Hotel reviews: Hotel Courtyard Kathmandu. Nepal

The Hotel Courtyard in Kathmandu is the classic demonstration of the whole being massively greater than the sum of its parts. It is, after all, just a collection of rooms with beds and baths and floors and closets and stairs and foyers. My husband and I live in hotels an average of 10 months a year. Over several decades our expectations of hotel life have slid down the razor blade of reality until the pain of the endless disappointment is almost equal to the joy of the work we do. However, we stayed at the Courtyard from November 20, 2008 to January 31, 2009 and it, along with a tiny listing of small family owned hotels, make up our lifetime nominees for the global great experiences in hospitality award.We first read about the hotel in Trip Advisor, our usual avoidancy resource from the desperate world of homogenized 5 stars. Given the many positive reviews there, we gritted our teeth, closed our eyes, sent a prayer to whatever gods look after the hopeless weltsmirtzed traveler and sent the e-mail off little expecting what was in store for us at the Courtyard!

First, the Courtyard IS a courtyard: an oasis in the most touristy/trekkie effervescently busy section of Kathmandu known as ” Thamel”. In the old days of feudal heavyweights, this is the style of the family home. And the concept of family permeates the owners’ operational ethic. Pujan and Michelle, the owners are quite special. They get to know you as you make your reservation and once you arrive, they go out of their way to make your experience in Nepal interesting. Michelle handles reservations personally and she would rather have a half empty hotel than the usual mad house. At times, they go out on road trips with you, bring you to their friend’s cottage, bring you out to carefully chosen restaurants and host traditional dinners at the hotel, not only for you but for your friends as well. They organize mountain flights and trekking and hotels they trust all over Nepal. Their uncle has Thamel’s best Newari restaurant , The Thamel House, and going there with the usual eclectic gang of guests is a great experience. Take a camera.

Common ground is found almost every late afternoon in the library next to the bar. The guests stagger back from the daily sightseeing forays and are riotously debriefed by the other guests. Everyone (who wants to be) is family and the doofus quotient is amazingly low. Every age, every nationality, families and lone trekkers.the variety of guests is stunning and the conversations, serious and funny, ebb and flow nudged on by a glass of wine or a cold Everest beer.

This hotel is not into pampering. It is into drawing you in to become a participant in the experience of Nepal, Thamel, the mountains and monasteries and the great fun of just being alive. Even if you are outside covered in bundles of pashmina blankets to get a connection to the internet, you don’t mind. You enjoy the experience. No one is alone unless they choose to be. This year’s Travelers’ Choice for Best Hidden Gem in Asia, the Hotel Courtyard, truly can be an experience you will never forget.