Hyatt Regency Kathmandu REVIEW - MASTER THREAD
 

As not much has been written about the Hyatt Regency Kathmandu, I would like to share my impressions following a recent (January 2007) stay at this property.

The HR Kathmandu was built in 2000 and is part of a 37 acre tourist complex which incorporates a hotel and a casino as well as extensive gardens. The complex is about 4 km from the airport, within view of the nearby Boudhnath Stupa (holy Tibetian Buddist shrine)and is of a unique design expressing Nepalese art, architecture and culture.

The Hotel has 290 guest rooms, plus some suites, and features a Regency Club, several restaurants and bars, a health club, tennis courts, an outdoor pool (closed while I was there), an outdoor Jacuzzi and a jogging track. There is also a (very expensive) business center

The entrance to the casino/hotel complex is via a large courtyard complete with cloisters and is impressive. Entry to the hotel is like entering a temple.

The prevailing rate for a standard King or Twin is $110 (or $140 for Club level) plus 13% tax. My corporate rate was $85 and as a Diamond I was upgraded to the Regency Club. I was also provided with complimentary transfers to and from the airport.

The Regency Club is staffed from 0630 to 2200 and offers:
• Breakfast from 0630 to 1000;
• Tea and coffee available all day;
• Evening cocktails and hor d’oeuvers from 1700 to 1900
• A boardroom available for half day

You may invites up to two guests per day to the RC lounge, but any food and beverages consumed by guests will be charged to your account.

The rooms are of a reasonable size but the very poor lighting made it difficult to read/work at night. Also there are very frequent power failures and blackouts. The property is not well maintained and the staffs, while willing, still require considerable training and supervision to get up to “Hyatt standard”.

I was not very impressed by my stay and given the Hyatt’s location (about 5 km from downtown) I would be inclined to stay at the (excellent Yak & Yeti Hotel, the Radisson or the Crown Plaza.

The Yak & Yeti is what I generally suggest there -- but I'm also "bought" as I get taken care of there extraordinarily well due to some long-standing personal relationships.

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Hi,

I think if you are on a packaged tour and don't expect to walk around on your own, the the Hyatt Regency is a real good place. It's comparatively one of the newer hotels in Kathmandu, and the outdoors are nice.

They've got some good restaurants, and food is good. The Rox bar is one of the more happenning places in town, specially on Fridays.

But, if you like to explore the town, go shopping, go to Thamel (the touristy hotspot), or want to eat outside in some of the best restaurants in town, then Hyatt is a no. There is simply nothing outside the hotel gates. You need a cab to get anywhere.

Additionally, it's much better now after road widening, but the road that runs between the Hyatt and the city when it hits the ring-road is a major choke point and at rush hour best be avoided.

Many of their senior staffs are very experienced people, but the downturn in the last few years had meant that there was cost-cutting and the better trained junior staff left mostly for the hotels in the Middle East, and the newly hired in-experiences showed, but with the up-turn, hopefully things get better.

I have had my friends stay at the Soaltee (now crown plaza, previoulsy oberoi), RAdisson, Yak and Yeti, Hyatt, Dwarika and the Annapurna (when it was still Taj Annapurna). I have stayed at all except the Anna (though u can imagine that i have a house to stay when in ktm).

My family and I stayed at this property in 2003. We were there shortly after some political unrest and only three rooms taken in the entire hotel including ours. We spent ten nights at this property and were the only ones in the regency club for seven. At the time this property did not have a casino. I have to say this property was absolutely spectacular. The staff treated us like royalty and the buffet they served in the restaurant was sensational. Since the hotel was virtually empty, we became very friendly with some of the staff, in the regency club and the restaurants. To this day we still even trade emails from time to time. When we were in Katmandu we checked out the Yak and Yeti and in my opinion the Hyatt was light years better and didn't even compare.

Just stayed there for two nights this past weekend. I have bit of a mixed feelings.

- On Saturday the power went on/off at least 10 times. I was surprised that the hotel doesn't have a generator up and running
- The evening presentation was nice at the club, although there was very little to present. Never went there in the morning. Once when I asked for a glass of red wine I received white, another time my red wine request was met with a glass of whiskey. After while the music that they play at the club became annoying and I just put on my headphones.
- The "highspeed" internet is very slow. Oftentimes my web pages timed out while trying to load them. The internet connection at the entire hotel went down at least once too. At the check out they tried to charge a different rate for the internet than what was listed on the in room hotel book. It was comped at the end, however.
- The air conditioning wasn't working properly in my room - couldn't get the room temperature below 24 or so
- The shower water temperature was changing constantly from hot/cold and I just had to try keep changing them
- When I was asking to see some local sights I was walked to a tour desk. No thanks.
- Diamonds typically get a one class upgrade

Overall the hotel appeared to be very quiet.

Consider to have one or two stays in this property early next month.
Is it safe to use credit card in Nepal? Heard some unpleasant experiences about that on the internet. Just wondering I should take risks using MC to enjoy the promos, or just pay by cash for safety. Any suggestions?

Oh please.

It is probably more likely that your cc account gets compromised in US than somewhere else.

My advise is always to carry wallet full of cards in a case the card issuer temporarily blocks the card or someone else uses it. You have zero liability of fraudulent use as long as it is a credit not a debit card so why worry?

Thanks, holtju2.

Any updates? Thanks.
 

Will try and make it in next month via BKK. I am interested in the plane ride where you can see Everest. Any particular tour companies used? Any updates appreciated. Still safe? Thanks.

Could someone confirm if International Credit Cards specially Master Card from India is accepted there?

Thanks

I went there alone last November. Received all the benefits stated on the Hyatt website for Diamond member at this property. Offerred complimentary upgrade to Executive Floor and free breakfast. The staff in the lounge is very helpful. Encounter the power off for one time, just several minutes.(If you stay in Thamel, you will find the power off for several hours is common.)

I took the CA flight from Shanghai to Kathmandu, which could see Everest clearly on the flight about 30 mins prior to arrival at Kathmandu, if you sit in the right side. However, I have to admit it may not be very safe when about two-thirds of the passengers on the flight amassed in the right side of the flight, trying to take pictures of the Everest. (I did concern this on the flight, but the attendants seems not care too much.)

You can find many tourism agency in Thamel providing plane ride to see Everest. Usually charge $100-$120 per person.

As for safety, I spent two weeks alone in Nepal(one week in Kathmandu and Pantan; and one week in Phokara for trekking) and I was safe. If you wanna trek, at least find yourself a guide.

I believe they accept Credit cards from everywhere. No problem for Master Card as I used my MC there because of the FFN promo at that time. :)

Thank you for the information. How about timing? It seems like the weather is pretty nice now. Are any particular times of the year bad? Thanks.

It depends on what you wanna do in Nepal. For trekking, generally spreaking,
the best time would be from October to March as there is little raining during this period. My trekking guide told me late October or early November is the best time for trekking. From June to September is the monsoon period. So, really need to take care during the trekking if raining. If you are not interested in trekking, the weather may not be a very big problem, as long as it doesn't keep raining all days.

Suggest you spend several nights in Thamel. If you stay in Hyatt for your whole stay in Nepal, you will lose much fun and miss the opportunity to experience the real Nepali life. Be sure going to the Helena's rooftop for breakfast when you stay in Thamel. Have a nice trip.:)

Thank you. I feel better about having to delay my trip. Just too many connections as I was trying to work it in with going to Xian, China. Thanks.