It would be a pity to leave Nepal without seeing the frosted mountain tops of the Himalayas. So many tourists head out into the Annapurna, Langtang, and Everest regions every year to experience the gorgeous panoramas over some of the tallest mountains in the world. However, suppose you don’t feel like spending 10 to 14 days trekking through mountain passes and staying in tea houses. In that case, you can head to Club Himalaya in Nagarkot. Club Himalaya is a luxury hotel offering gorgeous mountain views from your room!
In this review, I will go over our stay in Club Himalaya during Tihar. Then, I will talk about why we chose to stay at Club Himalaya, the rooms, the food, and the facilities
I cannot, in good faith, recommend Club Himalaya anymore. When we booked, the prices for accommodation, food and drinks were expensive, but very reasonable.
In the past few months these prices have increased to a ridiculous point. Friends of ours even paid 800 NPR for a small beer. That is more than you would pay in London.
I feel this greedflation means that this hotel is now not worth booking anymore given its current state and the quality of food and drinks. I would recommend heading to Hotel Himalayan Villa or The Lapsi Tree.
I will leave my review online in case the prices change.
Club Himalaya Review TLDR
Overall score: 7/10
Would recommend for the views and the location.
What was great: The hot tub, big room, amazing views, staff was helpful and kind, good buffet.
What was not so great: Quite expensive, no view from the pool due to trees, lousy bar food.
From $70 per night
Why we stayed at Club Himalaya
Due to the fact that the airport was locked down, my husband, his colleagues, and I could not leave the country. This meant we had to look for a local destination to spend a few nights over the Tihar holidays. So we decided to head up to Nagarkot. The mountains can be especially spectacular just after the Monsoon season and before the pollution kicks in in autumn.
Colleagues at my husband’s work recommended both Club Himalaya and Mystic Mountain. We ultimately chose Club Himalaya as Mystic Mountain is very expensive and is not particularly known for their good food and drinks (read – stay away!).
Getting to Club Himalaya
We set out to Club Himalaya from Kathmandu at 12 noon as check-in at Club Himalaya starts at 2PM. We have a local taxi driver who took us up to Nagarkot in his Scorpio jeep. We paid 6000 NPR, but you would pay less than half the price if you hire a local cab.
The road to Nagarkot takes you past Bhaktapur. You can even decide to stay in Bhaktapur for a night and then have your hotel arrange a transfer up to Nagarkot.
The road to Nagarkot is full of twists and turns. If you are prone to car sickness – please do take a travel sickness tablet. These can easily be obtained from any pharmacy in Kathmandu.
The road takes you past beautiful vistas and small villages. Don’t be afraid to ask the driver to stop so you can take some pictures!
Almost every taxi driver will know where Club Himalaya is located as Club Himalaya is one of the best-known resorts in Nagarkot.
Checking in at Club Himalaya in Nagarkot
The check-in process at Club Himalaya went very smoothly. Like in other hotels and resorts in Nepal, you are asked to fill out a form with your address, phone number, name, and passport number.
As we arrived a little early, our rooms were not yet ready. We were asked to take a seat in the large and beautiful lobby and received a welcome juice in a small glass. The lobby is decorated in a modern and beautiful Newar style and shares a space with the restaurant and lower down (it is open plan) the pool, hot tub, and spa.
As we had to wait for another 30 minutes for our rooms to be ready, we decided to have a drink on the deck with a gorgeous view over the white-topped mountains.
Do not book room 507...
We booked a premium room to give us the best chance of seeing the mountains from our little balcony. The first room we were shown, however, was room 507. When entering the room, the smell of moisture and mildew hit us in the face. Although the curtains were fully open, the room looked quite dark and dingy.
Connected to the room was a large balcony with an outdoor bed and a small seating area. Sadly, there were stains on the pillows on the seating area, and when heading back inside, we also discovered what looked like grease stains on the bed. This should not happen in a hotel that charges more than $100 a night for non-nepalis in their premium rooms!
The view from room 507 was also rather bad. Room 506 next door lay considerably higher and blocked quite a bit of the view and sunlight that would usually have been reserved for room 507.
Little did we know that our friends arriving after us would decline the same room not 20 minutes later!
Room 505 at Club Himalaya was a treat!
After asking for a different room, we were able to move into room 505. This room was an absolute treat, with a beautiful view over the mountains and lots of natural light flooding into the room.
The premium rooms in Club Himalaya all come with a private deck from where you can see the mountains. In addition, you will be able to find a large daybed on the deck and some decorative statuettes.
The room also has a seating area. However, we did not really use the seating area as the rug was sadly very stained and dirty.
The ensuite bathrooms are good-sized and come with a sink, a toilet, and a bath with a shower. Complimentary toiletries are available, and there is also a hairdryer for guests to use. Staff leave more than enough towels, and there is 24/7 hot and cold water.
In the cupboard of your room at Club Himalaya, you will find a small safe, a robe, and slippers. There is also a water kettle so you can make your own tea and coffee. The hotel also provides guests with 2 bottles of mineral water every day.
When exiting the room, you will have a slightly obstructed view (more about obstructed views later) of the other side of the Nagarkot rim. Luckily there are more than enough small bars and restaurants in the area that allow you a fantastic view over Kathmandu.
