Glorious Hotels of India by Roli Books

GloRious HoTels of iNdiA

Cosmo Samuel Brockway & Harriet Compston

Photography by Karam Puri

coN T eNTs

Foreword 9 | PreFaCe 11 | IntroduC tIon 13

aHIlya By tHe Sea 15 | alIla Fort 21

alSISar MaHal 27 | BrIjraMa PalaCe 35 | Bujera Fort 41

dev SHree 47 | elSewHere BeaCH HouSeS 53

tHe GlenBurn PentHouSe & GlenBurn tea eState 59

jalaKara 67 | tHe joHrI 71 | Kandadu HouSe 79

Kotwara HouSe 85 | l oul ou’S land 91

MalaBar HouSe 97 | narendra BHawan 103

tHe oBeroI aMarvIlaS 109 | tHe oBeroI udaIvIlaS 117

raaS devIGarH 127 | raj nIwaS PalaCe 135

tHe rajBarI BawalI 141 | rajMaHal PalaCe raaS jaIPur 153

SaMode MaHal, BaGH & HavelI 161 | tHe SHuMSHere 171

SItara HIMalaya 175 | Sonaar HavelI 187 | SujÁn SHer BaGH 193

SuKoon 197 | ta j FalaKnuMa PalaCe 201

ta j MaHal PalaCe 213 | ta j uMaId BHawan PalaCe 221

udaI BIlaS PalaCe 229 | tHe ultIMate travellInG CaMP 233

vIlla PalladIo 239

aCKnowledGeMentS 249

Facing page: Poolside at the Oberoi Amarvilas. Pages 2-3: Presidential Suite at the Leela Palace. Page 4: Billiards Room at Taj Falaknuma Palace. Following page 8: Anteroom at Suján Rajmahal Palace.

iam delighted to introduce this beautifully curated book on the best hotels and places to stay across this vast nation. India has an ancient tradition of hospitality among its many peoples, including my own Rajput culture. My grandfather, H.H. Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II, and my father, H.H. Maharaja Sawai Bhawani Singh Bahadur (MVC), were the first Indian royals to open their property as a luxury hotel in 1958. I watched our erstwhile family home, Rambagh Palace, evolve into one of the great tourist destinations of India. The palace has hosted many important guests. Its success has been followed by Rajmahal Palace, which recently underwent a splendid renovation (seen in this book). Such conversions, many of which are featured here, have without doubt positively contributed to the conservation of India’s heritage as well as the growth of its economy.

There is an astonishing breadth of properties, both old and contemporary, across the subcontinent, befitting the scale and richness of India. Glorious Hotels of India is more than just an illustrated book – it is a testament to the incredible evolution of our country’s hospitality scene over the last 30 years. Cosmo and Harriet, alongside photographer Karam Puri, have managed to showcase the truly intriguing and impressive choices open to travellers across this great country of ours. From the romance of Kashmir’s Dal Lake to the pink city of jaipur to the faded glories of Kolkata, there is much to explore and experience, and no better guide than this fine book.

PRInCESS DIyA KuMARI OF jAIPuR City Palace, jaipur, 2018

When we began this project, we gave up our homes, work and life in the uK in search of the most ‘glorious’ places to stay in India. We travelled to most corners of the subcontinent over the course of the year, flinging ourselves by any mode of transport available to the farthest reaches in search of the sublime, the rare and the interesting. The journey itself is, if not more, of a story than the book between these covers.

Creating this book has taken us from the peaks of Ladakh to the azure waters of the Andaman Islands to the luscious landscape of Kerala and nearly everywhere else in between. It’s been challenging, mind-opening and extraordinary, soaking up the wealth and breadth India has to offer.

The dictionary defines glorious as ‘marked by great beauty or splendour’. For us, ‘glorious’ comes in many different forms – a glorious history, glorious design, glorious people, glorious setting. The list goes on. But each property is a destination and stands alone in its own right.

It’s been nearly a decade since we started working on the book. India’s mystic beauty remains as enchanting as ever. However, the subcontinent, like all of us, emerged changed after COVID-19, and so has the hospitality scene. One of the very positive developments has been the upward trajectory of the domestic travel market. Travellers that might previously have naturally gone abroad found themselves closer to home and discovering the joys of local travel.

