DESIGN
The restaurant ’ s community table
manufactured in Vietnam , have a living area and space to eat .
The restaurant has an open kitchen , farm-to-table menu with locally and nationally sourced items , including whiskey and beer . The property is planning an organic garden .
Open since August , the hotel is making additions , including six mud guest houses similar to one Lennaerts rented from a neighbor during construction , and tweaks — they ’ re still experimenting with the underwater music playing in the swimming pool . “ I ’ m trying to realize what I saw at the beginning , which was created with the words ‘ Bhutan spirit ,’ and we are still refining every day because we are learning from the guests ,” Lennaerts says . They are mostly Europeans up to now , but he sees potential from Japan .
Would he ever partner with a larger entity to extend the brand ? Lennaerts is open to it — early on , he says , he discussed the idea with luxury guru Adrian Zecha — but understands that the longer the chain , the tighter it might bind . “ That is more talk for next year ,” he says .
The pool
All 24 guest rooms have a view of the valley .
38 hotelsmag . com December 2018