Accommodation

Star-rated hotels, private lodges, farm stays and tented camps — plus how Bhutan actually classifies a room.

Accommodation in Bhutan ranges from internationally branded five-star hotels in Thimphu and Paro to family-run guesthouses, working farmhouses and tented camps on trekking routes. Prices vary enormously with altitude, season and access. <h2>How rooms are classified</h2> Hotels and lodges are star-rated by the national tourism authorities, and the rating is a genuine classification rather than a marketing term — it reflects facility standards, service levels and, at the lower end, the proportion of the room stock meeting them. A one-star property is a clean, well-run room with limited facilities; a five-star property is a full-service hotel with spa, multiple restaurants and international staffing. Outside the star-rated category there is a large and distinctive middle of the market, often the most interesting part of the range. <h2>The distinctive categories</h2> Thakha guesthouses — traditional and family-run lodgings, sometimes called thakha guesthouses or village lodgings. Simple, warm and the closest thing Bhutan has to a European pensione. Meals are shared and the atmosphere is domestic. Luxury lodges — the growth segment of the last decade, and Bhutan's signature accommodatio.