We are delighted to produce this second edition to showcase this new dawn. Alas, we have bid farewell to some of the old guard of hoteliers and want to particularly acknowledge Martin and Annie Howard of Tikli Bottom and jivi Sethi of Sunbeam. Both owners were indefatigable in their passionate approach, aesthetic and consummate storytelling. They and their special homes, that welcomed so many of us, will be much missed.

Excitingly, we are featuring several new game-changing hotels in this second edition. Each represents India’s hospitality scene of this, electrifying, moment, be it ambition, design or an eye for the future. We only mourn the many, many places that we have been so impressed by and hold dear to our hearts that we just didn’t have the sheer space to include.

As we collectively look to the future and chart our journeys through India, we would love Glorious Hotels of India to inspire, inform and spur you on to ever more adventurous forays through one of the most enriching, compelling, colourful and storied hotel scenes on the globe. As many stars as there are in a constellation so the multitude of ‘glorious’ treasures across India are to be found. We salute them here for their authentic commitment to marking the subcontinent as one of the undisputed leaders of hospitality.

COSMO SAMuEL BROCKWAy & HARRIET COMPSTOn

London, 2024

iNT roduc T io N

When Cosmo and Harriet first approached me with the tantalizing notion of a book dedicated to the 'glorious' hotels of India, I found myself irresistibly drawn to the project, like a moth captivated by a brilliant flame. My relationship with India and its incredible hotels traces back to my early years, and over the last two decades, it has evolved into the very bedrock of my work as the founder of Ampersand Travel. uncovering the most exquisite hotels in a land as expansive and diverse as India is a pursuit that has come to define my career. It demands not only an extensive network of trusted connections but also an unwavering commitment to the art of observation. To unearth the true gems amidst the profusion of options, one must fully immerse oneself in the journey, as though following the ageold adage of kissing frogs to discover that elusive prince. Most often, the frogs remain as they are, but once in a while, one encounters a princely establishment, a place worth celebrating. In their quest to craft this book, Cosmo and Harriet embarked on precisely such an adventure. They traversed India extensively, covering miles by plane, train, and rickshaw, embracing a nomadic existence out of suitcases for months, all in their pursuit of genuine, first-hand insights. 'Glorious Hotels of India' is a testament to their tireless efforts, distinguished by its naturally vivid imagery and a deliberate departure from the relentless pace of the digital age. It pauses, lingers, and invites one to experience the essence of each property, ensuring it stands as both a definitive guide to India's most splendid hotels and a tasteful, decorative keepsake.

My own initiation into the realm of Indian hotels took place in 1976, a memory that remains vivid despite my tender age of four. Growing up in Rome, courtesy of my father's job at with the un, summers were mostly reserved for our annual pilgrimage back to Sri Lanka, where we reconnected with cherished friends and family. Our journeys invariably featured multiple stops in various Indian cities, both on our outbound and return routes. On one such occasion we spent a few days in Delhi. I can still vividly recall my exhilaration upon learning that our hotel had the most enormous swimming pool. With unbounded enthusiasm, I sprinted towards this aquatic masterpiece, a veritable treasure beckoning like a mirage on the horizon. yet, as I reached the pool's edge, my heart plummeted. What a cruel twist of fate awaited me! The pool, the promised oasis of aqua bliss, lay empty and desolate, a forlorn desert of tiles, not a solitary drop of water glistening under the sun's benevolent gaze.

Those early escapades in India were brimming with tales of grand promises, service foibles, ramshackle edifices, creaky plumbing, and air conditioning systems that had taken an oath of silence. For those who revelled in India's unique allure, these foibles added an element of adventure to the journey. However, for the more cautious traveller, India was a destination approached with a certain trepidation. yet today, it emerges as a global powerhouse, in so many fields including hospitality. The hotel industry has matured, exceeding all expectations and departing from cookie-cutter designs in favour of celebrating individuality and exquisitely restored heritage properties. Indian hoteliers, worldly and inspired, strive to match or surpass the global gold standard. Moreover, there is a burgeoning sense of pride in Indian culture and the confidence to create authentically Indian hotels. India now rightfully boasts some of the world's most breath-taking accommodations, establishments that transport you to a realm bordering on the celestial.

