Le Meridien has two properties in Bhutan, which is pretty cool. Bhutan is a country that has a lot of independent hotels, and then also a lot of super high end luxury hotels (like Amans), which run $1,000+ per night. So it’s great to have a mid-range option where you can redeem points. There aren’t really any other mid-range chain hotels in the country where you can redeem points, which is why I was excited to review these hotels.
With five nights in Bhutan, we split our time between the two Le Meridien properties — we spent the first three nights at Le Meridien Thimphu, and then the next two nights at Le Meridien Paro. The order and number of nights we stayed was entirely dictated by availability. The Paro property was sold out for the first three nights, which is why we did the first three nights in Thimphu.
At the time I booked, both of these hotels were Category 5 SPG properties, and both had Cash & Points available, so the cost was $110 plus 6,000 Starpoints per night. Both hotels had cash rates of $400+ including tax and service charge, so I considered that to be a good deal.
Both of these hotels were recently lowered to Category 4, so they can now be booked for 5,000 Starpoints plus $75 per night, which is an incredible deal. Being able to redeem points in Bhutan — especially at such a reasonable cost — is awesome, given how expensive the country is otherwise.
In the next two installments I’ll talk about the two hotels, and then I’ll separately discuss what we did in Thimphu, Paro, and the rest of the country.
When we arrived in Paro our guide and driver picked us up, and after making a few stops we drove to Thimphu, which is about an hour from Paro.
Most of the buildings in Bhutan have a similar design, which I love, and even the Le Meridien had that design, which I thought was cool.
Le Meridien Thimphu exterior
Le Meridien Thimphu driveway
The Le Meridien has a beautiful lobby, with plenty of seating, including couches, communal tables, etc.
Le Meridien Thimphu lobby
Le Meridien Thimphu lobby
Le Meridien Thimphu lobby
Reception was located inside the lobby and straight ahead.
Le Meridien Thimphu reception
The check-in process was efficient. I was informed that as an SPG Platinum member I had been upgraded to a junior suite. Furthermore, this hotel offers free breakfast and happy hour for Platinum members, without even having to choose breakfast as the Platinum welcome amenity.
We were escorted up to the fourth (top) floor of the hotel, where our room was located. Once out of the elevators we turned right, and our room was the first one on the right.
Le Meridien Thimphu hallway
Even though we were “just” in a junior suite, it was actually a named suite. Still, for Platinum upgrade purposes, this is considered a “standard” suite.
Le Meridien Thimphu room exterior
Le Meridien Thimphu room floorplan
When I hear “junior suite” I generally think of a single room with a small living area. However, the junior suites at this hotel are in fact full suites, as they feature a separate living room and bedroom.
The room had a large living room with a dining table for four, a high-top table with some stools, a couch facing a TV, and a desk.
Le Meridien Thimphu junior suite living room
Le Meridien Thimphu junior suite living room
Le Meridien Thimphu junior suite dining table
The couch was comfy, as was the lime green chair next to it.
Le Meridien Thimphu junior suite living room
The desk in the living room was comfortable, and had a proper office chair. There were conveniently placed outlets, and the TV was right next to the desk.
Le Meridien Thimphu junior suite desk & TV
The minibar area was back near the entrance, by the high-top table.
Le Meridien Thimphu junior suite sitting area
There was a coffee machine, kettle, lots of bottled water, and a full minibar.
Le Meridien Thimphu junior suite coffee machine & minibar
Le Meridien Thimphu junior suite minibar
Right by the entrance was a small half bathroom.
Le Meridien Thimphu junior suite guest bathroom
Le Meridien Thimphu junior suite guest bathroom
There was a door separating the living room from the bedroom. The bedroom had a comfortable king size bed, as well as a chair with ottoman.
Le Meridien Thimphu junior suite bedroom
Le Meridien Thimphu junior suite bedroom sitting area
There was a TV on a console on the opposite side of the room, along with a bench.
Le Meridien Thimphu junior suite bedroom
The master bathroom was off the bedroom, and featured double sinks, a tub, a walk-in shower, and a toilet.
Le Meridien Thimphu junior suite master bathroom
Le Meridien Thimphu junior suite bathtub
Le Meridien Thimphu junior suite toilet
Le Meridien Thimphu junior suite double sinks
It was a well designed bathroom, with Le Meridien brand standard toiletries.
Both rooms faced the city of Thimphu, as well as the mountains in the background.
Le Meridien Thimphu junior suite view
There was a fruit plate as a welcome amenity.
Le Meridien Thimphu fruit plate
They also loved using towel art at this hotel, which was all over the room, and then they added more at turndown service every night. I almost felt like I was on a cruise ship (for better or worse).
Le Meridien Thimphu towel art
Wifi in the room was fast, and we were grateful to have a suite, given the odd hours I work.
