I cannot say enough about our wonderful visit to Lhasa and the new Starwood Hotel there, located in the Tibetan area of Lhasa. I visited Lhasa with my 16-year-old daughter over Thanksgiving 2007 and loved this hotel (which just opened in August of 2007). It has a small “stream” running through the outside patio area with "bug eyed" goldfish.

Dining was great since the hotel has a nice bar and a lovely dining room. For our evening dinner, they had a wonderful buffet set up. We could choose from a variety of fresh seafood (fish, shrimp, crab, etc) or fresh meat (beef steaks, pork, chicken, etc). The steaks (though I can’t eat beef) looked magnificent. You select your choice and the chef cooks it to your specifications right there in the open kitchen. The buffet has a huge variety of soups, vegetables, salads, seafood appetizers, and (my daughter’s favorite) cakes, pies, and ice cream with toppings. Breakfast was from the menu or to order. You can order wines, beer, coffee, tea, juices to drink.

Interesting custom in Lhasa is to serve your glass of drinking water to you steaming hot. We assumed this was due to the cold weather. After you get used to the idea of drinking plain hot water, it was actually quite a pleasant idea. We found “hot” drinking water was the norm all over Lhasa.

The hotel’s staff members were very attentive. Though for some of them their English is limited, we had very few problems being understood. The rooms each have a humidifier to increase the room’s humidity levels (Lhasa is a dry climate). The bathrooms are lovely and spacious. The beds had wonderful duvets and were extremely comfortable.

We stayed in a room with two beds; they also have king suites available.

Each room has its own variety of coffees, teas, and hot chocolate with a personal water-heater pot (similar to what you find in hotels all over China). I sent some clothes out for cleaning and they were returned within 24 hours and looked great for a very reasonable cost.

They are planning to expand the dining facilities over the low season so the dining room will be even bigger than it is now. You can get change at the front desk and stamps.

Be sure to stop in at the little store across the street from the hotel. The owners are quite nice and they have a great selection of items you might need.