Unless you are willing to shell out $1000/night for the Aman, this is the default choice for most discerning travelers to the Bhutanese capital.

The Druk will get some real competition in the years ahead from the Taj (under construction) and Oberoi (planned) and hopefully that will prod the owner of the Druk to make much-needed upgrades and improvements, both with facility and staff.

The major problem is perhaps beyond the hotel's control: the continual barking of stray dogs around the property most of the night, every night. But that is a situation you will find at any hotel in Thimpu unless one heads for the hills (also not stray dog free either).

I found the Druk's front desk to be more courteous and responsive than at the Jomolhari down the street. But there are real problems in the Druk's restaurants with service.

Ordering a simple dish of momos and emadatse for lunch, I was told the momos would take 10 minutes. Wrong. More like 45, which is actually how long it takes to prepare them from scratch. When they finally arrived, no apology offered. Also I received kemadatse instead of emadatse. That took another 10 minutes to straighten out. So it took nearly one hour to get my correct lunch order.

If one is in a rush, do not eat here. For breakfast go to the famous Swiss Bakery up the road (it has about the best omelets anywhere in outside North America).

The rooms are simple. You will find a single bar of soap in the bathroom, a few tissues and a bath gel -- that's about it, so don't forget to pack any toiletries you need.

While the lobby has a nice look the carpet on the stairs on the higher floors is threadbare.

The basement gym has equipment in fair to poor condition.

There is wireless internet -- it's not free. For those who don't bring their computer or don't have wi-fi there are two computers in the business center. At least one was in use most of the time by either hotel staff or outsiders. For those who just need to check their e-mail one of the local internet cafes is a more affordable option.

The thing to remember for visitors to Bhutan at this time is that you do not go there for great hotel experience. It's the scenery, culture and people that are the draw. But Thimpu does deserve one decent mid-range hotel for business travelers and others. The Taj will certainly take that place in 2008.

A nice hotel in the center of Thimpu. The location is great for walking around and shopping. There is a good sized supermarket nearby.

The room itself is a very comfortable size, including twin beds, sitting area with couches and coffee table, desk and chair as well as a day bed. The TV is hooked up to satellite/cable and has a good variety of local as well as international programming. The room was well lit for reading and the beds comfortable.

The bathroom was kept clean and hot water was adequate.

We had breakfast and dinner there. Both had a nice variety of tasty foods, nicely prepared and presented; the staff was a bit slow serving coffee and tea.

The room was kept a comfortable temperature by keeping the window open during the night. The downside was the constant barking of dogs; I suppose we could have tested the quality of the soundproofing of the windows by closing them.

The hotel advertises the availability of sauna, gym, steam bath and massage, but we didn't use the services so cannot comment on the quality and/or price. There is a business center, but we could not connect our laptop and they cheerfully did not charge for either their time or the pre-paid usage.

We spent 11 days in Bhutan and the Druk Hotel was by far the most 'western' of the hotels. It had cable TV, a nice warm shower, internet access, and wine available at dinner. A Hyatt it is not but it was a nice change from the other hotels in Bhutan, although we actually really liked the more 'rustic' nature of our hotels in other towns. The hotel takes VISA as well as cash but if you want to use your VISA you need to use it between 9:30 am and 6:00 pm, when the bank opens.
They also have a separate a-la-carte menu vs the traditional buffet meals in the Bhutan hotels. We did not try it we saw a lot of others that did and it looked good.

I do not fully agree with sleepaway for the comments. Yes a renovation is required but the Hotel is amazing. The staffs are the best. Their wireless internet is really good. Food is perhaps the best. It is worth every penny. And the best part of this hotel is the personal touch you get from the upper level Management to the lower level Management staffs. The location is really good. BUT IT IS BETTER TO BRING EAR PLUGS.