“We wanted to safeguard our culture and history while generating income to maintain the house. We wanted to develop it as an example for others.”
Homeowners say old houses, mostly built with mud, brick and wood, are difficult to maintain and costly to renovate. For some, living in houses with low ceilings and outdoor toilets are an inconvenience.
However, a few heritage hotels like Newa Chen have not entirely modified the house’s traditional set-up. They still have low ceilings with wooden beams and narrow staircases, though Shrestha said he added en suite bathrooms for the guests’ convenience.
“The house is still as it is when my ancestors lived hundreds of years ago,” Shrestha said. “But we had to add a few modern conveniences for the comfort of guests, but without disrupting the aesthetics.”
Rishi Amatya, a heritage interpreter, emphasised the importance of heritage hotels in preserving traditional architecture and putting them on the international map.
“But it caters mostly for tourists,” he said. “There should be more efforts to restore old houses for private purposes, but that’s expensive.”
These houses are part of our traditional urban fabric, and we need to save them. It’s a part of our living heritage.
While only a handful of projects like Newa Chen have received financial and institutional support from organisations like Unesco, costly renovation and rebuilding in traditional style with no government help have deterred many homeowners. Experts say that locals are also dissatisfied with the government’s conservation rules that lack incentives for homeowners while forcing them to preserve authentic architecture.
Amatya also criticised many hotels for selling their accommodation as “authentic Newa experiences” while incorporating modern amenities. Despite this, he acknowledged that such restorations are at least helping conservation efforts.
“These houses are part of our traditional urban fabric, and we need to save them,” Amatya said. “It’s a part of our living heritage.”
A local experience
Guests who have stayed at the old annex of the six-room Newa Chen have called it a “traditional museum” and “a vivid reminder of the culture and architecture that is disappearing in Nepal”.
Such spaces are vanishing in other parts of the country, too, though travel companies like Rural Heritage are making efforts to restore them.
Abhinaya Shrestha, chief operating officer at Rural Heritage, said the company found an abandoned and dilapidated traditional house in Bandipur while exploring a new destination and renovated it, a fairly new concept when the hotel opened in 2001. Today, The Old Inn is a landmark in the hill town.
The success of The Old Inn led to another similar project in the historic town of Nuwakot, where the company again converted an almost 100-year-old house into a hotel, The Famous Farm. Abhinaya said both hotels were opened to offer authentic experiences in a setting that does not set them apart from the locals.
“Our Bandipur hotel is in the middle of the village, so we wanted guests to experience they were living in the village,” he added. “Bandipur is known for its people, lifestyle and community, and visitors should feel like they’re part of the community. We wanted them to blend in with the community and vice versa.”
Old architecture, new concepts
While some homeowners are restoring their ancestral properties to turn them into hotels, others are either erecting buildings incorporating traditional elements or replicating ancient architecture. The high-end Dwarika’s Hotel, opened in the 1970s, was an ode to Kathmandu Valley’s Newa architecture, exemplifying the concept of heritage hotels at a time when they were rare.
But the trend has taken off over time.
In the ancient city of Bhaktapur, where temples and traditional houses are part of its appeal, husband-wife duo Ajay and Shailaja Pradhanang opened The Nanee in 2023, which they describe as an “experiential property”.
Shailaja, who also created the hotel’s aesthetics, said they wanted to showcase their roots without compromising the comfort for guests, adding that her husband is the descendant of the Malla kings who ruled Kathmandu Valley from around the 13th to 18th century and helped define the city’s distinct architecture. She said The Nanee, which means courtyard in Newa language and is part of a community courtyard, offers an essence of Newa architecture and culture.
“It’s a blend of Newari ethos and modern minimalism,” she said.
Shailaja said that Newa architecture is rooted in community living and the hotel blends in with its historic surrounding. She added that it also attempts to showcase the transition of the city’s architecture over the decades.
“The elements in the hotel – brick walls, terracotta roofs, paintings – will make guests reflect what they’ve seen in the city rather than overwhelm their senses just to make them feel they’re staying in a traditional setting,” she said. “We want to promote our culture by not forcing it, but in a way people understand.”
Heritage conservationists say such efforts are commendable, and turning old homes into hotels are helping safeguard more houses.
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