Dwarika's Hotel
Kathmandu, Nepal.
Long story short: Tradition and luxury collide elegantly in this testament to an architectural vision. The hotel is a village-like compound of painstakingly-constructed buildings, all decorative tile and carved wooden windows. The word 'sanctuary' is bandied about a little too much, but through the doors of Dwarika's is a refined, evocative space that will leave a lasting impression.
Short story long: A local, who I had no reason to distrust, told me something. She said that the story the hotel give about all the buildings being reclaimed from certain destruction elsewhere and transported here to be used in the construction is pretty much bullroar. The hotel, needless to say, beg to differ. They reckon the founder, Dwarika Das Shrestha, started sweeping all these pretty buildings away from the bulldozers in 1952, saving a growing collection of wooden masterpieces like some kind of architectural Schindler’s List. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle there, but well, the legend is a harmless enough one and the aesthetics invite an open mind.
The carved wood and fancy brickwork make for impossibly beautiful grounds, all the more so for the stark rubble that makes up the immediate neighbourhood in downtown Kathmandu. It’s like staying in a UNESCO Heritage Site (it actually does mimic the UNESCO sites close by).
“I wouldn’t use the pool,” was the unnecessary advice on a cold January day, ornate and visually inviting as it was. Instead, my facility testing rested on the Pancha Kosha Spa, which doles out the usual high-end, suitably joint-pleasing treatments in some style.
The serenity is only really broken by the odd braying western businessman and the knowingly evocative if not outright manipulative traditional music and dance displays that take place each evening in candlelight. Looking on through the wooden slats of your bedroom window, you could be in the 16th century.
Don’t worry, there’s wifi.
I don’t feel poetic in many hotel rooms, but the dark woods of the high quality fittings, antique-like without seeming contrived, inspired me to loll around and pretend to write in my notebook. Staying here is a cinematic experience whether taking a bath, flopping onto the four poster bed dramatically or thinking how good the chest of drawers would look in your house.
I remember the food as much as anything. Go to breakfast early and enjoy the sunrise, hiking groups discussing their plans and one of the most varied bumper breakfast buffets I’ve ever seen. Homemade everything, with artisanal sides of everything else. I siphoned off the excitement of some neighbouring mountaineers off for their expedition and then went back to bed for a nap.
Also: dinner. God yes. See below.
In short, if you’re out this way, and you have a little bit of money to spend, do yourself a favour and stay here at least a night. If all fibs were this good looking, would anyone really mind?
Champagne tastes: Save up for the fine dining restaurant, Krishnarpan, which serves up outrageously gourmet versions of classic Nepali food. Cross your legs for a regal meal that you eat sat on cushions around the low tables - good enough for Prince Charles and other posh punters. Brace (and starve) yourself for the 22-course taster menu. If you survive the stomach cramp, one of the impeccable wait staff will obligingly roll you out.
Shandy pockets: It's all relative, I suppose, but the rates (from around £240/$300) do seem like a bargain, especially as you're staying in one of the world's truly memorable hotels. The large business hotels in the city are about the same price, and nice enough, but I doubt you'll be showing off photos of them to your friends a year later. (PO)
Website: www.dwarikas.com
Long story short: Tradition and luxury collide elegantly in this testament to an architectural vision. The hotel is a village-like compound of painstakingly-constructed buildings, all decorative tile and carved wooden windows. The word 'sanctuary' is bandied about a little too much, but through the doors of Dwarika's is a refined, evocative space that will leave a lasting impression.
Short story long: A local, who I had no reason to distrust, told me something. She said that the story the hotel give about all the buildings being reclaimed from certain destruction elsewhere and transported here to be used in the construction is pretty much bullroar. The hotel, needless to say, beg to differ. They reckon the founder, Dwarika Das Shrestha, started sweeping all these pretty buildings away from the bulldozers in 1952, saving a growing collection of wooden masterpieces like some kind of architectural Schindler’s List. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle there, but well, the legend is a harmless enough one and the aesthetics invite an open mind.
The carved wood and fancy brickwork make for impossibly beautiful grounds, all the more so for the stark rubble that makes up the immediate neighbourhood in downtown Kathmandu. It’s like staying in a UNESCO Heritage Site (it actually does mimic the UNESCO sites close by).
“I wouldn’t use the pool,” was the unnecessary advice on a cold January day, ornate and visually inviting as it was. Instead, my facility testing rested on the Pancha Kosha Spa, which doles out the usual high-end, suitably joint-pleasing treatments in some style.
The serenity is only really broken by the odd braying western businessman and the knowingly evocative if not outright manipulative traditional music and dance displays that take place each evening in candlelight. Looking on through the wooden slats of your bedroom window, you could be in the 16th century.
Don’t worry, there’s wifi.
I don’t feel poetic in many hotel rooms, but the dark woods of the high quality fittings, antique-like without seeming contrived, inspired me to loll around and pretend to write in my notebook. Staying here is a cinematic experience whether taking a bath, flopping onto the four poster bed dramatically or thinking how good the chest of drawers would look in your house.
I remember the food as much as anything. Go to breakfast early and enjoy the sunrise, hiking groups discussing their plans and one of the most varied bumper breakfast buffets I’ve ever seen. Homemade everything, with artisanal sides of everything else. I siphoned off the excitement of some neighbouring mountaineers off for their expedition and then went back to bed for a nap.
Also: dinner. God yes. See below.
In short, if you’re out this way, and you have a little bit of money to spend, do yourself a favour and stay here at least a night. If all fibs were this good looking, would anyone really mind?
Champagne tastes: Save up for the fine dining restaurant, Krishnarpan, which serves up outrageously gourmet versions of classic Nepali food. Cross your legs for a regal meal that you eat sat on cushions around the low tables - good enough for Prince Charles and other posh punters. Brace (and starve) yourself for the 22-course taster menu. If you survive the stomach cramp, one of the impeccable wait staff will obligingly roll you out.
Shandy pockets: It's all relative, I suppose, but the rates (from around £240/$300) do seem like a bargain, especially as you're staying in one of the world's truly memorable hotels. The large business hotels in the city are about the same price, and nice enough, but I doubt you'll be showing off photos of them to your friends a year later. (PO)
Website: www.dwarikas.com