Here is a list of hotels which you can make your base, and immerse yourself in unforgettable experiences in the royal state that is home to the Thar and the Rajput warrior clan

1. Clarks Amer, Jaipur

Jaipur, the capital of royal Rajasthan, is popularly known as the pink city, thanks to red sandstone gates.

Clarks Amer is the oldest 5-star in Jaipur and close to the Gandhinagar railway station and the airport. It has the oldest lift in the pink city. The hotel grounds are dotted with fluid metal sculptures made by Ankit Patel.

True to the colours of Rajasthan, the velvet sofas lining the lobby come alive with bright cushions. Painted walls, an enticing bouquet of flowers on an old piano, sculptures, golden chandeliers and a cart with metal kettles makes the entrance a pleasing one. Turn a little corner in the lobby and you will see a huge canvas done by 16 eminent artists.

Stay: The room inventory is around 215. There are penthouses, suites along with club and superior rooms. The bathrooms come fitted with a hairdryer and other amenities.

Dine: For those who seek low calorie, fresh salads, Zolocrust, the 24X7 live bakery and pizzeria is the place. No servers here—a team of chefs takes your order and rest is self-service. The meals come in biodegradable plates and the veggies are grown in-house.

For North Indian and Continental cuisine, head to Durbar hall. There’s buffet for breakfast and a la carte as well. From fresh juices to fruits, pohas, pooris and live counters, breakfast is a cool affair.

Evenings at the open rooftop bar, taBlu are about a glittery view of the city. Adjacent to this is the Dhola Maru restaurant which serves Rajasthani cuisine.

Facilities: Durbar Hall overlooks the swimming pool, spa and gym. The hotel has facilities for MICE and weddings. There is a 450-year-old wooden carved door that serves as the apt place for wedding celebrations. Should you like to buy a souvenir, the hotel has a shop which sells artifacts, jewellery, clothes and some home linen and decor items.

Explore: Jaipur’s forts aremagnificent. The most popular are Amer, Nahargarh and Jaigarh forts. Other famous attractions are the City Palace, Bapu Bazaar, Govindjee temple.

How to Reach: Jaipur airport is located at Sanganer, 12km from the heart of the city. It has both international and domestic terminal and is well connected to most of the cities across the world.

The Delhi-Jaipur National Highway (260km) is used by many for self-drive getaways. The Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation (RSRTC) runs Volvo (air-conditioned and non air-conditioned) and deluxe buses between Jaipur and other cities.

Jaipur is well-connected by trains to important cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Jammu, Jaisalmer, Kolkata, Ludhiana, Pathankot, Haridwar, Bhopal, Lucknow, Patna, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Goa.

2. Shahpura House, Jaipur

This award-winning luxury house aka hotel in the posh locality of Bani Park in Jaipur reflects the glorious legacy of the Shekhawati region. The region was an erstwhile royal principality and famed for fresco paintings and magnificent havelis. Shahpura was one of the 33 thikaanas or village regions marked within the Shekhawati region by the then ruler Rao Shekha.

Shahpura House was adjudged a Luxury Heritage Hotel by World Luxury Hotel Awards 2018 and the brand was included in the Lifestyle Member of Preferred Hotels & Resorts. The pink walls and a facade with domes and frescoes make this a marvellous stay. 

Stay: There are 65 rooms, equipped with all facilities. There is a luxury Shahpura Suite with a beautiful view. The marble bathrooms are equipped with all necessary amenities.

Dine: Sapphire is a multi-cuisine restaurant, offering Indian and international cuisines. Rasa offers Indian and Rajasthani cuisines. It has indoor and outdoor options. There is a lounge bar too.

Facilities: Spa, swimming pool, shop

Explore: Swargasuli tower, Hawa Mahal, Birla Mandir, Panna Meena ka Kund, Jantar Mantar, Jal Mahal, Albert Hall Museum

How to Reach: Jaipur airport is located at Sanganer, 12km from the heart of the city. The Delhi-Jaipur National Highway (260km) is used by many for self-drive getaways. The Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation (RSRTC) runs Volvo (air-conditioned and non air-conditioned) and deluxe buses between Jaipur and other cities.

