I have stayed at the Excelsior Hotel on my annual trips to Nepal for many years. The staff are friendly and welcoming. I wouldn't consider staying anywhere else.
And don't miss the jewelry shop in the foyer - beautiful unique pieces.

You can find hotels of great quality in Kathmandu, but what really matter is the treatment you receive in this hotel . It is situated in the centre of thamel, the bustling part of kathmandu. The hotel is very clean and the price is very reasonable. If you like shopping or like to go out for dinner, there is no better place to stay than this hotel. Every year I go to Kathmandu for business purpose, I go straight to this hotel. The reason is very simple. I feel at home.
I I can only recommend you, but check it yourself.

My wife and I travel to Nepal yearly and have stayed at the Excelsior Hotel for many years. It is in the heart of THAMEL but off the main streets so it's handy but not crazy.
Great food at the hotel restaurant and wonderful rooftop garden.
Rooms are very good; the staff warm and welcoming. The owner and his wife are charming, wonderful people; it is a pleasure to know them.
We will stay here again - and again.

Single female (33 yrs old) stayed at Excelsior in October for 2 nights before trek in Bhutan and 2 nights upon return.
I liked the following about the hotel:
I found the hotel conveniently located in crazy Thamel:
- Located off the main street of Thamel, in a quite alley (yet not a scary one)
- Relatively quite at night (shops open between 6 and 7 in the morning and that creates a lot of noise due to steel roller doors being pulled). Partying does happen, so having an ear plugs is a good idea just in case.
- Large food / toiletries supermarket around the corner (1 lt bottle of water c. 10 Rp ~ 13 cents).
- All good shops like authentic North Face, Marmott etc very close.
- Hotel room was very clean, with balcony, high ceilings, bed linen very clean and beds were very firm (i liked it). TV in the room shows lots on channels (even Russian NTV).
- Bathroom in the room was clean, good hot water pressure, good drainage in the shower (very important); but overall it is an average bathroom - don't expect luxury or modern stuff.
- Restaurant area is on the ground floor next to reception - quite nice and clean, good breakfast (c. 280 Rp for a large farmer’s breakfast with bacon, potato, eggs etc). Clean. You can also have dinners and lunches there - apparently the kitchen works all day from 6am. NB: all prices have a surcharge of 10% + 13% - in total c. 23% on all food, hotel rooms etc.
- hotel provides free airport pickup - which i found of great help because once you see Thamel for the first time - you will think you will never ever find your way around.
- Hotel also changes currency on the spot (all currencies in fact incl HKD, USD, AUD etc).

The taxi from hotel to airport cost around 400 Rp at night and 300 Rp during the day / morning.
We negotiated a taxi for a full day to go to Bhaktapur (~16 km away) and Monkey Temple (inner city) for 2,000 Rp = c. $25; next day we also took a one way taxi to Patan for 300 Rp (the same back). Taxi to Pashupatinath Temple (cremation site by the river in Kathmandu inner city) was around 200 Rp one way. I also took a rickshaw from hotel to Kathmandu Durbar Square for 100 Rp one way.
It makes sense to plan your day program and get a full day taxi if you are short on time.

One of the bext restaurants we had a few lunches and dinners was Everest Steak House in Thamel (Google it before you go / or ask your hotel in Kathmandu). Great steaks - huge portions (1 is enough for 2 people), great quality meat, very tasty, relatively clean - they mention on a menu that they use iodine to sterilise dishes and cutleries (nice touch!). Steak with French fries and salad cost around 650 - 750 Rp i.e. just under $10. Everest beer was quite light, but completed the picture.

Shopping in Thamel is fun...but be careful if you prise yourself on having a good taste and think you found a really great quality stuff for which you are prepared to pay. You may be disappointed, when you find out that another shop sells the same thing for 3,000 Rp and you just paid 9,000 Rp. For the cheap things it does not matter cause majority of souvenirs are relatively cheap, but if you are on a hunt for a good quality pushmina, cashmere, jewellery (God forbid to buy that in Thamel unless you have a recommendation), make sure you check all (and I mean it), all shops in Thamel before you agree to pay the price which the shop owners asks you to pay. And never tell you price first - always wait for them to tell you their asking price...it is not as easy as it sounds - you may spend hours bargaining and still won't know what's the asking price. I was caught like that once - used my western mentality, compared the price to prices at home country and thought that the deal was not bad. I found a great looking pashmina, the best I have seen in all Thamel and paid $100 for it. I shopped for 2 more days for other stuff, and suddenly saw the same pashmina (in only one other shop in all Thamel) and the price was $40.0. What can you do - just learn.

Be very careful with jewelleries - my friend told me her story when she almost bought a string of pearls (black pearls), agreed on a price and put them on her neck to have a look. When she asked her friend to take the pearls off, she noticed that the skin on the neck had a residue of colour - the black pearls were coloured (not real at all). Very lucky :)

I found the trekking gear in abundance; however for the essential stuff like your socks, boots and rucksack, I’d stick to good brands in home country. Most of the backpacks are fine, but their stripes are not worth the price – they are almost impossible to adjust with a single pull (you need both hands etc). Trekking pants are all regular length i.e. they don’t stock a short version – none of the waterproof pants will suit as the models they stock are not adjustable at the bottom.

At the authentic North Face Shop they have quite a range of stuff, however the prices are not better than US online sites and just slightly cheaper in Australia.

Weather in Kathmandu between 7th and 22nd October was hot during the day - close to 30C - 32C. In the evening though it gets a bit cool - so a scarf or a light sweater will help.

Liquid hand sanitiser and a toilet paper (none in the toilets) is a must.