We picked Hotel Shanker as it is relatively near to the main shopping areas of Durbar Marg and Thamel. Hotel Shanker also came with relatively high scores on Tripadvisor. The Shanker Suite was huge, with a king sized bed and a living room area to lounge.

However, it was a far cry from our great quality stay at Dwarika.

Firstly, the staff are not as friendly as other hotels we stayed in Nepal such as Dwarikas in Kathmandu or Waterfront Resort in Pokhara. In fact, some of them do not even say “hi” or “Namaste” when they walk past us. Also, the electricity went off a few times every night in Hotel Shanker, taking a while to restart each time it starts. The reception of the TV is also bad, resulting in very pixilated images. The bath tub floor was also slightly dirty and even the hanging line has some rusty orange gooey stuff on them. Except for the large room, I didn’t feel like we got a very good value for the stay.

One saving grace was that Shanker Hotel has an affiliation with Tranquilly Spa which had really good massage. It is 5-10 minutes walk from Shanker Hotel but provided great relief for our aching bodies after the epic trek.

For the entire Nepal Travel Review series by EatPrayFlying, please refer to the list below:

• Nepal– Kathmandu City Tour
• Nepal – Kathmandu Hotel – Dwarika Hotel
• Nepal – Kathmandu Hotel – Shanker Hotel

• Nepal – Pokhara City Tour
• Nepal – Pokhara Hotel – Templetree Resort & Spa
• Nepal – Pokhara Hotel – Waterfront Resort

• Nepal – Poon Hill Trek 1 (Thikedunga)
• Nepal – Poon Hill Trek 2 (Ghorepani, Poon Hill)
• Nepal – Poon Hill Trek 3 (Tadapani, Grandruk)