This book is a confident curation of the most enchanting properties throughout India. It encompasses painstakingly restored royal palaces and city boutiques infused with pop-art exuberance. Each narrative is presented through an intimate lens, inviting the reader to embark on an unforgettable voyage through a world of magnificence, surrealism, and visionary allure. 'Glorious Hotels of India' stands as a homage to the most diverse, dynamic, and captivating hotel landscape on our planet. I am delighted to introduce this exquisite volume, a unique and informative publication that graces the shelves with both elegance and visual enchantment.

jAMES jAyASunDERA Founder of Ampersand Travel London, 2024

Alil A f or T

Bishangarh

Afeudal fantasy rising high above the plains of Rajasthan, Alila Fort Bishangarh, an hour’s drive from jaipur, is a masterpiece of a modern retreat. Moulded from a traditional fort, it is an exciting forerunner for the future of other fortresses in the state. Alila means ‘surprise’ in Sanskrit, and the 59-suite hillside property is an example of its namesake – a shock of splendour against the landscape of the vast Aravalli Range.

The current ruler of Shahpura, politician Rao Rajendra Singh, has partnered with the Indonesia-based hotel group, Alila Group, to forge a new future for his 230-yearold, near-ruined ancestral home. The original fort has been left intact – the turrets, windows, and gerua (red ochre) colour untouched. A new structure of three additional floors has emerged, with spectacular views of the valley. Building materials had to be transported up the hill with no paved road, while 10-foot-thick walls and the granite hill had to be negotiated to install electricity and plumbing. The finished product is a triumph and a picture of elegance, almost stark in its simplicity, going against the grain of a typically ornate Rajasthani heritage property.

Alila Fort Bishangarh is marked by interiors that whisper its history under a layer of subtle contemporary detail. Local elements still make an appearance: jharokha-style windows, stone jalis, and colourful hand-painted frescoes with thekri mirror-work. ‘Solving a puzzle’ is how husband-and-wife architect team Ritu and Sandeep Khandelwal describe the seven-year renovation.

Guests are received at the serene, tented reception nestled at the base of the fort. Reminiscent of the hunting tents of past royalty, the tent is surrounded by a meadow of wild grass, an organic kitchen garden, and a seductive swimming pool, the view from which reveals the true grandeur of the fort. Arched bougainvillea-covered stone walls lend an exotic Mediterranean air and a scented welcome.

Once inside the fort, a meander through rock-lined and lantern-lit passages leads to the old royal living quarters that house Amarsar, a family restaurant serving cuisines that are inspired by the Silk Route. The walls are finished with modern adaptations of traditional surkhi and araish, the dying Rajasthani arts of plastering, resulting in glistening, smooth surfaces. Regional fare can be found at nazaara, an outdoor grill, famous for its sand-pit cooking and fabulous vistas of the surrounding countryside, with village sounds wafting up from below. The turret of the bar Madhuveni still retains openings in its thick stone wall, once used for muskets and for pouring out boiling oil onto besieging armies below. The low-ceilinged library, set amidst marble pillars, bears testimony to the old kingdom, with the size of its holdings mapped out on the wall. Further magic can be found in the spa, which is carved out between granite rocks in the ancient dungeon. Guests can also walk across a secret lawn high in the turrets to the couples’ spa pavilion, once the fort’s shrine. The ‘Alila Experience’ is centred around five themes, covering cultural learning, conscious living, active spirits, culinary arts and couple celebration.

As the fort enjoys yet another chapter in its rich history, there can be no doubt that this fresh incarnation is a victory for both conservation and heritage hospitality.

b ujer A f or T

udaipur

The lake city of udaipur, deep in the Aravalli Range, gained a stunning boutique hotel in 2015 with the opening of Bujera Fort. Owned by friends Richard Hanlon and Trish McFarlane, the coral-pink Bujera painstakingly recreates a Rajput fort, mingled with colonial style and fragrant echoes of Mughal pleasure gardens. Reached through studded entrance doors, a central courtyard is set around a marble-lined pool, evoking the forbidden delights of a royal zenana – belying the property’s recent age. Conceived by Hanlon and McFarlane after they attended a wedding in India in the 1970s, the dream of Bujera took several decades to come to glorious fruition. After finding the perfect site, a 15-minute drive west of Lake Pichola, two years of red tape were followed by six years of building.

