Hotel Courtyard is a stylish new hotel in the heart of Thamel, built in traditional style with oil bricks and Newari-style carved wooden lintels. It’s very insulated from the Thamel madness and there are comfortable sitting areas as well as parking.  Rooms come with fridge and satellite TV and are big enough to tango in. The front rooms look out onto the courtyard and are a little pricier. There are also some lovely half-suites and suites. The slump in tourism numbers means that the hotel isn’t quite running on all cylinders but the good news is that you’ll probably have the place largely to yourself. There’s a decent restaurant but with all that good food outside the front gate one has many choices.