The Dwarika's Kathmandu

What it is

The Dwarika's is less a hotel building than a collection. Dwarika Das Shrestha began in the 1950s by taking in hand-hewn Newari pillars and window frames that were being thrown out of Kathmandu's old houses, and the hotel grew around them over some thirty years. Courtyards, brick and carved timber are the architecture, not the decoration.

The family still runs it. A restoration workshop founded in 1962 is still working, now mostly on badly damaged pieces, and the hotel describes its collection of Newari woodwork as the largest in the world. That is the hotel's own claim and we have not tested it, but the workshop and the scale of the building make the point plainly enough.

The founder also revived the Newari carved-brick technique known as dacchiapa, according to Wikipedia. Shrestha died in 1992, and his wife, Ambica Shrestha, carried the work on.

Where it sits

Battisputali is in the east of the city, on the side that leads toward Pashupatinath and Boudhanath, two of the valley's main sites. It is not in the tourist quarter of Thamel. For a stay built around the temples, that is a convenience; for a stay built around shopping and restaurants on foot, it is a drive.

The Dwarika's also runs a second property, Dwarika's Sanctuary, in Dhulikhel, about an hour away. The hotel presents the two as parts of one journey, which can suit a longer stay that includes a night outside the city.

Rooms: what to choose

The rate in our Nepal itinerary is for the Heritage Deluxe category, which the hotel lists from US$207.45 a night. Suites cost more. Because the appeal here is the carved woodwork, the useful question is which rooms and suites show the most of it, and the hotel can tell you that better than a category name.

A room in a heritage building has trade-offs. Stairs, uneven floors and low doorways are part of the character, and they matter if anyone in your group has limited mobility. Say so when you enquire.

Eating and drinking

The hotel's site says its kitchens source ingredients from six farms in the valleys around Kathmandu. It does not name the restaurants on the pages we read, so we have not listed them here. If dining on site matters to you, ask for the current list when you book.

Who it suits

It suits travellers who want the building to be part of the trip: people interested in craft, architecture and the way a city's old fabric is kept alive. It suits a stay of three or four nights, with the valley's temples and squares as day trips.

It is a poor fit for anyone who wants a sleek, modern room, a long list of restaurants within walking distance or step-free access throughout. In those cases a larger international hotel in the city will be easier.