Kathmandu: Places to Stay

 Now that we have the party scene taken care of, lets find you a place to get some sleep (or lack thereof depending on how your evening went in Thamel). 

During my two weeks in Nepal I stayed at two hotels in Kathmandu, both at different price points, I will also add in the hotel my friend stayed at, because it looked amazing.

One thing to note is that heating isn't exactly "common" in some of these places, even at Hotel Vajra, where I paid $60/night and is considered a nicer place to stay I didn't have a great heating system. But my friend who stayed at Hotel Courtyard had awesome wifi and heat for the same price.

Hotel Magnificent View - Located in Thamel (the area you'll most likely want to stay in, since its close to shops, restaurants and attractions), its a good place to stay if you're on a budget, it averages about $25 a night. The breakfast was pretty good, plus its off the main road so its relatively quiet - there is a lot of residential noise in the building though. The Wifi was great, the rooms are quite large and staff are excellent. Heat not so much. Breakfast is included.

View of Hotel Vajra from the
grounds, my suite was the one
on the 2nd floor, with the
blinds open.

A part of the courtyard
at Hotel Vajra.

Hotel Vajra - This hotel is about a 5-10 minute taxi drive from Thamel, and not too far from the Monkey Temple, again it was off the main road, so I actually got some pretty decent sleep because I didn't hear any of the honking cars. I would recommend this hotel for people who want to be close to things but not in the middle of the chaos. A lot of trekkers were staying at the hotel, so they were in need of a comfy bed and peace and quiet. I had the breakfast at the hotel, and it was pretty good. My room was MASSIVE, I'm quite convinced the bed was larger than a king, it was awesome, and the pillows were divine. A drawback of the hotel was the Wifi, it wasn't always working, and since I was there by myself I wish the wifi would have been working in case I needed to send an emergency email or something. The hotel had a great 24/7 security, since I did happen to stay out late the 2 nights it was comforting to know I wasn't walking through a parking lot and garden by myself. It was a very unique hotel because they had a nice courtyard you could walk through, and had I stayed longer I could have been involved in some of the cultural activities at the hotel. Lonely Planet advises staying in the "new wing" of the hotel, I stayed in the Old Wing and thought it was awesome. Also, again because I was staying by myself I felt safer in the old wing because security was in that building, I'm not sure if the new wing had a security person though. Breakfast isn't included.

Hotel Courtyard - Located right in the heart of Thamel, this place is an awesome find, a quick walk to shops, restaurants and the bar scene. It is like a slice of heaven in the middle of a chaotic city. If I ever find myself back in Kathmandu I am definetly staying here. I even met one of the owners and she was so nice !!

There are sooooo many places to stay in Kathmandu, something for every budget.