My one minor complaint was the room’s design. Don’t get me wrong, I thought the room was beautiful and brand standard for Le Meridien, but I wish they had incorporated more local elements into the room. Bhutan is such a stunning country with a unique design, while this could have been a room in any city in the world.
Just down the hall from our room was a club lounge. However, the hotel doesn’t seem to actually use it. They built it, but don’t do anything with it. I got the sense that they don’t get a lot of SPG members here, but rather get a lot of guests who book tour packages. Furthermore, Bhutan isn’t exactly a business market. I wonder if they’ll ever do anything with this space.
Le Meridien Thimphu club lounge
Le Meridien Thimphu club lounge
As Platinum members we received complimentary breakfast in Latest Recipe every morning. The restaurant serves breakfast daily until 10:30AM.
Le Meridien Thimphu Latest Recipe
Le Meridien Thimphu Latest Recipe
The breakfast selection was excellent — I’ll let the pictures mostly speak for themselves.
Le Meridien Thimphu Latest Recipe breakfast buffet
Le Meridien Thimphu Latest Recipe breakfast buffet
Le Meridien Thimphu Latest Recipe breakfast buffet
Le Meridien Thimphu Latest Recipe breakfast buffet
Le Meridien Thimphu Latest Recipe breakfast buffet
Le Meridien Thimphu Latest Recipe breakfast buffet
Le Meridien Thimphu Latest Recipe breakfast buffet
Le Meridien Thimphu Latest Recipe breakfast buffet
Le Meridien Thimphu Latest Recipe breakfast buffet
Le Meridien Thimphu Latest Recipe breakfast buffet
In addition to the buffet you could order eggs, pancakes, etc. One morning I had an omelet, which was tasty.
Le Meridien Thimphu Latest Recipe omelet
Another morning I had the buckwheat pancakes, which were also good.
Le Meridien Thimphu Latest Recipe pancakes
The restaurant also had great freshly squeezed juices.
Le Meridien Thimphu Latest Recipe freshly squeezed juice
Service in the restaurant was phenomenal. Everyone working there was friendly, and they remembered our drink order after the first morning, which I always appreciate. In fairness, breakfast was never anywhere close to full (we were among the only ones there).
This hotel is generous in that they have a complimentary happy hour for Platinum members, nightly from 6PM until 8PM. It’s available in Latitude 27, the hotel’s bar and coffeeshop.
Le Meridien Thimphu Latitude 27
As a Platinum member you could order off the following menu:
This includes being able to order cocktails, and also food.
Le Meridien Thimphu Latitude 27 happy hour
Le Meridien Thimphu Latitude 27 happy hour
In terms of food, the highlight of the hotel was Sese Shamu, the hotel’s Southeast Asian restaurant. It was so good that we had lunch there two days.
Le Meridien Thimphu Sese Shamu restaurant
Part of their menu read as follows:
I had their traditional Bhutanese tasting menu twice, which was so good. Seriously, this was the best food I had the whole trip.
Le Meridien Thimphu Sese Shamu lunch
Le Meridien Thimphu Sese Shamu lunch
Le Meridien Thimphu Sese Shamu lunch
In terms of other features, the hotel also has a pool, spa, and gym. The indoor pool is pretty nice and just off the lobby, though we didn’t use it.
Le Meridien Thimphu pool
Le Meridien Thimphu pool
The gym was one level above the pool, and featured a nice variety of equipment.
Le Meridien Thimphu gym
Le Meridien Thimphu gym
Initially we intended to spend very little time in the hotel, though the night we arrived there was a huge snowstorm. This was the first snow that Bhutan had received all year, and the first day of snow is apparently a holiday in the country. It snowed like crazy for nearly two days.
This greatly limited what we could do, since many places were closed, road conditions were bad, I didn’t bring shoes for hiking in snow, etc. So we ended up spending a bit more time in the hotel that we were expecting to.
Le Meridien Thimphu junior suite view
Thimphu is the biggest city in Bhutan, and it’s a great jumping off point for visiting temples, hiking, etc. It’s also a pretty nifty town, much cooler than Paro, in my opinion.
Le Meridien Thimphu bottom line
The Le Meridien Thimphu is a fantastic option for any points enthusiast visiting Bhutan. I’ll be writing more about our actual time in Bhutan in a future installment, but Paro and Thimphu are two of the best bases from which to explore.
The Le Meridien was a beautiful hotel with top notch staff — everyone we interacted with was friendly (come and think of it, that was true for the country as a whole). The Platinum recognition at this hotel is great as well, between the suite upgrade, breakfast, and free happy hour.
However, I do wish the hotel did a better job of integrating local design. This feels like a generic Le Meridien property. While I don’t love that part of it, this is still an awesome option to have. As I said above, Bhutan has either super high end 5-star properties, or local properties that are mostly 3-stars or so (at least that’s my understanding). There’s not that much in the middle, so having a great points option is useful.
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