The Zhiwa Ling Hotel is probably one of the best hotels I’ve ever stayed in anywhere in the world and if you’re looking for a hotel in Paro to stay, don’t look any further than here.
I stayed 3 nights at the Zhiwa Ling Hotel and this is really something different from your usual 5 star resort, and in a good way. Lovely grounds, good location out of the town and close to Tiger’s Nest (10 mins drive) and nice views up and down the valley. Rooms are huge with a large balcony, service is good, food was a bit of a mixture but I’m a bit fussy when it comes to eating so will give them a pass for that and you can’t expect too much in Bhutan anyway.
The best thing about Zhiwa Ling Hotel is it seemed like I had the hotel to myself and it’s very private, although that may change during high season. I ate 2 dinners here and didn’t see a single soul at either sitting and barely saw a single sole my entire visit. I think in total, during the 3 nights, I might have seen about 10 people total, which is absolute heaven for an antisocial twat like me!
The staff at Zhiwa Ling Hotel were excellent, not Oriental Mandarin fabulous, but friendly, and tried their best. Took them about a minute to check me in and the same to check me out, none of this sitting down and pissing about with a welcome wet towel and drink, just checked me in and out and away I went.
The grounds at Zhiwa Ling Hotel are lovely, you can have a walk around and the buildings are beautiful. I could have easily stayed here for a few weeks and been very happy. It’s about a 10 minute drive from Paro town, I walked back one day and walked through a little village on the way and took some photos along the way. Probably wouldn’t want to walk back all the time, but do it at least once and get amongst the locals, who are more than happy to have a chat and laugh with you.
If you think you’re better off staying nearer to Paro town, then stay at the Le Meridien, the Zhiwa Ling Hotel is not the top rated hotel in Paro on any of the Bhutan travel sites, but when you have the hotel pretty much to yourself, it’s tops in my books. The food was not the greatest but I wouldn’t expect it to be any better elsewhere, that’s more a Bhutan thing than individual hotel. Other than that, I guarantee you won’t be disappointed staying here and when I go back to Bhutan, I’ll definitely be staying here again.
See our Bhutan Destination Guide here.
Visit the Tourism Council of Bhutan here.
