January 23: Most of the five-star hotels currently operating in Kathmandu Valley are within the ring road. Recently, a five-star hotel named Budhanilkantha Heritage has been brought into operation outside the ring road with investment from an Indian hospitality chain brand.
Budhanilkantha Heritage Limited has started operating the hotel in collaboration with India's hospitality chain brand 'Lemon Tree Premier'. The 'soft launch' of the hotel was held on January 15. Babukaji Karki, the managing director of the hotel, informed that the hotel will be fully operational within a month.
He said that the operation of the hotel was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the cost has also increased. During this period, the cost increased by Rs 100 million and the total cost reached Rs 2.5 billion rupees. Karki says that the Indian brand 'Lemon Tree Premier' has entered Nepal for the first time.
"The hotel is at a distance of 5 km from Maharajganj (ring road) in Kathmandu. Most of the views of the Kathmandu Valley can be observed from the hotel rooms," said Karki.
The hotel operators say that they aim to provide international level hospitality services at nearby locations outside the ring road targeting the guests from Kathmandu who prefer Godavari, Nagarkot and Dhulikhel as their favourite getaway from the busy life of the capital.
"Our target customers are domestic. But since Lemon Tree Premier manages more than 120 hotels around the world, foreign tourists also come through this chain," added Karki.
The hotel also plans to offer casino facility. Karki informed that the company has already purchased the land for casino and the service will be started soon. He said that the hotel will also have a health club, spa, seminar hall, banquet, restaurant and wedding ceremony venue. The company has submitted an application to the Department of Tourism for classification as a five-star hotel. The hotel has 102 rooms and 190 beds in 12.5 ropanis of land. There are 57 twin rooms, 33 king rooms, 6 junior suites, 4 business suites and 2 presidential rooms.
