Hotel Durbar Side — Hotel in Bhaktapur Municipality

This hotel is magnificent. Don’t let the review numbers prevent you from booking this place. This is my second time in Nepal in a decade and by far it’s the warmest, nicest, most beautiful and cozy place I’ve stayed in Nepal for my time here. After a strenuous 10 day Base camp hike following up with a 17 hour bus ride to Bhaktapur from Pokhara we decided to check in at this random hotel in the middle of Bhaktapur square and it was the best decision we’ve ever in our travel journey so far.

Sulav who owns the hotel has to be one of the nicest people I’ve met in Nepal. We came into the hotel with practically a broken ankle/knee. We had used up all our clean clothes for the Annapurna Trek, we had been stressed for about 3 weeks in Nepal due to the hike being a long one plus being in downtown Thamel and in downtown Pokhara. The calm energy of Bhaktapur and the location Sulavs hotel plus the genuine hospitality of every single person who runs this hotel has blown our minds.

The hotel has been open for a month now but from the professionalism and kind/generous acts of service it seems like they have been running this hotel for over a decade. As someone who’s worked in the hospitality industry for over a decade it’s easy to spot out who’s doing it for money and who genuinely has an interest for hospitality and Sulav and his family are putting other hotels to shame because of their generosity and kindness.

The room to begin with is one of the nicest rooms I’ve stayed in PERIOD. It had a wrap around balcony. Everything was perfectly planted in the room. From the bed facing the views to the balcony door to the easy access to the rooftop.

The hotel location is 100/10. It’s just so beautiful that you are in the middle of the square. You can walk out in the early morning or walk out late at night and feel like you are a part of the community here in Bhaktapur.

We were able to do all our laundry which is like finding water in a dessert when you’re on a ten month travel journey. Not only that but Sulav even recommended me a chiropractor for my injured knee and ankle. They cooked us breakfast every morning. They even asked us if we would be having dinner at the hotel in case we were hungry. Sulav personally showed us Bhaktapur and took us to sightseeing views of this beautiful panoramic mountain wrapped city. He offered us his own scooty. Every single person in this hotel was so nice we truly didn’t feel like it was a hotel. It felt like a very high end luxurious homestay. The attention to detail was at a level of the St. Regis hotel if not better.

I don’t usually write reviews but for this place i had to. Sulav and his team and his family deserve their flowers for keeping real hospitality alive. It’s not everyday you get treated like family outside of your own country. I know nepalis are kind people but Sulav and his family is beyond that.

If you’re reading this and made it this far I highly recommend you book your stay here. we originally only booked it for two days but we extended our stay by like 5 more. Don’t let the review counts prevent you from booking it. The place is lovely, the people here are beautiful and the food and the rooftop view plus warm hospitality is to die for.

Thank you Sulav and his team/family at Hotel Durbar side for making our stay here in Bhaktapur, Nepal absolutely beautiful, easy and memorable. We will be...

A Home Away From Home ❤️

I stayed at this beautiful hotel Darbarside in Nepal for 40 days and honestly, it felt less like a hotel and more like a second home. Everything about it is just wow — the peaceful location, the calming vibe and most importantly, the amazing people who make this place truly special. The hotel owner is such a lovely soul — always present, always kind and ready to help with even the tiniest concerns. It’s rare to meet someone who genuinely treats guests like family and that made all the difference for me. He not only made sure our stay was smooth, but also went out of his way to organize city tours based on our interests, showing us hidden gems around Kathmandu with genuine enthusiasm.

The rooms are spacious, clean and incredibly cozy — perfect for long stays or even a relaxing short getaway.

The food deserves a special mention — homemade, fresh and customized to our tastes. Breakfast and dinner felt more like home-cooked meals than hotel food.

If you're planning a trip to Bhaktapur or anywhere nearby, I wholeheartedly recommend Darbarside. Whether you're here for a weekend or a month, this place will give you comfort, peace and memories you’ll carry with you. Already missing it and I know...

We stayed there 3 nights. It's not perfect but for the price 2500 Nepali rupees, it's worth. I wanted a twin room with AC but there's no rooms like that on booking websites, so I called them directly. Recommend you do the same, on WhatsApp or coz we'll get a nepali number anyway, it is cheaper. They flexibly gave us a family room with AC and very good hot water shower, which is not obvious in Nepal. View to mountain is relaxing and breakfast everyday is included. Staffs are all nice and we love them. What we didn't like was that it's very hard to lock the door properly, and when it is, it's hard to open ourselves. One more thing is the noise from other rooms, but it seems like common problems in all...