Don't panic if you get put here but don't put out the bunting either (River View Hotel (Thimphu, Bhutan))

Member Name: koshkha

Product:	River View Hotel (Thimphu, Bhutan)
Date:	01/03/09 (147 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Pleasant, quiet riverside location

Disadvantages: A bit cold and impersonal with bland food

The River View is one of the best hotels in Thimphu - it must be, my guide book said so. It's not one of the most expensive though; apparently that accolade goes to the Taj Trashi which is still being built and is likely to cost about $1000 a night. Personally I think that's ridiculous and I wonder who needs that much ostentation on their holiday. Not me for sure. Actually despite being good enough for the Lonely Planet to know about it, I have to be honest and say that I don't think the hotel's as good as it thinks it is. However it's in a country where no hotel really needs to try very hard.

You can only go to Bhutan as part of an organised tour, even if the 'tour group' is just two or even only one person. All your hotels are included in your trip cost and you won't necessarily know where you are staying before you go. In theory you could specify that you wanted to stay in a particular hotel but in practice, you won't necessarily get what you ask for, even if you've got a confirmed booking. It's also not easy to get any information about the hotels even if you wanted to. So my attitude was simple; leave it to the tour company and take what you get.

~Location~
The River View sits on the south bank of the river which runs through the city and it overlooks the city of Thimphu. We had arrived after dark and could see the lights of the city from our bedroom window but we didn't really have a sense of what to expect in daylight.

~First Impressions~
When we arrived our guide ordered coffee and tea for us in the lobby whilst porters brought our bags in. The lobby was quite large with attractive art-deco style sofas and coffee tables. There was a small gift shop selling over-priced arts and crafts at one end of the lobby with the bar and restaurant at the other end. Our room was up two flights of stairs which wasn't a lot but we'd just climbed to the Thaktshang Monastery earlier that day and my legs were screaming in pain dealing with just those few stairs.

~Our Room~
Our room was number 209 and was pleasant and was probably the best furnished and decorated of the four rooms we had during our time in Bhutan but despite that, I didn't really like the place very much. There were two single beds (don't book Bhutan for a honeymoon, I don't think they've heard of double beds) with a small side table between, a coffee table with two arm chairs next to the windows, a desk with a chair, a television, a wardrobe and a suitcase stand. The floors were attractive solid wood and all the furnishings were of a good standard and the decoration was of pleasantly understated with smooth walls and a ceiling with recessed lighting. The TV had a range of international channels and there was a kettle and a water flask. The bathroom was a bit grey and grim with lots of cold grey marble. The sink had a good sized vanity unit and the shower was over the bath with a small water boiler in the bathroom.

~Our Other Room~
On our return later in the week we had another room which was a few doors down from the original and was considerably smaller. I couldn't figure out how the room had shrunk since from the corridor outside it looked like the distance between the rooms was the same. In this smaller room everything was squeezed in a bit too tight and the bathroom was very small with no space around the sink to put any of your toiletries. We also didn't have a kettle in the second room which was a shame as I'd managed to 'score' a bunch of Lemsip sachets for my rapidly worsening cold and had counted on being able to get hot water.

One evening our guide had asked the hotel to send up some ice for my knees and a porter bought up a rather pretty ice bucket filled with ice cubes. I'm sure he had in mind that it was for a bottle of wine rather than my ropey old joints.

~Look at the view - try not to look at the buffet~
The restaurant at the River View has spectacular views over the city but the food was awful. We wanted to give our guide and driver the evening off as both lived near enough to go home to their families for the night so it made sense to eat in the hotel. However on our second night we just couldn't face going back for another dreary meal and so we booked an early restaurant appointment so we could get away.

There wasn't anything I could put my finger on in terms of poor quality or bad taste, it was just that the selection of food on the buffet was really uninteresting. I don't eat meat so my only option was one dull vegetable dish, some rice and some Indian-style flat bread. To be fair, the bread was great but you can't make a meal out of bread. The beers were horribly over-priced and the service was impersonal. Breakfast was slightly less awful but still very uninteresting.

~What about that view?~
On our first morning the sun came up (as it does!) and we could see the biggest benefit of the River View - the fabulous views over the city. All of the rooms face the city and all have a little terrace or balcony outside the windows. Across the river we could see the Changlimithang Stadium which plays host to most of Bhutan's important sports events and has the country's only proper football pitch. On our return visit at the end of the week we watched people preparing for the Coronation celebrations for the new king which were due to take place about 10 days later. Beyond the stadium we could see the golden spire of the National Memorial Chorten and the grid-like layout of the city in which there are no high-rise buildings.

~Recommendation~
There's nothing wrong with the River View. The rooms are well furnished, the staff nice enough and the views are great but there's something just a bit soul-less about the place. Of our three hotels in Bhutan, this was the one I find it most difficult to be excited about.

Summary: Never mind the food, take a look at the view