Dusit Princess Kathmandu

Approach

107 Rooms. Kathmandu Valley. One question: How do you make a contemporary hotel that honors the place it sits in?

We worked directly with Newar carvers, brass-casters, and traditional masons — not importing a style, but discovering what local craft could say in a modern context. Guest rooms are intimate: wool, walnut, hand-loomed cotton, low light. Public spaces echo old Newar courtyards, opened up and made quietly functional. The kitchen was completely rethought for altitude and monsoon seasonality. Beneath it all runs a single organising idea — the Five Dhyani Buddhas. Each part of the hotel is given a Buddha, an element, and a meaning: the lobby glows Amitabha red, for life and preservation; the dining rooms turn Amoghasiddhi green, for balance and harmony; the wellness and event spaces take Akshobhya blue, for purity and healing. The plan, in effect, is a mandala — guest journeys traced through colour and intention rather than corridors alone. The result isn't a hotel about Nepal. It's a hotel of Nepal. And it works — for guests seeking calm, for staff moving through service, for the building itself across the valley's changing seasons. Recognition: LIV Hospitality Design Awards 2023 — Honorable Mention, Interior Design; recognised as Best Interior Design in Nepal. Press: Featured in The Annapurna Express for its blend of Nepali, Asian and Thai design.