However, the view from the room is not much better than the view from the deck at the bar. In fact, if you would like the best views, it is better to rent a standard room and ask for a room on the right side of the buildings (towards the mountains) as you will not only be higher but also have a glass balcony and a better view over the Langtang range. There is a chance we will book ourselves into a standard room next time we head to Club Himalaya.
Food at Club Himalaya
The food at Club Himalaya is some of the best resort food I have had in Nepal. Food at resorts in Nepal is notoriously bad (ask any expat). Still, the buffet breakfast and dinner at Club Himalaya were surprisingly lovely. Especially the curries, the pasta, and the battered fish were excellent.
The dinner menu often seems to change with some Chinese food, Western food, and South Asian food available for guests. There is also a live station with a chef cooking pasta. Although I did not try the pasta, our friends told us it was delicious.
In the mornings, that same live station provides guests with eggs and omelets. In addition to lovely eggs, you can also expect chole bhature, vegetables, cooked potatoes (absolutely amazing!), baked beans (not Heinz, but still okay), cereal, bread (not very nice, sadly) and cheese. They also have a large pot of chya on a hob which I absolutely loved.
Food and drinks at the Club Himalaya Bar
Though I liked the food at the Club Himalaya buffet, the bar was another deal. We ordered some quite expensive fries and a grilled cheese sandwich. I could not finish the grilled cheese sandwich as it was one of the driest sandwiches I have ever laid my hands and eyes on. The grilled cheese sandwich was, in fact, a sandwich of cheese, cucumber between lightly grilled toast. Maybe the cook did not understand the concept of a grilled cheese sandwich, but it was a great disappointment.
The cocktails at the Club Himalaya bar, on the other hand, were very nice. We decided to go for the Club Himalaya Hot Toddy, which is basically mulled wine with local rum. The prices at the Club Himalaya bar are sky-high. You will pay 250 NPR ( ++) for a 70 NPR bottle of coke. The hookah was also eye-wateringly expensive. On the menu, the hookah costs 800 NPR. Albeit a bit high, this is a fair price in an upscale resort. However, when the bill came, they charged me for a ”large hookah” which was 1200 NPR. That is almost as much as you would pay at Vivanta – and their hookah is actually a lot better.
If you just want a beer and a hookah, I would recommend heading to one of the little cafes opposite as the food is excellent, the drinks are cheap, and the hookah is probably better at a lower price. We can really recommend Mandap Giri Restaurant & Bar, just a 1-minute walk down the road!
Facilities at Club Himalaya
Club Himalaya offers a spa, a hot tub, an indoor pool, and a children’s play area. Unfortunately, the spa was closed as it is currently being renovated.
Children’s Play Area
Although we do not have kids, I did have a peak in the Children’s play area. Outside you will find a large trampoline which is excellent for older kids. Inside there are lots of toys for younger kids. You will also find a large ping pong table that adults are free to use in the children’s play area.
The hot tub
The hot tub at Club Himalaya is fantastic. It is not always easy to find a hot tub that is actually hot. Most of the time, the water does not go above 37 or 38 degrees. However, the hot tub at Club Himalaya was actually steaming. The hot tub is built-in next to the pool and is very clean. Where I have experienced hot tubs in Nepal with slimy sides and tiles (a sign that the hot tub does not get cleaned regularly), it seemed that the hot tub at Club Himalaya gets clean water almost every single day! The only problem with the hot tub was that only half of the jets seem to work (and work in overdrive) – probably something wrong with the regulators. Let’s hope the hotel solves this next time we visit!
The pool
The pool at Club Himalaya is freezing! Heated pools are scarce in Nepal, which means pools can really only be used in summer when they are outside and in the sun.
The view from the pool…
Club Himalaya is perched on the edge of a hill overlooking the Langtang range in the distance. Yet, for some reason, the hotel planted lots of trees in front of the large 6m (20 feet) windows giving out onto the mountains and the valley below. Unfortunately, the trees block the complete view from the pool and hot tub and part of the view from the deck at the bar.
Quite a few people go to Mystic Mountain because Mystic Mountain offers impressive mountain views from its infinity pool. So I can only imagine that the popularity of Club Himalaya would increase if they cleared the trees in front of the windows by the pool and hot tub to allow guests to enjoy the view of the mountains. In fact ”I can see the tips between the trees a bit” and ”these stupid trees” were often discussed.
Overall conclusion Club Himalaya
Overall our stay at Club Himalaya was enjoyable. The food at the buffet and the drinks were good (albeit very expensive). I would stay at Club Himalaya again, but I might book a standard room instead next time to get a better view. I would recommend people stay at Club Himalaya for the fabulous hot tub. There are many excellent little restaurants nearby where you can eat amazing local food and get cheaper beer than you would get in the hotel.
I would give the hotel overall a 7/10 because it is pretty expensive. I feel they should never ever have signed off on room 507 – in fact, it should never have been rented out at the same price as the others due to the mildew and the obstructed view.
Speaking of obstructed views, I do think doing away with the trees in front of the windows by the pools would open up more of the view from both the pool and the deck giving it a bit of an edge over the competition, which only provides outdoor pools.
Staff was very attentive and very friendly. This has not always been our experience when staying at resorts in Nepal (especially the being attentive part) so it was honestly refreshing.
The 7/10 also considers the high prices for the lousy bar food and the high costs for the drinks.