Royal Tulip Chitwan awarded five-star deluxe recognition

KATHMANDU: Royal Tulip Chitwan, a luxury resort in Sauraha, Chitwan, has been granted five-star deluxe recognition by the Department of Tourism following an on-site inspection.

A four-member team from the department, including a director, assessed the resort’s physical infrastructure, services and facilities, security arrangements, guest services and operational systems and found it met the required standards. To date, only three other hotels nationwide have received five-star deluxe recognition. KTM Hospitality operates the resort.

Set on 4.12 acres beside the Rapti River and adjacent to Janakauli and Kumroj Community Forests, Royal Tulip Chitwan has 65 modern rooms and a range of amenities, including a restaurant, swimming pool, gym, health club, helipad and a revolving restaurant. The resort has introduced a ‘Tanavibar’ for the first time in Nepal and also operates a sports bar for late-night entertainment.

The property incorporates many elements of Nepali identity, using locally available materials such as wooden furniture, stone tiles and stone-covered roofs, jute carpets, wood paintings by local artists, locally made decorative items and bamboo mats. Department officials who inspected the resort said they were confident the eco-friendly development, which uses modern technology, has raised standards for Nepalese hospitality.

Royal Tulip Chitwan is managed under an agreement with the Royal Tulip brand of the Louvre Hotels Group. The resort opened for a soft opening in July 2025 and began full operations in mid-December.

KTM Hospitality has progressed plans for an initial public offering. The company has applied to the Securities Board of Nepal to issue 1,550,000 ordinary shares with a face value of Rs 100 each, totalling Rs 155 million. CARE Ratings Nepal assigned a Double B Minus rating in the credit assessment for the IPO. The project’s total cost is about Rs 1,700.5 million, and the company expects a debt-to-equity ratio of 61.5:38.5 after the share issue. The rating report highlighted the international brand affiliation and an experienced promoter group as strengths.

KTM Hospitality was converted from a private limited company to a public limited company on July 9, 2024. The company is led by Rameshwar Shah, chairman and chief executive officer of KTM Group Holdings.

Sauraha, adjoining Chitwan National Park, is a major wildlife tourism destination. Local tourism entrepreneurs said the grading of Royal Tulip Chitwan is likely to strengthen Chitwan’s appeal to high-end international visitors and send a positive signal to the region’s tourism industry.