Gangtok, Sikkim · premium

The Elgin Nor-Khill, Gangtok

★★★★☆

The Nor-Khill was built in the 1930s as the royal guest house of the Chogyal, Sikkim's former king, and it still feels like one. The name means the House of Jewels. The rooms are panelled in wood, with old furniture, Tibetan rugs and thangka paintings, and the lawns look across the valley to the hills. There is a small spa, a bar and a dining room that serves Sikkimese and colonial dishes. It sits just above the town, a few minutes from MG Marg and the Tibetology institute. It is the premium choice in Gangtok for a stay with a sense of the state's own history, rather than a modern resort.