Great place to rest a weary head. Evening on the rooftop watching the sunset and the snow in the hills while having dinner with good friends was a lovely way to end the day. The hotel is not all that it is stated in the NYTimes review or in the Shanghai article. However - it was pretty great for where it was. Specifically - be prepared for the smell of the septic system coming up through the pipes (not really a big deal as they burn incense in your room every day) and the sound of the pilgrims laughing and chatting under the hotel windows that abutt the alley the pilgrims use as their route. All of this is part of the experience of Tibet in my opinion and not a big deal. The beds are comfy, the rooms rustic in a charming way, and the staff unbelievably fabulous and friendly. The food was very good though by the 5th day of Diamoz and Yak meat I was pretty much done with food in general and enjoyed the grilled cheese sandwich. I would recommend this hotel to everyone and will return again........

My wife and I stayed at the House of Shambhala ifor 4 nights n early May 2007 as part of a 9-month trip around the world. The hotel was a disappointment to us both, having read enthusiastic online mentions in the New York Times and NPR.

To be fair, we don't have a basis of comparison vis a vis other hotels in Lhasa. But we have great difficulty imagining that the value for money could be any worse.

Positives

1. Hotel is located in old Lhasa and the hotel's heritage status is appropriate as you are given a feel for Tibetan city life
2. Hotel staff is polite
3. Jokhang Temple is a 5-10 minute walk away
4. Cave-like showers are cool and provide reliably-hot showers with decent water pressure

Negatives

1. For a so-called boutique hotel, there is no sense of being welcomed nor any quality assurance follow-up. At no point, does anyone at the hotel ask if you enjoyed your stay. The experience is not even vaguely intimate.
2. Hotel staff is polite but not proactive or especially efficient. There is no manager onsite to speak with, and the English language command of the staff is so/so. As a case in point, it took 2 days of constant hounding to get the in-room Internet working.
3. Rooms are unbelievably noisy. There was an incessant pounding on the walls until 8 or 9 pm every day. There is a constant din or racket from outside the door.
4. Rooms are dimly lit.
5. Beds are very uncomfortable
6. Rooms are poorly insulated. Rooms would be stuffy during the day and very cold at night (even in spring).
7. No TV in rooms (maybe not a big deal but it would have been nice to watch the BBC or CNN International at night).
8. Food is very ordinary. As a rule, Tibetan cuisine is unspectacular, but the hotel literally gets everything wrong, in terms of spice, texture or preparation. And hotel food service is very, very slow.
9. We were a little annoyed bh the owner's wolfhound barking at us for table scraps while we tried to eat lunch on the lower deck.

Tips
1. Ask for room 302, which gives you a private balcony and is removed from the endless noise pollution of rooms near the lobby. Do everything possible to avoid being stuck in a ground floor room.
2. There is decent Indian food at Namaste, a restaurant about 5 minutes up from Jokhang Temple.
3. Lower your expectations.

I stayed at the House of Shambhala for four nights in late Nov – early Dec 2006.

The hotel is small and new, having only been open a few months. There are some issues that need to be sorted out, but in my mind this is the best place to stay in Lhasa.

Firstly and most importantly, it is a beautiful building in a perfect location if you want to stay in the Tibetan quarter of the city (and you definitely should). It's close to the Barkhor and only a few minutes to the restaurants on Beijing St. Converted from a traditional courtyard house, there’s a fine view of the Potala palace from the rooftop through the prayer flags. In the sun, the rooftop is a great place to hang out and have a drink.

The staff are wonderful. They need some training, but they're friendly, happy and helpful – as you’d expect from Tibetans.

The bar / restaurant is one area that needs work. All over Tibet the food is basic and limited, and here is no exception. People wanting a gourmet experience should choose another country. The cocktail menu at the bar is rather ambitious too, but the Lhasa beer is fine and anyway cocktails seem an anomaly in Tibet!

My main complaint is that my room was very cold. Tibetan buildings are often very poorly heated if at all, but I’d expect a bit more from a hotel of this class and cost. I know the management are planning to address this, and at warmer times of the year it’s probably not a problem anyway.