Hotel Swiss Family Home — Hotel in Dakshinkali Municipality

Sitting on a steep hillside just below Pharping, this place is a mixture of hotel and family stay. Our room was in the newer building with a large balcony facing towards Kathmandu and spectacular view. The room was clean, very spacious, with a double bed, small kitchenette (gas stove with kettle, sink, fridge) and a wood oven for heating and ceiling fan but no AC (we needed neither). Windows had moskito nets.

Breakfast and dinner was served in the family home kitchen and dining room with a large cozy fireplace. This makes it a personal experience as you meet the very nice and friendly people that run the hotel and also other guests. Food was good and plenty.

It’s located in a residential neighborhood of small houses, the narrow side street does not reach all the way to the hotel so cars cannot drive there, you will have to walk for the last 150 meters from the monastery. But if you call them they will come and kindly help you with your luggage - this was very welcome also due to 3 flights of stairs to our room. There is also a smaller footpath into town which is a bit shorter if you want to avoid the traffic on the road. The side street has streetlights at night but the footpath does not. From the upper floors of the building you can watch the neighbors daily lives. Dogs bark at night, same as in Kathmandu.

Pharping is a bit quieter than the busy valley and the air is cooler and certainly fresher, though sometimes people in the area seem to burn trash. The access road up here had quite some landslide leftovers, not sure if this was normal or not. It may be that when you come here during the rainy season your travel plans may be impacted by such events. Otherwise it’s fine.

Overall a pleasant and very personal stay and I would choose it again when...

My wife and I had a wonderful four week stay here recently. The best part of it was the warm hospitality provided by Stefan, Pasang, and the young five person staff. We were part of a group that was studying at a nearby monastery. That group filled the whole house. Swiss Family served us all three excellent meals a day, a mixture of Nepali and western cuisine. This was quite a demanding schedule but the food was very rarely late. Service was good across the board.

Because the house was full my wife and I were in a smaller room that usually is not rented that had been the bedroom of Stefan's teenage daughter, with decor to match and no views. We got a break on cost, so it's not affecting the rating.

In short, it was a wonderful place to stay while on this retreat. We would be happy to stay...

Since 2016 Hotel Swiss Family Home has been my Nepalese base. The house offers 4 authentic apartments, plus 1 room in the owners private area on ground floor. Stephan and the most friendly hostess of the home, Pasang, are doing their best to make guests feel comfortable and happy! A minus is that one has to "climb" steep stairs to the apartments! Swiss Family Home is situated on the outskirts of Pharping village. Until 2018 the home was surrounded by mostly farm land and rice fields, but now construction of small houses and roads is rapidly transforming the once so peaceful atmosphere. Still though, the view from the top floors is open and the birds cheerfully welcome the new day, and I will probably...