4-Star Ratna to run from April

Biratnagar, Jan. 23: The first 4-star hotel in Biratnagar, Hotel Ratna, is scheduled to come into operation from April 14 this year.

About 80 per cent of the hotel’s construction work has been completed, said Rewat Bahadur Thapa, Managing Director of the company. 

The hotel will have 80 plus rooms, a swimming pool, a gaming club and other facilities as per the government-set standards. 

"The old building that is in operation has more than 20 rooms and the new building will have 60 rooms. Ratna will be the first hotel with such large facilities in Biratnagar, and will be upgraded to 4-star status," said Thapa. 

Construction of the new building of the hotel was started about five years ago, and about Rs. 370 million will be invested in it. 

Ratna Hotel was established about two decades ago. Initially Thapa wanted to construct the hotel near the Nepal-India border, but the erstwhile Khilraj Regmi-led interim government set new standards preventing operation of any large-scale industries in 5 kilometre area from the border.

After that Thapa started to build the hotel near the Bus Park area.

Currently, Ratna has 17 rooms, all air-conditioned. 

He sees huge tourism potential in the eastern hill districts, such as Ilam, Dhankuta, Taplejung, Sankhuwasabha and Terhathum, which will boost tourist movements in Biratnagar, leading to growth in the hospitality industry in the eastern metropolis. 

"If there were to be an international airport at Biratnagar, the whole eastern region would have benefitted. Kanchanjangha, Everest and Makalu region as well as Ilam and Pathibhara attract hundreds of thousands of tourists every year, and this city has the potential to be the gateway to these areas," he said.

As per the present tourism status, Thapa maintains that the hotel will have about 35 per cent occupancy on average. But he sees a new opportunity in the hospitality industry with the implementation of federalism and election of the autonomous local government as they would run tourism promotion campaigns in the days to come. 

Thapa also runs a luxury hotel, Horizon Mountain Resort, in Hile,  Dhankuta district.