The vernacular aesthetic is faithful to the region. The pink stone was inspired by the nearby Kumbhalgarh Fort, with added flourishes of English charm in the interior. Windows and doors are mostly reclaimed, sourced from Rajasthan and Gujarat; the stone columns, obelisks and lions are hand-carved, and the roof is insulated with 76,000 handmade pots from jaipur. Felling of trees was avoided during the building of the fort. Rainwater is harvested in two underground tanks which provide six months of water supply post-monsoon. Two regal suites sit on the first floor, each sporting a pair of marble bathrooms. Lining the main entrance gate are five further bedrooms. There is also a self-contained three-bedroom cottage in one corner with an independent garden and plunge pool. The lower ground floor features a spa and boutique filled with textiles and architectural drawings.

A career in engineering, property, and the arts has given Hanlon a discerning eye for detail. Bujera is a homage to the pair’s inimitable style. The airy, high-ceilinged rooms blend princely India with English country house. Every possession tells a story – chintz, toile and ikat are given free reign, and linen that was once Hanlon’s grandmother’s curtains now covers sofas. Friends from the uK, including Lady Bamford, helped Richard source furniture and objets to complete the magic.

A baby grand piano is cloaked in silver foil and topped with banks of family photographs. Four-poster beds boast typically ‘udaipur’ silver detail and the lanterns were fashioned in Belgium for the 19th-century desert palaces of Bhuj, Gujarat. Family heirlooms shipped from abroad lend a personal and elegant touch. A fire crackles in the handsome fireplace of the book-lined library during winter months. A vintage swing on the verandah offers a romantic interlude as the shadows lengthen and the scent of frangipani fills the air. The large, organic vegetable garden supplies much of the menu. An upcoming dairy will churn out goat’s cheese and buffalo mozzarella. Even the biscuits served with afternoon tea are homemade – the emphasis is very much on home here, with all the domestic touches softening the edges of this palatial building.

Each season unfolds at Bujera with a unique flavour. September to March is the classic season, April brings a welcome warmth for visitors from northern climes, May and june see the trees explode into a blaze of colour, and july and August’s monsoons turn udaipur into an emerald oasis, flowing with water – a peaceful, tourist-free atmosphere. The fort has already gathered a devoted coterie of followers who return again and again. This is evidence of the magic of Bujera, working its spell on all who walk through its white, bougainvillea-covered facade. Long may it last.

Top right: The cabinet is from jodhpur and filled with mementoes of the owners’ colourful lives. Bottom left: The piano was silvered by local artisans. Bottom right: A painting by Cuban artist Pedro Menocal.

Previous page 51: Bennison fabrics, Rajasthani embroideries and inherited curtains used as upholstery run riot in the library, creating a country house feel. Top left: Richard Hanlon in his garden. Facing page: The imposing entrance is in traditional Rajput style.

vill A pA ll A dio

jaipur

on the old camel road to Agra, just outside jaipur, a hothouse flower has bloomed in the desert. Villa Palladio is the fantastical creation of inimitable duo Swiss-Italian Barbara Miolini and Dutch interior designer Marie-Anne Oudejans. A symphony of scarlet, cardinal red and deep pink, the former hunting lodge of the noble family of Kanota (of narain niwas Palace fame) has been given a new, dazzling lease of life. ‘We were so known for the cool elegant blues of Bar Palladio, and I wanted to go in a totally different visual direction,’ recalls newly-minted hotelier Barbara, who has previously worked with the likes of Hotel Cipriani and Moritz’s Suvretta House.

Having tired of the hubbub of the Pink City, the long-time jaipur resident had been casting around for a place where, in her words, ‘I could live a sense of village life, of nature, and tranquillity.’ Serendipitously, she did not have to look far as her old friend and landlord, the Thakur of Kanota offered the lease on a rustic property of his, a deceptively antique-looking lodge, in fact only a few decades old but already becoming rather forlorn. ‘It was love at first sight for both of us,’ says Marie-Anne, curled up on the veranda steps under the bougainvillea. ‘We both loved the ecclesiastical reds of Rome, the bishop’s robes, the velvet canopies and this was our design seed, add in the flash of veils and lehngas at the royal events we have attended in jaipur and the vision unfurled itself.’

