Full disclosure, we didn’t stay at the hotel, but did stop at the restaurant for some authentic Nepalese cuisine and it was the best we had in the whole country.
Definitely try the Gyakok hot pot dish. It was more food than we needed for two people, but so good we couldn’t stop eating!
The Hotel Utse is a great place to stay, especially before and after a long and hard trek. Hot shower, comfortable bed, quiet, clean, secure and excellent services. They made me feel more like a family guest than a hotel guest. I had eight days of comfort and relaxation in what I consider a Tibetan/Nepal home-away-from-home.
We did not like the cramped, sterile hotel we had originally booked online in Thamel and looked at 5 places before finding Utse.
The staff was incredibly helpful and patient in accommodating our picky room demands and found us bright, cheerful rooms at competitive room rates.
The breakfast was ample and tasty, the lobby area a convivial space for meeting our Nepalese friends, and wifi was reliable and fast. The hotel provided free secure space for our large bags during our 17-day Three Passes trek. Showers were a bit idiosyncratic, but ultimately provided nice warm flow of water.
Utse was hosting large youth groups during both our stays which may not be appealing to some guests, but added to energetic atmosphere of hotel.
Location is convenient in central Thamel though chaotic traffic right outside hotel is tiresome (pedestrian only zone is about 100 meters away).
All in all I found Hotel Utse a great choice for adventure travelers to Kathmandu.
This hotel is welcoming, friendly and well run and provides a tranquil place to stay in busy Thamel district. The food is good and rooms are clean, so it is the perfect base for trekking. The staff are incredibly helpful, it's possible to leave things in storage while you are away trekking. They will organise airport transfers for you too. The only downside is that it can be quite noisy in the rooms nearest the street.
We visited the restaurant twice last september while being in Katmandu. We were very satisfied. The place was very clean and quiet. The staf was attetive to our requests and the food was very good. We recomend.