Jaipur is well-connected by trains to important cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, and more.

3. Lakshman Sagar, Pali

Lush green landscape defines the drive from Ajmer to Pali. And two railway junctions on the way opened up a new vista, as people hung around their motorcycles, wearing ethnic clothes and colourful turbans. Most men pierce their ears.   

Lakshman Sagar is a place for nature lovers. Narrow pathways are chiseled out in the rocky terrain. This was a 19th-century hunting lodge, built by Lakshman Singh, the then Thakur of Raipur, to host the rich and the famous. Nothing of the original structure remains.

In the centre of the resort is a natural pool where animals come to drink water. Now visitors can catch fish and spend time watching the beautiful birds. An ancient banyan tree with a swing is home to peacocks, and you can hear them from morning to night.

Stay: The cottages made from mud and stone blend beautifully into the trees. The resort has all the modern amenities. The cottage is a fantastic place. No TV, no electronic disturbances. Each cottage has a private splash pools with Jacuzzi nozzles. 

Dine: The food is organic and fresh.

Facilities: Experience the slow life here. There is no formal reception, open skies and lovely drinks greet you. Two structures painted cream are the Zanana and Mardana. The Mardana is the common dining area and there is place to read and play games on the terrace. The highlight is theswimming pool cut out of a natural rock.  

Explore: Go for guided nature walks, breakfast in the fields, vegetable harvesting, village tour and Raipur fort visit, Trek to Fatehgarh fort, local liquor tasting.

How to Reach: The nearest railway station is at Ajmer and from there one can hire a taxi. Or the nearest airport is at Jodhpur (115km) and then the drive to Pali.

4. Gaj Kesri, Bikaner

Bikaner was established by Rao Bika, the prodigal son of Rao Jodha. Its patron saint is Karni Mata, whose temple at the edge swarms with rats. Surprisingly, the rats do not spread any disease and there are no untoward happenings here.

With a traditional Rajasthani structure and exquisitely crafted furniture, Gaj Kesri stands on the Jaipur-Jodhpur highway. This hotel is the brainchild of Sunil Rampuria. Rampuria’s roots are ingrained in Bikaner and that can be seen at the Rampuria haveli in the old parts of the city. That marvelous building now houses another hotel called Bhanwar Niwas. The family had moved to Kolkata years back. In the 1990s, Rampuria returned to his ancestral land.

Gaj means elephant and Kesari is saffron and its regal connotations as it is a very expensive herb. The name has been kept on a Vedic astrological yoga—Gaj Kesari which happens when the royal queen Moon is associated with the devguru Jupiter. It’s an auspicious combination that signifies wealth and good fortune.

The décor here is colourful and handcrafted lamps are quite an eye-catching sight. Anju Rampuria, Sunil’s wife, helps run the place and the couple stays in the hotel, making it a home away from home. This couple eats vegetarian food. They also offer the same to the guests.

While Sunil has a keen eye for colours (he has painted a wall in his ancestral home—Bhanwar Niwas in the old city of Bikaner), Anju is a jadau jewellery designer. In fact, Sunil made the first draft for the hotel’s structure himself.

Stay: The 41 arty rooms will appeal to the modern traveller. They have all the amenities such as an electric kettle for tea and coffee, water bottles, a mini bar with cold drinks, soaps and shower caps. There is even a separate dressing room with a cupboard.

Dine: There is an extensive vegetarian menu. Specialties are Parwal Kadi, Gatte ka Pulao and Cucumber dessert. Dahi Golgappa is a must have. Wine and liquor flow quite freely in this hotel.

Try the Marwari thali at Bhanwar Niwas and do keep a lot of space for it’s a huge one. The Kanji Vada is my favourite in this huge thali.

