Rene Vijay Shrestha Einhaus: Advocate of Nepal’s luxury credentials
An epiphany prompted him to uproot from Europe to the Himalayas, but keeping him there are his family’s unorthodox beginnings in hospitality
WHEN HIS NEPALESE GRANDFATHER DIED in 1992, Rene Vijay Shrestha Einhaus was just seven and his brother, two. But because his mother, Sangita, had promised to continue building her father’s hotel, she started flying back and forth between Germany – where she lived with her German husband and their two children – and Nepal, where The Dwarika’s Hotel is located.
It took her away for significant chunks of time while her Germany-born boys were still very young.
“Everything at home then was focused on what was going on at the hotel, how it was going to be built, the designs of the windows and door frames and so on,” Einhaus recalls. “We had over a thousand original antique wooden artefacts, and my mum took a lot of time designing the hotel around them.”
Fast-forward almost two decades later, and Einhaus, all grown up and armed with a Master of Business Administration, was ready to plunge into Germany’s financial industry.
“I worked in investment banking and never had any ideas of going to Nepal,” he says. But one day, while driving, he suddenly changed his mind. Deciding he should work with his family and what they stand for, he left everything behind and flew to Nepal.
“Till today, I don’t know why I did that,” the 40-year-old admits. “But I’d like to believe it’s because my grandfather was always so passionate about the hotel, and told me all these stories about Hindu mythology and our origins when I was very small. It was a spontaneous decision based on a feeling that I needed to do this.”
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The Dwarika’s Hotel is described as Nepal’s first luxury hotel and a living museum. Located in Kathmandu, the heritage hotel is known for its architectural significance, as its door and window frames are made of meticulously restored wood carvings rescued from 13th-century buildings.
It’s named after Einhaus’ grandfather, Dwarika Das Shrestha, who, as the story goes, was out jogging one winter day in 1952 when he saw carpenters sawing off a carved pillar from an old Newar house to use as firewood.
The Newar people are famous for their contributions to art, architecture and craftsmanship, and traditionally reside in the Kathmandu Valley and the surrounding regions.
Seeing the intricate craftwork treated this way opened Shrestha’s eyes to the rapid disappearance of cultural artefacts, so he began collecting these wooden pieces – an undertaking that became his lifelong passion.
“The family thought he’d lost his mind, spending money on something they considered worthless,” says Einhaus, now chief executive officer of Dwarika’s Group. This was especially vexing because there were high hopes for the eldest of eight children, who had studied law in India and held a cushy government job.
But so taken by his mission to save Newar architecture was Shrestha that he decided to pursue it full-time. He moved out of the ancestral home into a farmhouse, and began by converting a cowshed into five rooms in the 1970s. This is where the hotel stands today.
“The goal was never to build a luxury hotel, but architectural and cultural preservation of the Newar community,” says Einhaus, who remembers a huge shed holding stacks of carved wooden pieces during his childhood vacations to Nepal.
“But things developed over time, especially as my grandfather saw that tourism could be a means to sustain this and help people see value in Newar architecture.”
After Shrestha’s death, the combined efforts of Einhaus’ grandmother and mother in upgrading the hotel’s rooms and services turned Dwarika’s into Nepal’s pioneer luxury hotel. It is also one of Asia’s best hotels and resorts, based on Conde Nast Traveller’s Gold List 2025, and clinched the Pacific Asia Travel Association heritage award in 1980, among other accolades.
In 2013, the family opened Dwarika’s Resort Dhulikhel. The 40-key hillside bungalow concept focuses on Himalayan wellness amid stunning mountain views.
The (unexpected) return of the grandson
Unlike in other family businesses, there was no expectation for Einhaus to eventually work for it. In fact, it was quite the opposite. The late Shrestha’s two daughters were based in Germany and the United States, so any chances that one of his five grandchildren would head back to Nepal to help run the hotel were low.
“Most people move out of Nepal, not the other way round,” notes Einhaus matter-of-factly. Top international hospitality chains offered to operate the hotel, but the Dwarika name would disappear. So his mother decided to run it herself.
“We’re going exactly the opposite way from hotel chains, which try to standardise things. You come to Dwarika’s to get a beautiful experience and build a connection to the location, so every touch point tells you you’re in Kathmandu, but in a way that’s comfortable and luxurious.”
Joining the family business also meant that when Einhaus moved to Nepal 14 years ago, it was both a surprise and an adjustment – amid, perhaps, some quiet displeasure over the sudden appearance of the owner’s son.
“People are very respectful in Nepal, but you do notice that they (the staff) don’t really take what you say at face value,” he says, adding that he had no hospitality experience or formal training. “The immediate question is competence, and you have to prove yourself over time, which I think is fair enough.”
While his mother focused on the design aspects of the 76-room hotel – they’re building a new courtyard section with 40 rooms using the remaining wood from his grandfather’s vast collection – Einhaus drives its operations and markets the Dwarika’s brand.
“Our experiences need to be on point because we are compared with these big luxury hotel names,” he says. For instance, he personally takes guests to the property’s workshop to see the restoration work and help them build a connection with the city’s history.
“Being a 100 per cent Nepalese brand is unique and what we do is very clearly identifiable.”
Nepal as the next luxury destination
One of the challenges Einhaus faces is overcoming the image of Nepal as a backpacker destination. “It’s not known for high-end tourism,” he acknowledges, noting wryly that the room rate for a luxury heritage hotel of Dwarika’s calibre in, say, London, would “definitely be more” than the entry-level US$400 currently being charged.
“Our partners always think: ‘Can I send my luxury client to Nepal? Will he have a good experience?’”
The truth is, Nepal offers many different experiences for travellers – something Einhaus is keen to emphasise. “We have high-altitude mountains, different valleys throughout the country, and plains in the south with the jungles,” he points out, adding that the Kathmandu Valley alone has seven Unesco World Heritage Sites.
“You don’t need to fabricate experiences. You just need to polish and present them, and they’re cool enough to draw any age group, any crowd, any pocket. Nepal has so much to offer.”
This is one of the reasons he envisions spreading Dwarika’s wings – locally.
“Together with other hotels coming up, we can slowly establish Nepal as a destination. Our goal is to go to places where we have potential to scrape out a little jewel, and have the surrounding communities benefit from job creation and tourism.”
The family has purchased a “big, beautiful plot of land” in Dhampus and are now planning the concept for a boutique hotel there. “We want every location to have a uniqueness,” he says.
Family values
Married to a Nepalese entrepreneur who runs a sustainable fashion line as well as a food distribution business, the father of two – a boy and a girl turning four and two, respectively, this year – is a sports lover who grew up playing golf with his father.
In contrast with his own childhood experience, Einhaus wants to keep his kids close and for as long as possible in Nepal before they head overseas for university. “We live in the hotel, so they’re there even more than when I was as a kid.”
Asked for his thoughts on what his grandfather might make of Dwarika’s today, he smiles. “When my mother was young, he used to tell her that his dream was that someday, dignitaries would come to the property and hold conferences there. And it actually happened.”
In 2018, Nepal’s Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, held talks and signed the deal for one of South Asia’s largest hydroelectric plants at Dwarika’s. Royalties and celebrities, from King Charles III and Hillary Clinton to David Beckham and Selena Gomez, have also been guests there.
To think, the hotel’s first room rate in the 1970s was just US$30. “Hospitality is a very competitive field,” says Einhaus. “But hopefully, how we define ourselves is something that people will cherish.”
Photography: Darren Gabriel Leow
Fashion direction: CK
Grooming: Zoel Tee, using Chanel Beauty
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