Building seven luxury hotels en-route to Mt Everest, Nima Martin Sherpa shares his roadmap to redefine the hospitality landscape in Nepal.
Going to Mt. Everest is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of experience. Numerous international publications almost always list the Everest Basecamp Trek as their “Top 10 bucket list destinations of the world.” But the journey, though beautiful, can be tough. The base camp trek is a 7-10 day hike and the quality and standards of the majority of the lodges thus far is quite basic. I have always believed that the potential of tourism in my country is huge but there are gaps in service and design.
With our hotel chain we want to elevate the standard of service and facilities in the Everest region. I fell just because you’re in high altitudes and freezing temperatures doesn’t mean your experience can’t be
comfortable or special. I am excited to build well-designed hotels in unique locations providing great service and experiences with an approach that is innovative, mindful and ecologically conscious.
The genesis
My family is building a total of seven small luxury hotels from Lukla, which is the gateway to Mount Everest, to Lobuche, which is the last stop before Everest Base Camp and a further three hotels along the Gokyo lakes trail to complete our chain of hotels in the Everest region. We saw a big demand in the market for high-end experiences in the Everest region. Frankly, we were also tired of seeing Nepal constantly being positioned as a cheap back-packers’ destination. Nepal has so much more to offer and the country simply has not harnessed its true tourism potential.
We’re fortunate that my father had the foresight to acquire some of the best properties along the trekking trail to Mt. Everest Basecamp decades ago. In fact, it was his vision to build a chain of hotels and he constructed four lodges in the 1990s. But with the ever-growing curiosity and interest in Mt. Everest, and the demand for a more comfortable trekking experience, we thought this would be the right time to invest in a chain of luxury hotels all the way to base camp, providing standardized quality and comfort for discerning guests.
Apart from the Everest Hotels, we recently launched ‘The Terraces Resort and Spa’ on the outskirts of Kathmandu Valley, which serves as our base in the capital. This 100 acre property perched on a hill is 45 minutes away from Kathmandu Airport, and offers 180 degree view of the Himalayas. Visitors pressed for time can take a helicopter from the Terraces directly to any of our properties in the Everest region, which saves them the hassle of dealing with domestic airport transfers etc.
An experience for all
Well just getting to the Everest region is an experience, but with our luxury lodges we want to make sure the stay is equally rewarding and a unique experience. The majority of our clients will be trekkers and mountaineers, but we also expect quite a number of non-trekkers to fly to our properties on helicopters from our resort in Kathmandu. Traditionally, the client base in the Everest region was trekkers and mountaineers, but the idea of Mt. Everest has now expanded to include everyone from gap year students to retirees to those who want to have an intimate wedding or celebrate their honeymoon. In the past, our guests were mainly Europeans and Americans, but of late, we have seen a great increase in visitors from China, India and the Middle East.
Eco-conscious ascend
Constructing at high altitudes inside a National Park in an area that is most impacted by climate change means we have to be mindful of nature. We will be using clean renewable energy sources like solar, wind and micro hydropower and embracing more energy-efficient building designs. We will practice green living by saving water, using organic products and working with the local community to promote afforestation, organic farming and eco-tourism in the region.
“The idea of Mt. Everest has now expanded to include everyone from gap year students to retirees to those who want to have an intimate wedding”