Facilities: An open air pool is the main draw here. And there is a spa too. A drink by the pool in the evening is a pleasure that you can’t deny yourself. The Rampurias also organise a small live band every evening that brings the courtyard alive with peppy Bollywood music.  

Explore: The hotel is located close to the famous Karni Mata temple, National Research Centre for Camel Breeding and the royal cenotaphs—Devi Kund. A day’s trip to Junagarh Fort and Lallgarh complex is a must.

To know more about the royal bloodline, a trip to the Golden Jubilee Ganga Museum helps. You can bring back sherbets made of natural essence from Chunnilal Sherbet Wala and bhujia from Bikaji.

Take a trip to the old city. Explore Bhanwar Niwas as each room is unique there. There is a special room where artisans carry on the famous usta work using traditional tools. But this is only done for the two hotels and for personal friends. You might like to focus on the lamps with the clouds, which are perhaps the trademark of the walls and ceilings of the Bikaner palaces.

How to Reach: There are regular flights from Delhi to Bikaner.The overnight train for Bikaner is from Sarai Rohilla. The drive from Delhi takes around 8 hours.

5. Malji ka Kamra, Churu

Churu records the highest temperatures during the summer months. It is among the lesser visited towns in Rajasthan but is a treasure trove of frescoes and old world stories. 

Malji ka Kamra is a haveli dating to the 1920s. It has been renovated to suit the modern traveller. The town was privy to a flourishing merchant community and some famous families were the Suranas, Kotharis, Lohias. Their ancestral homes with unique frescoes and carvings now lie in ruins.

Malji was a merchant/trader belonging to the Kothari family. And this haveli was his entertainment cum guest house. With a huge garden at the entrance, the exterior of this hotel abounds with sculptures of Hindu gods, British officers and even the beloved langoor. The unique point is the pillars, as these form the base of this 100-year-old structure.

In Churu, the streets are named after the famous merchant families and some even had their private roads, a mark of old world privilege. Maharaja Ganga Singh of Bikaner was the patron for this region. The merchant families supplied the goods for his army. Many havelis have frescoes of the erstwhile Maharaja. Scenes from the Ramayana and Mahabharata are common. Krishna was the favorite god. To know the dates of these frescoes, the color red indicate older times, blue and green suggest closer to 1900s and stronger blues are of more recent times. But no one knows the actual dates.

Stay: Malji’s haveli has 15 rooms. Each room is different and room numbers 203, 204 and 205 have a variety of frescoes and sculptures. The room on the terrace has three doors opening out.

Dine: Spice Court offers Rajasthani flavours such as gatte kee sabzi, roti, salad, creamy rajma-urad dal, palak paneer. There are sandwiches and pizza too. Liquor is served to in-house guests.

Facilities: Wi-Fi, air-conditioning, hot water showers. The hotel invites folk musicians at night. They sing songs in praise of Bapuji, the local god. The stories are painted on a fabric, known as Bapuji ka Phad. Their musical instruments are made with wood and the string of horse hair. Local guides are arranged.

Explore: The area is best explored on foot. Most of the havelis date back to the 1800s and their miniscule windows indicate the need to keep the desert heat out.

The streets are lined with frescoes and there is a Jesus fresco too. A clock tower was built by the Birlas in the centre of the city, which is the main bazaar. The good are carried in donkey carts and the spices lie in the open.

There is an opulently restored Jain temple, Shri Shantinath Bhagwan mandir, with a large chandelier, lamps, golden borders and frescoes. There are paintings of Sita and Dada Muni on the walls. Nothing of the Churu Fort remains and it has been turned into a local clinic and there is a Krishna temple.

Meet Churu’s treasured talent—the master sandalwood craftsmen are Jangids. They have been listed in the Guinness Book of World Records and have been in this craft for three generations. They have won many national awards. 

Head to the bazaar to see how lak bangles are made by Mohammad Sharif of Suhaag Craft Centre. He has been in this craft for over 60 years.

