Hotel Index
Handpicked Luxury Hotels Across India
Every hotel below has been visited and chosen in person — heritage palaces, boutique retreats, and five-star privacy, never picked off a ratings page. Filter by destination or tier, then see every real detail on each hotel's own page.
Sham Valley, Ladakh
The Apricot Tree
★★★★☆
The Apricot Tree stands just outside Nurla village, on the road between Leh and Lamayuru, looking down on the Indus. It is a modern hotel built in the Ladakhi style, with carved wood, stone walls and warm interiors. The rooms are large and well heated, and most face the river and the mountains beyond it. There is a garden, a terrace restaurant and a quiet lounge. Nurla is a good base for the western Sham valley. Alchi is a short drive one way, Lamayuru the other, and the hotel sits low enough that guests sleep well. It is the sensible premium choice for a night or two in Sham, a real hotel with hot water and heating rather than a basic guesthouse.
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.
Cherrapunji, Meghalaya
Jiva Resort, Cherrapunjee
★★★★☆
Jiva Resort sits above Saitsohpen, the old part of Cherrapunji, with hills on every side. The rooms are large and well finished, in a range of suite grades, and the bigger ones have wide views over the valley. There is a restaurant, a grill, a small golf lawn and a jacuzzi. Bicycles and board games are there for a slow afternoon. It is close to Nohkalikai Falls and to the start of the root-bridge trek, and the staff arrange guides and packed breakfasts for an early walk. It is the premium option in Cherrapunji for travellers who want a full-service resort and space to spread out, rather than a room right on the canyon edge.
Cherrapunji, Meghalaya
Polo Orchid Resort, Cherrapunji
★★★★☆
Polo Orchid stands on the edge of the Sohra plateau, near Nohkalikai Falls, where the land drops away into a deep green canyon. The cottages and rooms are set along the rim, and the best of them look straight down the gorge. There is a deck and a glass-walled restaurant on the edge, and on a clear evening the view runs for miles toward the plains. It is the most comfortable place to stay in Cherrapunji, and the closest good hotel to Nohkalikai, the Seven Sisters Falls and the caves. The trailhead for the root-bridge trek is a short drive away. Cloud and rain are part of the deal here. When the weather lifts, the setting is hard to beat.
Shillong, Meghalaya
Ri Kynjai – Serenity by the Lake
★★★★★
Ri Kynjai sits on a wooded ridge above Umiam Lake, about eighteen kilometres north of Shillong. The cottages are built in the Khasi way, with high, upturned roofs shaped like the hull of a boat. They step down the slope among pines, and most look straight out over the water. Inside they are simple and warm, in wood and local weave. There is a spa that uses Khasi herbs, a restaurant with lake views, and quiet lawns to sit on. The lake itself is below, for a boat or a slow walk. It is the calmest luxury stay in the state, and it works best as a place to slow down for a night or two on either side of the falls and the root bridges.
Shillong, Meghalaya
Vivanta Meghalaya, Shillong
★★★★★
Vivanta Meghalaya is a Taj-group hotel in the centre of Shillong, at Police Bazar, and it was the first five-star hotel in the state. The rooms are modern and well kept, with Khasi patterns and local art worked into the design. There is a spa, a bar and a good all-day restaurant. Staff know the region and can arrange guides and cars. Being in the middle of town is the point. Shillong's cafes, the lake, the markets and the churches are a short walk or a five-minute drive, and the roads out to Cherrapunji and Dawki start here. It is the premium choice for a city-based Meghalaya trip, and the easy option for a first or last night around a flight from Guwahati.
Jaipur, Rajasthan
Rambagh Palace
★★★★★
Rambagh Palace began life in 1835 as a garden house. It became a hunting lodge, then the residence of the Maharaja of Jaipur. Today it is a Taj hotel. It still reads as a private home rather than a property. The setting is 47 acres of walled garden, and all of it sits inside Jaipur city. Peacocks cross the lawns at dusk. Marble corridors run past hand-carved sandstone screens and old family portraits. Very little has been added that does not belong. Rooms and suites keep their original proportions. Many look straight out over the formal gardens. The Royal Suites were once the Maharani's own apartments. The restoration left the frescoes and the silk where they were. Dining is a large part of the appeal here. Suvarna Mahal serves royal Indian cuisine in what was the palace ballroom. The Rajput Room opens onto the veranda for long, slow breakfasts. Steam Bar is built around a restored 1930s locomotive. The Jiva Grande Spa occupies its own wing. Treatments draw on Rajasthani royal ritual, and the indoor pool sits beneath a vaulted ceiling. Amber Fort and the old walled city are both about twenty minutes away.
