Le Méridien Thimphu

Le Meridien Thimphu has the price tag of luxury, the service of luxury, but the brand is only mid level. The hotel is small (78 rooms), so they are definitely able to provide luxury level of service. There are not many hotel chains in Bhutan so I would normally be lenient; Hyatt, Accor and Hilton have nothing at all, and Marriott only has 2; strangely they are both same brand, LM. Anyway in the end, I didn’t need to be lenient because the hotel was thoroughly excellent. By scanning the calendar the LM in Thimphu is about 600-800 USD per night pretty much year-round, but if booking a stay of 5+ nights the rate can come down to a more attractive 300 USD per night so this is what I did. They are in effect making it something close to “buy 2 get 5”, making a split stay between the two LMs in Bhutan onerous if both stays are too short – it’s better to book a longer stay at only one of them. I do not think they get many Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador Elites here, and even less so, very young children (because of the nature of the destination). Staff were so friendly and happy to have children as rare guests, the service was better than the vast majority of our luxury hotel stays anywhere in the world. It was like having numerous babysitters available during breakfast or happy hour whenever we needed, many staff offering to entertain children, either taking them to front desk (even in the back office area) or walking our youngest daughter in the stroller to make her fall asleep. In other countries I might be mildly worried about losing sight of her, but not in Bhutan. The executive chef offered to cook us anything we wanted. We saw fish in spicy sauce in the breakfast buffet, we asked if children could have plain fish (no sauce) – no problem, they provided every morning. For happy hour the menu was not very suitable for children so we asked for plain chicken noodle soup (not spicy) – no problem, they were happy to oblige once again. Happy hour was 6-8pm but we were told we could come at 9pm or 5pm if we wanted and it would be fine, whatever was convenient for us. They frequently went off script to please at every step of the way. The hotel originally built a lounge on the top floor but it is not really being used, guests can use the space for meetings but it was otherwise empty. Happy hour was rather served in the bar so I was happy with that. It was very quiet every day, max 2-3 other guests in there. Sometimes we are alone, which almost made it a private happy hour and lounge. Drinks were good, happy hour food menu was limited but at least it was a la carte so hard to complain. We were upgraded to top level royal suite 132 square meters. Such an upgrade for a long stay was great, unlike quick 1-night stays in premium suites where we might not have much time to enjoy. Overall we loved our stay at LM and we will return when our children are older to partake in other kinds of activities that Bhutan has to offer for example hiking.

We enjoyed Le Meridien Thimphu. While we prefer smaller, heritage properties, Le Meridien is ideally located in Thimphu and superbly modern and clean and comfortable. It has a good restaurant and an outstanding staff that caters to your every need. Check-in was most pleasant. We were seated in the lobby while the reception team took the passports and completed the formalities. We were then escorted to our room, a spacious deluxe room on the second floor. It had a huge comfortable bed, three good chairs with a desk, and a great oversized bathroom with both tub and separate shower. My only complaint about the shower was that the shower head is awfully low and you have to bend over to wash your hair. The towels were sumptuous. Like many high-end Asian hotels, the bathroom has a picture window that opens onto the bedroom. You can watch TV from the tub! We opted to close the shade to give the person in the bathroom more privacy. We had tea once, dinner twice and breakfast twice in the dining room during our stay. The food was good and varied. The first night there was a good buffet dinner. The second night, with fewer guests, was a la carte. Be sure to try the national dish, Ema Datshi, melted cheese with chilies. Yummy. In particular we would like to cite the stellar service by Tshering and Deki in the dining room. Both were charming, efficient and helpful. As the hotel wasn’t very full, they had time to talk to us about Bhutan and what to see and do. Both were shining examples of the Bhutanese education system, speaking nearly flawless English. But more important, their charming smiles and caring attitude ingratiated us to the people of Bhutan. I’m confident you can find a cheaper hotel in Thimphu that will serve you well. But you won’t find more caring service. A truly wonderful stay.

I had a wonderful and memorable stay at Le Méridien Thimphu, thanks to the exceptional service provided by the staff. On my first night, I experienced severe high-altitude sickness, but Kezang Bida from the front office went above and beyond to assist me in every possible way to help me feel better. During our time at the Club Lounge, we were also very impressed with the warm and attentive service from Jigme Namgyel. Their care and hospitality truly made our stay special. Highly recommended!

Received two massages at their spa. Both were excellent! Teneli and Yeshi were both fantastic and took away the aches of hiking the Dragon’s Nest. The 60 minute massages were not long enough. Definitely book the longer 90 minute and do the steam bath afterwards.

What can I say? This le meridien in thimpu had thought of everything in the room, the food in the restaurant was amazing and the service was out of this world! The staff - Deki Yangden, Rem Kumari Bhujel, Sital Suberi to mention a few were amazing. The chef had amazing breakfast and was also able to accommodate any dish not on the menu. I would certainly stay there again!

The hotel has an amazing location in the city center. The buffet breakfast very good and the lounge food and beverages were a delight for us. Room was spacious and with mountain view. Great atmosphere and fabulous associates welcomed us. Many thanks to Ngawang Choden, front desk manager, for the beautiful gift she presented to me. Also thanks to Karma Choki and all the associates that made our nights specially unforgettable: the chef Serven and Mon Maya, Acharja, Amrita Rai and Kezang Bida who exceeded our expectations with their love and kindness.