You can take a drive to Ramgarh, the sister town of Churu, just 15 km away. Considered an open air museum, this has more than 45 chhatris (place to commemorate those who have passed away) and 300 havelis. Among the more prominent chhatris is that of the Poddar family. A small gate, within a larger dilapidated one, makes you duck your head as you enter the ancient haveli. The ruined structure has three Shiva temples inside. And the narrow stone steps led to a terrace with three chhatris. The ceilings have frescoes in red and blues, greens and yellows. The primary motifs are scenes from Ramayana, Krishna’s Ras Leela, Ravana’s Lanka, flowers and dancing people.

Families in this town also do Bandhej work–a traditional Rajasthani tie-n-dye art. On the streets, there are frescoes of trains, cars, camels and elephants. The town has an abundance of peepal and neem trees. There is a famous Shani temple where the highlight is the mirror work. Hotel Ramgarh Fresco is a restored haveli.

Enjoy a picnic at Prem Sagar Johra. Johras are ponds or places of harvesting rain water, an oasis in the desert. Go for sundowners to Sethani Ka Johra, which is a water body a little away from the main town. This was built during a drought by the wife of the first Marwari millionaire merchant Bhagwan Das Bagla.

Have a barbecue dinner in the dunes. Tal Chappar Wildlife Sanctuary is also closeby (85km).

How to Reach: It is about 277 km from Delhi and well connected by road and railway. It is a 3-hour drive from Jaipur.

6. jüSTa Lake Nahargarh Palace, Chittorgarh

Unlike the northern parts, the southern parts of this state are green. They have ample rainfall and are replete with water bodies.  

This hotel in the middle of a private lake in Rajasthan is in the village of Parsoli. Disembarking at Udaipur, we had a green drive to the little village of Parsoli which is about 50km from Chittorgarh, off the Udaipur-Kota highway. Through the little village and we came to the edge of a lake, which is when I came to know that this is a man-made lake and the hotel stands in the middle. Its only connection to the world is the boat and an erratic network.

Lake Nahargarh Palace is managed by jüSTa Hotels & Resorts. Originally, a hunting lodge, remnants of which can be seen on the shore, it was made by the royal family of Salumber and Parsoli. Later, the late Maharaj Nahar Singh of Ralavata bought it and his son Raja Jitendra Singh Rathore of Ralavata developed it into a palace. Much like a chapter in a book, the hotel seemed like an oasis in the desert {it was all in the mind, the region has a good yield of crops}.

With the sun setting on the lake, the ripples shimmering, the pigeons finding their space in the turrets, the evening becomes almost surreal. In the distance are the Aravalli hills and dense forest. The locals do tell tales of hyenas and wild dogs, but then they are not coming through the water.  

It is a popular wedding destination. While jharokhas and arches are reminiscent of the Rajasthani roots, the simplicity reminds one of the ‘lake retreats’. Watch the paintings on the walls, the tiles on the floor and the large pots in the corridors

For the solitude seekers, books and art are pleasurable activities. Time by the lake watching the sun rise and sun set is a good way to unwind. 

Stay: Comfortable beds and modern amenities, the hotel offers a peaceful retreat from the humdrum of life. The 40 rooms make it an almost private space and a green courtyard is in the centre.

Dine: Neel Mahal is a multi-cuisine restaurant and traditional Rajasthani cuisine is a joy.

Facilities: The hotel has a swimming pool by the lake. Folk dance and musical performances are organised for the guests.

Explore: The hotel can organise trips to Taragarh Fort in Bundi and Chittorgarh fort. Take an early morning in the village talking to the farmers and watching the birds. There is the choice of horse riding and boating too.

How to Reach: The nearest airport is the Maharana Pratap airport at Udaipur (70 km). From there, you can hire a cab.

The nearest railway station is Chittorgarh Railway Station. Private and public buses ply on this highway to Chittorgarh.  

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