0

1. sthapit

We had two friends stay at Hotel Courtyard and absolutely love it.  "You feel like you're in an Agatha Christie novel" raved one.  "The crowd is incredible!" said the other.  "We hung out with diplomats, climbers, doctors, intellectuals...".  Intrigued we decided to check it out.

We walked in and were immediately welcomed by Michelle who quickly introduced us to her husband, Pujan.  The hotel is the brainchild of Michelle and Pujan, an American Nepali couple, who moved back from Seattle a few years back.  The hotel is in the heart of Thamel but it feels incredibly quiet and is far enough from the craziness that is Thamel.  The style is eclectic - old restored Newari windows but the furnishing and fabrics look "frenchy-french", something you'd see at Laduree.  The bed frames look historic but is a cool contrast next to the LCD TVs in each room. 

We got a quick tour of the place from them and it really feels like an extended part of their home (they live on the premises).  Michelle personally does all the reservations and the couple clearly has put their heart into the place and it shows - they're the number one ranked hotel on Trip Advisor and comes highly recommended in the Lonely Planet.  Which means they get tons of requests and so get to be choosy - guests are personally screened to weed out the bad apples that ruin the energy for everyone else which creates a positive spiral of good reviews and more requests for reservations!  Business majors take note.  It just goes to show what a big difference good customer service makes in increasing business and Michelle and Pujan are the definition of good customer service.

We visited mid-day but apparently the socializing happens at 6:30pm so we look forward to going back in the evening.  After all, who'd turn down the chance to be part of an Agatha Christie novel?

9 months ago