Quotes of the Day

Getting to Tibet these days requires moving mountains. Lhasa is often closed to foreigners, the permit system is murky and tickets for sleeper seats on the train can only be had on the black market. After all that hard work, the idea of staying in one of Lhasa's generic Chinese hotel blocks is depressing. But luckily there are other options.

American lawyer turned preservationist Laurence Brahm has just opened his second boutique hotel in the city. (Both are located just off the famous pilgrim route that circumnavigates the Barkhor, the soul of old Lhasa.) The Shambhala Palace, houseofshambhala.com, is the former home of a Tibetan lama, rebuilt by traditional artisans with timber and stones rescued from buildings demolished to make way for progress.

Rooms sit around a typical courtyard. Décor is just this side of kitsch, but you can find visual contrast in views of the distant Potala Palace while staff serve yak-butter tea. Lhasa isn't Shangri-la, but from Shambhala Palace's rooftop bar you'd never know it.

• Martha Ann Overland
• A new boutique hotel in Lhasa is the former home of a Tibetan lama