Tshongdu Boutique

We spent New Year's Eve and January 1 here with a booking for two rooms made six weeks ahead for our family of four. At arrival, the hotel first denied having any booking. After 20 minutes of arguing and showing the confirmation, they acknowledged it but said there were no rooms, blaming an open online portal and overbooking. They proposed moving us to another hotel in town. Another hour of dispute passed before they agreed to find rooms here. Our bags still hadn't been brought to reception. They gave us one room and said the second would be ready after another half hour, then suggested we squeeze into the first room with an extra mattress for the night. It was already 7 PM, and we wanted to see the local market before its 8-8:30 closing time. There were no keys in the room. Reception said a staff member or manager had taken them; when that person arrived ten minutes later, he seemed confused, then said the previous guest had taken the keys. The duplicate key was broken. We spent another half hour trying to work out how to leave our luggage in an unlocked room. They eventually gave us a second, smaller room that wasn't properly clean. The manager promised new rooms the next day. We locked up our luggage and went to the market. The next morning, as we left for Tiger's Nest, reception confirmed two new rooms would be provided. In the evening, though, they handed us only one key. After another 15 minutes arguing with the receptionist and manager about the second key, we gave up. Dinner arrived cold even though we were within dinner hours. This was our worst experience in Bhutan. Everyone else we met on the trip was hospitable, kind, and humble, while the people at Tshongdu Boutique were the opposite. I wouldn't recommend staying here. Choose somewhere else in Paro.

The location and views were a real highlight. Our spacious room looked over Paro Valley and Paro Fort, especially lovely at night when the fort was lit. There was a lift, toiletries including toothbrushes, and a handy mini fridge. It had a fan and heater but no AC, which was fine for the weather. The welcome drink, a hot flavored tea, was a nice start to our two-night stay in early September. The main trouble was power. Around midnight, it went out for hours, with interruptions in 20-minute blocks. We were the only guests, and there didn't seem to be backup power. Even the intercom was down, and no one checked in with us. The hotel seemed understaffed. The vegetarian food was disappointing too: few choices, and our request to prepare a single piece of an item we'd had the day before wasn't met. We were talking about breakfast, where other Bhutan hotels had offered around 8-9 vegetarian buffet items and juice choices. We hadn't ordered off the menu. We later had a much more flexible experience at a hotel in Phunaka, also when we were the only guests. I understand power cuts are common in Bhutan, but this one lasted several hours. After reading the hotel's response, I wanted to clarify that basic hospitality would have meant checking on us, especially with the intercom not working. We also felt the response didn't address the outage or breakfast variety. I wasn't blaming the staff for lean staffing: Mr. Sonam at reception was exceptionally helpful and courteous, always smiling. My concern was the overall hospitality, since being the only guests could have allowed more personal service. We still found the hotel comfortable and would recommend it. The room, views, and location were great, with shopping and dining nearby. There are areas to improve, especially in the off-season, when low guest numbers shouldn't mean reduced service.

The staff made me feel right at home, and the peaceful setting was a big part of a great stay. My room was clean, spacious, and beautifully decorated with Bhutanese touches. The location was perfect. I'd highly recommend Tshongdu Boutique.

Our rooms were booked in advance, but staff gave them to someone else. The food was awful and the service was even worse. This place feels very shady. I wouldn't recommend it.