A High End Hotel. Really Really High: Lhasa Luxury.

Denver may be the mile-high city, but this luxury resort is located 12,000 feet up in the Himalayas, in Lhasa, Tibet.

The St. Regis Lhasa Resort opened this week. Boy, have times changed. Time was, you needed a Tibet Travel Permit (Apparently you still do) and there really wasn't a choice of hotels. 

In 1999 it took us four days to travel overland from Kathmandu to Lhasa. Now it's 47 hours 28 minutes by express train from Beijing. And when you arrive, the St. Regis Lhasa Resort offers you "three diverse restaurants, wine bar, and tea room" and "Iridium, the Spa...." "With awe-inspiring views of the Lhasa, our beautifully adorned 162 guest rooms and villas feature plasma TV, High Speed Internet Access, and spacious marble bathrooms."

Checking a random date next summer, we've found the Shigatse Suite, with Potala Palace View and 24 Hr Butler Service, listed at a mere $944.26 per night (6,267.50 CNY).

Here, on the other hand, is the state of the art at our hotel back in 1999:

Yup. Times have changed.

(Photos from EarthPhotos.com. Top: The Potala Palace, bottom: A less-than-luxury Lhasa hotel. See more photos from Tibet in the China Gallery at EarthPhotos.com. And here's the story of our 1999 drive in from Kathmandu.)

Comments

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Internet is the most convenient access to take hold of exciting promotional deals and travel offers. Luxury hotels do offer discount rates but only during off season time. Just my thought!