Hotel Index
Luxury Hotels Across India
Every real luxury hotel we book, across every region — pick a destination below or see the full spread.
Kumarakom, Kerala
Kumarakom Lake Resort
★★★★★
Kumarakom Lake Resort spreads over twenty-five acres on the shore of Lake Vembanad. It is built as a Kerala village. Tiled roofs, carved wood, open courtyards, a canal running through the grounds. The signature accommodation is the meandering-pool villa, where a single shared pool winds past the back door of each villa in a row. The heritage villas are reassembled from old Kerala houses and each has its own courtyard and private plunge pool. The resort has won the World Travel Award as India's leading resort several times over. Ayurmana, its Ayurveda centre, is housed in a separate heritage building and runs full treatment courses as well as single sessions. Meals lean hard into Kerala cooking, including a toddy-shop menu and a seafood grill by the water. The lake sunset, seen from the resort's own jetty or from a sunset cruise, is the fixed point of the day here.
Munnar, Kerala
Scenic, Munnar - IHCL SeleQtions
★★★★★
Scenic sits above Chithirapuram, on a slope of the Munnar tea country. It belongs to IHCL's SeleQtions collection, which is the Taj group's label for hotels with a distinct character of their own. Here that character comes almost entirely from the landscape. The hotel is built in tiers down the hillside. Nearly every room opens onto a balcony, and nearly every balcony looks over tea gardens falling away towards the valley. Cloud moves through at this altitude, so the same view changes several times before breakfast. Room categories climb from Superior through Deluxe and Premium, and the top villas add private plunge pools. Interiors keep to warm wood and clean lines rather than competing with what is outside the window. The Pawcations rooms are set aside for guests travelling with a dog. Food leans on the region. Cardamom, pepper and local produce come from the plantations nearby, and the kitchen will also cook a straightforward Kerala meal on request. Meals can be served on the terrace when the weather holds. Munnar's tea museum, Eravikulam National Park and the Mattupetty and Kundala lakes are all within easy reach. The hotel arranges plantation walks, and staff know which viewpoints are worth the early start.
Varkala, Kerala
Gateway Varkala – IHCL SeleQtions
★★★★★
Gateway Varkala stands on the cliff at the north end of the beach, an IHCL property with about thirty rooms. Every room and suite has a balcony, and the best of them look straight down the Arabian Sea. The grounds are small but well planted, built around a swimming pool with a sunken bar. The clifftop path, with its cafes and shops, starts at the gate, and the stairs to the beach are a few minutes' walk. The Ayurveda centre is Green Leaf certified, the Kerala government's mark for a serious treatment facility. Coastal Kitchen, the main restaurant, has run since 1995 and leans on Malabar seafood. It is a ten-minute drive from Varkala railway station and about an hour from Thiruvananthapuram airport.
Wayanad, Kerala
Taj Wayanad Resort & Spa, Kerala
★★★★★
Taj Wayanad opened in 2023 on a small rise above Banasura Lake, near Padinjarathara. It has 270-degree views of the Banasura hills and the water, and it was built to sit lightly on ten acres of hillside. There are sixty-one keys. Forty-three are waterfront cottages stepped down the slope; five are pool villas with plunge pools. The materials and the roof lines borrow from the building tradition of northern Kerala. Wellness is the running theme. The J Wellness Circle spa leads with Ayurveda, and the layout keeps quiet corners and forest edges close to every room. Dining is two restaurants and two bars, with a south-Indian room and a poolside grill. The resort is a two-hour drive from Kozhikode and its airport.
Leh, Ladakh
Ladakh Sarai
★★★★★
Ladakh Sarai is a small tented lodge in the hills above Saboo, a village on the edge of Leh, away from the town. The accommodation is a handful of stone cottages and yurts, furnished with Ladakhi rugs and textiles, each with a wood stove and a proper bathroom. The camp is set among barley fields and looks across the Indus valley to the Stok range. It is run by an established Himalayan operator and is built for slow days. Meals are shared, the food is local, and guided walks leave straight from the camp. It is the choice for travellers who want the Leh sights but not a hotel in the town, and it works well as a base for the first, acclimatising days.
Leh, Ladakh
The Grand Dragon Ladakh
★★★★★
The Grand Dragon is the only certified five-star hotel in Ladakh. It stands on a rise on the edge of Leh, at about 3,500 metres, with the Stok range filling the windows. The building is run for the altitude. Rooms have a fresh-air system that raises the oxygen level, which helps guests sleep on the first nights. The heating is central and the water is hot, neither of which can be taken for granted this high up. There are 76 rooms and suites, all with mountain views, warm Ladakhi textiles and large bathrooms. The hotel has a spa, a library, a coffee shop and two restaurants, one of them serving Ladakhi food. The family that owns it has traded and hosted in Leh for generations. It is open all year, including deep winter, when most of Leh closes.
