It began when founder Dwarika Das Shrestha decided to save old wood carvings from traditional Kathmandu buildings that were about to be discarded.

In 1952, Shrestha saw carpenters cutting up an intricately carved wooden pillar of a demolished old building, to use as firewood.

Shrestha initially placed these carvings in a room housing a single master's student from abroad.

The hotel is managed by the Shrestha family and now possesses a large private woodwork collection.

The restoration workshop that the late Dwarika Shrestha established to revive wood carvings as early as 1962 is still in operation, although it is now used only for significantly damaged pieces.