfully booked. As today is my wife's anniversary, I can only choose to dine at one point, which is a disastrous experience for my honeymoon itinerary.

2: Food safety issues

I am a customer of your esteemed restaurant. During today's dining experience, I encountered a foreign waitress whose professional ethics issues made me very dissatisfied and worried. I hope to report this matter to you through this letter and hope that your restaurant can take measures to solve this problem. Firstly, I would like to point out that this waitress still insists on serving guests despite being sick (coughing). This behavior may not only transmit diseases to guests, but also violate basic hygiene regulations and professional ethics. As a restaurant, you are responsible for ensuring the health of your employees and avoiding similar situations from happening. Secondly, I observed during the dining process that the waitress touched the wall of the drinking cup with her fingers while adding water. This behavior seriously violates hygiene regulations and may lead to the spread of bacteria or viruses to guests, affecting their health and safety. As a waiter, she should strictly abide by hygiene regulations to ensure the safety of guests' food.

3:Dining experience issues Firstly, after I took my seat, I did not receive any offered tea or regular drinking water, but was directly given a chargeable beverage list. I have repeatedly made it clear to the waiter that I only need regular drinking water. However, the foreign waitress seemed confused about this. Secondly, I also have some dissatisfaction with the quality of the food. Firstly, the pre meal package was not served at the expected time (before the main course). Secondly, there are obvious issues with the lamb chops I ordered. After low-temperature cooking, it seems that the lamb chops have not been fully flipped, resulting in a taste and flavor that has not reached the expected level. In addition, the salmon I ordered also has the problem of over ripening, with a dry taste that loses its rightful freshness. It is gratifying that the taste of the dessert was very good, which gave me some pleasant experiences throughout the entire dining process.

4: Checkout issue

After I finished my meal, I waited for the waiter to provide me with the bill for confirmation and payment. However, what shocked me was that the waiter took my credit card without my consent and confirmation, and completed the checkout without seeing the bill details. This behavior not only seriously infringes on my consumer rights, but in my opinion, it is an extremely unprofessional and unethical behavior. It is not acceptable to use a customer's credit card for payment without their confirmation of the bill in any country or region. This behavior not only violates basic business ethics and professional ethics, but is also suspected of infringing on customer privacy and property security. I am extremely dissatisfied and angry about this, and I believe that this behavior has seriously damaged the reputation of...

Hi Aman Kyoto

Aside from the phenomenal experiences that I had at Aman Tokyo and Amanemu, I will definitely categorize the efforts of Aman Kyoto as the most accommodating and hospitable. I felt instantly connected with Aman Kyoto as I was greeted by the staff upon arrival.

Miwako Takahashi was definitely one of the most friendly and kindhearted people that I have ever met amid staying at a hotel in Asia. She was so helpful with navigating her efforts to my needs. Miwako helped me locate an adequate clinic to receive a PCR test. I felt like she truly understood me linguistically as sometimes it is hard to explain the differentiations of the proper PCR test. Even though it was a strife to organize all of my luggage upon check out, Miwako managed to think fast and assist me with airport transportation, settling payment, and a devoted smile of kindness.

Yuka Yamada was so kind and welcoming to me when I arrived. I’m really happy that I was able to be accommodated by her efforts at Aman Kyoto. I wish her the best of luck on her journey as a mother. I really enjoyed talking about life in America and the differences between living in the countryside betwixt taking on life in the city. It really surprised me with amazement when she asked me if I would like her to have a staff member run the bath water for me so it is full when I return from dining. She’s so wonderful.

Before I expatriated to the busy city of Seoul, I used to journey on trails with my father in Maryland. I remember riding on my bicycle with him and appreciating the breeze of the wind. So to be led by such a knowledgeable and kindhearted guide as Sakura was so fulfilling. I really enjoyed bicycling through the neighborhood with Sakura as she seems to know everything about Kyoto. I’ve never met such a devoted person to hospitality and nature as Sakura. I’m deeply thankful to her as she introduced me back to the serenity of bicycling and also navigated a friendly and amazing guide for me to travel to Mount Hiei; Mr. Masu.

Regardless of the limited availability, I really enjoyed the spa. I have never witnessed such a beautiful and authentic environment to run such a business. Oftentimes in our perception of materialism, hotel spas are structured to be a sign of temporary luxuries. But I did not feel this with the spa of Aman Kyoto. I felt an immense sense of peacefulness and togetherness with nature. I felt emotionally sheltered and spiritually reset. As I am a person who loves nature, it was really wonderful to see the beautiful green trees amidst the onsen and to hear the raindrops fall onto the gravel in the evening. I think the performance of the Shiatsu was the best that I’ve ever had. Mr. Doi and the staff lady from Italy were wonderfully outgoing and kind. Will I ever find such a beautiful spa other than the nestled abode at Aman Kyoto?

I’ve traveled to many places but I have never experienced such authentic perfection such as Aman Kyoto. I will definitely return and thank you so much.

Best regards,...

This is the second hotel I stayed in Kyoto. Before going to Aman, I read some of posts here that the service was bad. I then quite regret to make a room reservation though I was impressed by the photos and posts from website. Besides, I had a bad first impression toward Aman Kyoto as they replied email for at least 3 days. This is not acceptable for such hotel with high room rate. ||When I arrived the hotel for the first day, I was quite surprised by the service. The hotel staff load my luggages from taxi efficiently and sent them to rooms directly. Then I was guided by another staff for check-in. She served me and my child a cup of green tea. This green tea is very special. Its taste is green tea but has a floral smell. My kid and I were very impressed. Unfortunately, I forgot to buy one before leaving. ||Then we went to Living Pavilion to have lunch. After lunch, our room was ready and a staff took us to the room and introduced us the facilities. ||The room is spacious, even the bathroom. We stayed in room 楢 . It is near the Living Pavilion, hotel’s restaurant. It is quite quiet. For our staying of two nights, we almost had dinner in room. The Udon noodle tastes good. My son ate it in lunch time and two dinner time. The hotel also provides welcome desserts for every night. First night is dried persimmon and the second night is chocolates. The chocolates are very very yummy. ||I tried the spa massage for two times. It is really good. As only me and my son in this trip, he couldn’t use the complimentary onsen. I then paid for a private onsen. It is very comfortable.||The room’s pillows are very hard. My kid and I didn’t have a good sleep. We asked the front desk to give us a softer one for second night. It still doesn’t fit for me. Thus I didn’t sleep well during my stay. ||The breakfast had three choices: Western, Japanese and wellness. We tried western and Japanese breakfast. Both are delicious. Especially French toast in western style and porridge in Japanese style. The taste is unforgettable. ||The hotel environment is very comfortable. It is far away from the city. Only trees and grass around us. Everywhere has fresh air. It refreshes me. If the bed and pillow fit me, it will be perfect.||We also had lunch in Tak-An restaurant. The food is good. The staffs are very nice and kids-friendly. They are very tolerant to kids. ||The check-out process is also very smooth. Everything is well-prepared, even our luggages. We booked a transportation to the Kansai Airport through the hotel. The...