Nubra Valley, Ladakh
Lchang Nang Retreat — The House of Trees
★★★★★
Lchang Nang means the House of Trees. It is a small retreat on the bank of the Nubra river, near Sumur, set in a garden of poplar and willow. There are 17 cottages, built by local masons from mud, stone and poplar wood, in the Ladakhi way. They are warm, simple and quiet, with wide windows onto the river and the dunes. The retreat runs on solar power for most of the year. Food comes largely from its own garden and from Nubra farms. There is no bar and no pool. The point is the setting. It is a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World and is owned by a Nubra family. It is the natural luxury base for the Nubra leg of a Ladakh trip, and the reason to give Nubra two nights rather than one.
Pangong Lake, Ladakh
Pangong Sarai
★★★★☆
Pangong Sarai is a tented camp on the south shore of Pangong Lake, near Spangmik, at about 4,300 metres. It is the most comfortable stay on the lake, which is not a high bar, but it is a real one. The accommodation is around 30 yurt-style tents and a few mud cottages. Each tent has a proper bed, an attached bathroom with a hot shower, and an electric blanket for the cold nights. There is oxygen support on hand and a solar and generator backup for power. Meals are served in a central dining tent. The camp only runs in the short season, roughly May to September, and closes when the lake road ices over. This is the one property both our luxury and premium Ladakh trips use for the Pangong night. There is nothing else at this standard on the shore.
Sham Valley, Ladakh
Nimmu House
★★★★☆
Nimmu House is a former Ladakhi noble's home in the village of Nimmu, about forty minutes west of Leh, near the meeting of the Indus and Zanskar rivers. The old house has five rooms, restored with traditional Ladakhi woodwork and furniture. In the orchard around it stand seven canvas tents, each with a proper bed, a bathroom and a wood stove. The garden runs to apricot, apple and walnut trees, and there is a small farm with yaks and dzos. It is an eco-boutique property. Power is mostly solar, water is heated by the sun, and the kitchen cooks with vegetables from the garden and Ladakhi recipes. Nimmu is lower than Leh, which helps with the altitude, and it is the natural first or last stop for the Sham valley and Alchi.
Tso Moriri, Ladakh
Tso Moriri Camp & Resort
★★★☆☆
Tso Moriri Camp & Resort sits at Korzok, the one village on the shore of Tso Moriri, at about 4,500 metres. It is the most comfortable place to stay on the lake, which is a low bar in the Changthang, but a real one. There are around fifteen tents and five solid rooms. Each has a bed with warm bedding, an electric blanket, and an attached bathroom with a Western toilet and a hot shower. Meals are served in a central dining tent. Power runs on solar with a generator backup, and there is oxygen support for guests who need it. The camp only opens for the short season, roughly May to September, and this is the one property both our luxury and premium Ladakh trips use for the Tso Moriri night.
Mumbai, Maharashtra
ITC Maratha, a Luxury Collection Hotel
★★★★★
ITC Maratha is a landmark near Mumbai's international airport. Its great dome nods to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus. The design draws on the Maratha dynasty and on Indo-Saracenic style. Stone carvings were cut on site by master craftsmen. There are 380 rooms and suites. Eight restaurants and bars sit inside. Dine at Peshawri, Dum Pukht or Avartana. Take afternoon tea at Catherine's. Unwind at Kaya Kalp, the spa, or by the lion-fountain pool. Your private guide can time arrivals and departures around the airport. This is the right base for a first or last night in Mumbai.
Mumbai, Maharashtra
The Oberoi, Mumbai
★★★★★
The Oberoi, Mumbai stands on Nariman Point, at the end of Marine Drive. The sea is on one side. The city's business district is on the other. Rooms rise above the bay. Many frame the Arabian Sea and the Queen's Necklace. Suites add a butler. Dine at Ziya for modern Indian, Vetro for Italian or Fenix for an all-day table. Take a drink at the Eau Bar or the Champagne Lounge. There is an outdoor pool, a spa and a fitness centre. Your private guide can time a Colaba walk, a Gateway ferry or Elephanta Island around the hotel's calm. This is the right base for a first night in Mumbai.
Kashmir to Kanyakumari
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