GLORIOUS HOTELS OF INDIA

Page 1

Glorious Hotels of India is a journey through 40 of the most intriguing hotels across the country. All have been chosen for their unique spirit, and many have never been seen before in a book. India’s rich heritage and contemporary design properties are displayed through sumptuous images and text. Authors Cosmo Samuel Brockway and Harriet Compston have curated these hidden gems, which are scattered through jungles, beaches and tropical cities.

Cosmo Samuel Brockway is a writer who specializes in South Asia and has travelled and lived across India for nearly 20 years. From first visiting India at the age of 17, exploring the coastline by train for several months, to leading cultural tours across the subcontinent, Cosmo has developed a passion for seeking out the unique lesser-known charms India has to offer, as well as for promoting its burgeoning hospitality scene. Cosmo writes about travel, architecture and design. This is his first book.

This is a languid and sensuous look at some of the loveliest hotels in India. Experience Mughal hunting baghs, laced with pavilions and frangipani, soak up the salt-scented charm of seafront villas and gaze upon urban boutique hotels. Every page glints with the promise of a new discovery. The lighting is atmospheric and the textiles and paintings ravish the eye. Each new look reveals an unseen detail – a Nizam’s crystal fan, a serene carved Nandi, and a mother-of-pearl reflection of the Taj Mahal in a frescoed bathroom.

Harriet Compston settled on travel writing, with a focus on India, after editing several luxury titles and living across the world, from Rwanda to Germany. With strong family connections in the subcontinent, Harriet’s first visit saw her travelling solo around the southern states. Harriet has returned frequently ever since, writing on luxury travel. She has a love for adventure, be it discovering hidden places, exploring uncharted territory or trekking in the Himalayas. Karam Puri has been taking photographs across the globe for more than a decade. His books include Dining with the Nawabs, Doon: The Dosco Chronicles, The Indian Golf Story and Lynndale. His images have been published in Harper’s Bazaar, The Sunday Guardian, National Geographic’s The 10 Best of Everything: An Ultimate Guide for Travelers, Verve and The Robb Report. His work has been exhibited at galleries in New York and New Delhi.

we spent a great deal of time in rajasthan, the magical cities of jaipur and udaipur. what i remember most is the heat and the sounds of india, and the beautiful people. i know that the whole experience will remain with me for the rest of my life – my daughter calls it my spiritual home and i think she is right. i long to return. Dame Judi Dench

Savour the subtle peeling back of layers. We see the housekeeper glide along a shadowy floor of Taj Falaknuma Palace, the trail of her lilac dupatta fluttering with authority and intent. In the eyes of portraits, we read the souls of these places, communities at their heart. Stories weave into stories and whet the appetite for further exploring, from the local children enjoying a rainstorm in the swimming pool of Tikli Bottom to Rajput royal Bhavna Singh taking guests at Dev Shree to a temple, fashioned from millennia-old rock, Labrador in tow. India has an effortless magnetism that is reflected in these pages. The properties are vastly different in scale, period and setting, and sing together in a pitchperfect aria hitting each of the country’s highest notes.

ISBN: 978-81-937501-8-6

9 788193 75018 6

16 8 2018 GloriousHotels cover .indd 1

29/08/18 12:55 PM


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.