Hotel Index
Luxury Hotels Across India
Every real luxury hotel we book, across every region — pick a destination below or see the full spread.
Vagator, Goa
W Goa
★★★★★
W Goa is India's first W hotel. It sits on a 25-acre clifftop above Vagator Beach. The Arabian Sea spreads out below. There are 160 rooms, suites and villas. Each has a balcony or terrace with a view. The design is bold, playful and full of colour. Days revolve around the ROCKPOOL and the WET pool. Four restaurants serve everything from modern Chinese at Spice Traders to local cooking at The Kitchen Table. Two bars keep the sunsets lively. AWAY Spa offers body wraps, steam rooms and therapy baths. This is the fashionable end of North Goa. We place guests here when they want music, design and an easy walk to Vagator's beaches and cliffs, with a private retreat to come home to.
Ahmedabad, Gujarat
The House of MG
★★★★☆
This is a family home turned hotel. The Mangaldas family built it in the early twentieth century. It stands opposite the Sidi Saiyad Jali, in the heart of Ahmedabad's old city. The city is India's first UNESCO World Heritage City. Rooms are set around courtyards and gardens. Furniture is handmade teak. Textiles are upcycled and Gujarati. Walls carry the family's own collection. Three galleries show heirloom textiles, jewellery and ritual objects. A heritage bookstore sits nearby. Dine at Agashiye, the rooftop thali restaurant. It is a fixture of the city. Take a heritage walk at dawn. Ride a rickshaw through the pols. Return to the indoor Lotus Pool or the Chakra Spa. Your private guide can time each day around the old city's rhythm. This is the right base for a first night in Gujarat.
Dhordo, Gujarat
Rann Utsav Tent City
★★★★☆
This is a tented city at the edge of the White Rann. It rises each winter for the Rann Utsav festival. The 2026-27 season runs from 1 November to 7 March. Gujarat Tourism appoints the operator. Tents are large and well finished. The Rajwadi Suite covers 900 square feet. The Darbari Suite covers 1,600 square feet with two bedrooms. Both have air conditioning, heating, a living room and a private dining area. Each has a campfire sit-out outside. Sandstone arches and carved jali frame the entrance. Evenings bring folk music and lantern light. Days belong to the salt flats. Your guide times the visit for sunset and full-moon nights. Book early. This is the season's most sought-after address in Kutch.
Sasan Gir, Gujarat
Araiya Gir
★★★★☆
This is a villa resort at the edge of Sasan Gir. There are 48 villas in three types. Lake Villas cover 830 square feet. Forest Villas cover 1,130 square feet. Some Forest Villas add a private plunge pool. Each has a pocket-spring bed, a smart TV and a minibar. Stone walls and wide lawns set the mood. Glass walls open the lobby to the fields. The pool sits among the villas. Dine in the all-day restaurant or on the terrace. Try the evening high tea at sunset. Yoga and a gym are on site. Your guide books the dawn safari and briefs you the night before. Return for a slow lunch and a quiet afternoon. It is the most polished base in Gir.
Manali, Himachal Pradesh
The Himalayan, Manali
★★★★★
The Himalayan sits on a slope at Hadimba Road in Manali, built to look like a Gothic castle in stone and dark timber. It is the work of a single owner-architect over many years, full of carved wood, stained glass, turrets and a private art gallery. The rooms are individual, warm and richly finished, and the orchard rooms look straight up at the Dhauladhar peaks. There is a spa, a heated pool and gardens among the apple and cherry trees. The Hadimba temple and its cedar grove are a short walk. Old Manali and the Mall are a few minutes by car. It is the most characterful luxury stay in the Kullu valley, and the one to book for a Manali leg with a sense of place.
Shimla, Himachal Pradesh
Wildflower Hall, an Oberoi Resort, Shimla
★★★★★
Wildflower Hall stands in twenty-three acres of cedar forest at Chharabra, about a dozen kilometres above Shimla, at twenty-five hundred metres. It was once the residence of Lord Kitchener, and the house is grand: panelled halls, log fires, deep verandas. The rooms are large and warm, and most look out over the deodars to the snow line. There is a heated indoor pool that seems to run into the forest, an outdoor jacuzzi in the trees, a spa, and terraced gardens. It is set well away from the town, which is the point. The staff arrange the drive into Shimla, the toy train, and walks straight from the grounds. It is the finest stay in the state, and the reason many trips base in Shimla at all.
Gulmarg, Kashmir
The Khyber Himalayan Resort & Spa
★★★★★
The Khyber stands at the edge of the pine forest above Gulmarg, at about 2,690 metres, facing Mount Apharwat. It is built of deodar wood and local stone, in a heavy alpine style, and it is about a kilometre from the Gondola base station. In summer the meadow and the golf course are at the door. In winter the snow comes up to the windows and the ski runs start close by. There are 85 rooms, suites and chalets, most with a fireplace and a mountain view. The spa is run with L'OCCITANE, with heated pools and a hammam. Several restaurants cover Kashmiri, Indian and European food, and a fire-lit lounge runs through the cold months. It is the only true five-star resort in Gulmarg, and the reason many travellers add two nights in the mountains to a Kashmir trip.