A scenic 20-minute drive from the city, Villa Palladio is the epitome of a modernday oasis. Ringed by the gentle humps of the ancient Aravali hills, the pearl-white edifice is approached through huge scarlet ‘elephant gates’ and then on through a flower-strewn garden past domed pavilions crowned with red parasols – the effect is startling, seductive and rather surreal in this rural Rajput setting. ‘We wanted there to be a strong element of privacy and peace,’ says Barbara. ‘So, we constructed the ramparts to enclose the space and make it feel more intimate – a secret garden. There is something conspiratorial and playful here that is meant to evoke a sense of childlike fantasy.’ The Alice in Wonderland air continues beyond a tall hedge where there is a chevron-striped Mughal-inspired pool house, its awning reflected in the glistening water below. Concealed by royal palms and hibiscus, it is ‘a nod to European formal gardens with their garden follies’.

The nine rooms are no less whimsical with Sanganer block-prints draped across red-canopied beds surrounded by exuberant frescoes created by the very talented Vikas Soni, who has been the third party in the Palladio trinity for many years. The pavilion rooms are enveloping and filled with scents of the garden – wake up to the flap of a peacock’s wings as it perches atop your own fairy-tale tower. In the arching central salon, chinoiserie- painted pelmet-decked daybeds – an Oudejans signature – offer intimate seating spaces to dine on seasonal Italian fare on jaunty lacquered tables, with, bellissima, the best cocktails to be found. Sunset, glimmering among the gardens filled with florid roses, sweet hibiscus and topiary, is a cue for the music to be turned up, the clink of ice and a beautiful crowd filling this enchanting corner of Rajasthan with laughter and style. A true tour de force and, we suspect, there is more to unfold in the Palladio world.

Marie-Anne Oudejans’ Alice in Wonderland use of colour throughout the villa and its grounds creates a tantalising and heady escape from the bustle of jaipur. The swimming pool has been ingeniously painted black to retain its coolness even on the sultriest of days.

Bottom left: Owner Barbara Miolini performing morning puja ceremony.

Ac KN owled G e M e NT s

So many people helped us to achieve success for this monumental project, including: Our publisher, Priya Kapoor, for believing in the vision from the very start. All our wonderful hosts and supporters: Daleep Akoi, Mary-Anne Denison-Pender, nisha Dhage, joerg Drechsel, Daisy Finer, Cynthia Meera Frederick, Rajni George, Richard Hanlon, Mark Hill, Richard Holkar, yashwant Holkar, Abhishek Honawar, jC, the late Martin and Annie Howard, Princess Esra jah, james jayasundera, nomi Kakoty, H.H. Brigadier Sukhjit Singh of Kapurthala, Siddharth Kasliwal, Arvind Kumar, Princess Diya Kumari of jaipur, Anita Lal, Simran Lal, Bronwyn Latif, jean-Francois Lesage, Ashdeen Lilaowala, Barbara Miolini, Chris Miller, Tatiana de nicolay, Charlotte Orton, Marie-Anne Oudejans, Sneha Pamneja for her wonderful design, Bindu Panicker, Husna-Tara Prakash, Ajay Rawla, jasmine Roy, Silki Sehgal, Denzil Sequeira, Abedin Sham, Komal Sharma, Aditi Singh, Dushyant Singh, Harshvardhan Singh, jaisal and Anjali Singh, nikhilendra Singh, Shagun Singh, Shatrunjai and Bhavna Singh, Sapna Sisodia, Harsch Kumar Sood, Pareina Thapar, Loulou Van Damme, Atalanta Weller, as well as many other beloved family and friends.

ISBn: 9788193750186

Roli Books, 2019

Second revised edition, 2024 Published in India by Roli Books M-75, Greater Kailash II Market, new Delhi-110 048, India

Phone: ++91-11-40682000

Email: info@rolibooks.com, Website: www.rolibooks.com

Design: Sneha Pamneja • Editor: Saachi Khurana

Layout: Naresh L. Mondal • Pre-press: Jyoti Dey • Production: Yuvraj Singh

All details and facts within the book are correct at the time of going to press; however, they are subject to change without notice. The authors and Roli Books are not liable for any changes to the properties featured.

Printed and bound in India