Pahalgam, Kashmir
Welcomhotel by ITC Hotels, Pine N Peak, Pahalgam
★★★★★
Pine N Peak stands on a wooded ridge above Pahalgam, among tall pines, looking down the Lidder valley. It is run by ITC's Welcomhotel brand. The rooms are large and well finished, most with a balcony toward the valley or the golf course. There is a restaurant, a bar, indoor games, bicycle hire and long grounds to walk. The eighteen-hole Pahalgam golf course is next door. It sits a short drive above the town, so it is quiet, but Betaab Valley, Aru Valley and the Lidder riverbank are all easy to reach with a car and guide. It is the luxury choice in Pahalgam, and the base for two or three nights in the pine valley on a fuller Kashmir trip.
Srinagar, Kashmir
The LaLiT Grand Palace Srinagar
★★★★★
The LaLiT Grand Palace was built around 1910 as the summer palace of the Dogra kings of Kashmir. It is also known as Gulab Bhavan. It stands on a low rise on Gupkar Road, on the eastern edge of the city. Wide lawns run down toward Dal Lake, with the Zabarwan mountains behind. The old state rooms are still in use, hung with Kashmiri carpets and papier-mache work, and a chinar tree in the courtyard once shaded a meeting between Gandhi and Maharaja Hari Singh. There are over a hundred rooms and suites, plus garden cottages. The grounds hold a nine-hole golf course, a spa with an indoor pool, and long walking paths. It is the grandest address in Srinagar, and the natural base for a lake-and-gardens stay in the city.
Srinagar, Kashmir
Butt's Clermont Houseboats
★★★★☆
Butt's Clermont is a small group of heritage houseboats, run by the same family since the 1940s. They are moored on the quiet western shore of Dal Lake, at Naseem Bagh, beside a Mughal-era garden of old chinar trees. This is the calm side of the lake, away from the busy boulevard, reached by the hotel's own boat. Each houseboat is panelled in carved cedar, with a drawing room, a dining room, a sundeck, and a handful of bedrooms. Meals are cooked on board and served by the family's staff. A lawn on the bank looks across the water to the mountains. George Harrison and Ravi Shankar stayed here in 1966, and the guest book runs through ambassadors, writers and photographers since. It is the classic way to sleep on Dal Lake, and the quietest.
Kochi, Kerala
Taj Malabar Resort & Spa, Cochin
★★★★★
Taj Malabar sits at the tip of Willingdon Island, right where the Kochi backwaters meet the Arabian Sea. The original wing opened in 1935. It was designed for passengers arriving by ship, and the building still faces the water as though expecting them. The location is the reason to stay. Cargo ships and Chinese fishing nets pass in the same frame. Fort Kochi is a short ferry ride across the harbour. Ernakulam and the mainland city are about the same distance in the other direction. Heritage rooms occupy the 1935 wing and keep their teak floors and colonial proportions. The newer tower rooms trade that character for wider harbour views and larger bathrooms. Both look at water from almost every angle. Rice Boat is the signature restaurant, built to resemble a Kerala houseboat, and it serves seafood chosen from the day's catch. There is also an all-day dining room and a bar on the waterfront lawn. Sunset from that lawn is the property's best hour. Jiva Spa runs Ayurvedic treatments with resident therapists, and the pool sits at the water's edge. Staff arrange harbour cruises, Kathakali performances and guided walks through the spice markets of Mattancherry.
Kovalam, Kerala
Taj Green Cove Resort & Spa, Kovalam
★★★★★
Taj Green Cove Resort & Spa sits above Samudra Beach in Kovalam, a short walk from the town's famous lighthouse. The resort takes its design cues from Bali. Wooden furniture, heritage motifs, and French windows appear throughout the property. Fifty-nine rooms and suites are set among tropical gardens that slope toward the Arabian Sea. Some suites open onto a private plunge pool. Wellness sits at the heart of a stay here. The resort runs an Ayurveda and wellness centre, led by a naturopathy doctor. Guests can book personalised spa therapies or simply unwind by the infinity pool. A fully equipped fitness centre and daily yoga sessions round out the health offering. Three restaurants serve local Keralan dishes alongside international menus, with 24-hour in-room dining also available. Families are well looked after too, with a supervised kids' club and outdoor play areas. For couples and families exploring Kovalam's beaches, Taj Green Cove Resort & Spa offers a genuinely restful base. The garden, library, and hair salon add quiet comfort between excursions. It remains one of Kovalam's most established luxury addresses, prized for its Balinese-style architecture and sea-facing gardens.
Kashmir to Kanyakumari
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