Jaipur, Rajasthan
Alsisar Haveli
★★★★☆
Alsisar Haveli was built in 1892 as a family mansion. It still belongs to the same family, the Thikana of Alsisar in Shekhawati. That continuity is the point of staying here. Nothing about it feels leased or rebranded. The building works the way old Rajasthani havelis do. Rooms open off a series of open courtyards. Painted arches, carved jharokha windows and frescoed walls survive throughout. Corridors turn where the original plan turned, not where a floor plate would have preferred. Every room is decorated on its own terms. Some carry old family furniture. Ceilings are high, windows are shuttered, and the walls are thick enough to keep the Jaipur heat outside. There is a swimming pool set in the garden, which is rare for a haveli of this age in the middle of a city. Meals are served on the terrace and in the courtyard. The kitchen cooks Rajasthani home food alongside a wider menu. The location is central. The walled Pink City, Hawa Mahal and the bazaars around Johari Bazaar are a short drive away. Amber Fort is roughly half an hour out.
Jaisalmer, Rajasthan
Suryagarh Jaisalmer
★★★★★
Suryagarh rises from the desert like a fortress reborn. Built from local golden sandstone, it stands on the Sam road outside Jaisalmer city, facing the dunes of the Thar Desert. The design draws on Rajasthan's fort architecture. Turrets, jharokhas, and courtyards recall the region's royal past. This is a heritage hotel in spirit, not merely in name. Suryagarh is a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World. That membership signals a level of service and design refined for discerning travellers. Inside, the property blends traditional Rajasthani craftsmanship with contemporary comfort. Guests can unwind at the spa or swim in the indoor pool. A fitness centre and sauna round out the wellness offering. The restaurant serves a buffet of local and international dishes. A coffee shop, concierge desk, and 24-hour room service support a smooth stay. Suryagarh sits close enough to Jaisalmer city for day trips to the fort and old town. Yet it feels worlds away. Evenings here bring desert stillness and starlit skies. For travellers seeking Jaisalmer's grandeur with real comfort, Suryagarh delivers both.
Jaisalmer, Rajasthan
Fort Rajwada
★★★★☆
Fort Rajwada was built in the late 1990s, but not in a modern idiom. The design came from a team that included the architects who worked on Jaisalmer's own restoration projects, and the building follows classical Rajasthani proportion closely enough that first-time visitors often mistake its age. It stands on the Jodhpur-Barmer link road, a short drive outside the walled city. That distance is an advantage. Jaisalmer Fort is a living fort with narrow, crowded lanes, and stepping back from it at the end of the day is welcome. The interior is built around a large central atrium in golden Jaisalmer sandstone. Carved brackets, jharokha balconies and stone screens run through the public areas. Corridors are wide and cool, which matters in a desert town. Rooms are generous and traditionally furnished, with arched alcoves and carved headboards. The Royal Palace and Terrace categories add more space and better outlooks. Bathrooms are conventional and well kept rather than designed. There is a large outdoor pool, an Ayurvedic spa and a multi-cuisine restaurant that does a reliable Rajasthani thali. Staff arrange desert safaris to the Sam and Khuri dunes, and the fort, Patwon Ki Haveli and Gadisar Lake are all ten minutes away.
Jodhpur, Rajasthan
RAAS Jodhpur
★★★★★
RAAS Jodhpur sits inside the old walled city, just beneath Mehrangarh Fort. The location is rare. Few luxury hotels in Jodhpur place guests this close to the fort's sandstone ramparts. Blue-washed houses line the narrow streets outside its gates. The hotel itself is a study in restraint. Contemporary architecture sits beside restored heritage havelis on the same property. Locally quarried stone and clean lines replace the ornate excess found elsewhere. The result feels calm rather than crowded. RAAS Jodhpur offers air-conditioned rooms and suites across the property. Many have a fireplace, a minibar, and a separate sitting area. Bathrooms come stocked with bathrobes, slippers, and toiletries. Guests can choose between two restaurants and two bars or lounges for dining and drinks. A rooftop terrace looks out over the Blue City and the fort above it. There is also a full-service spa, a steam room, and an outdoor pool. Free WiFi, valet parking, and a daily breakfast buffet round out the offering. For travellers who want Jodhpur's fort-and-old-city view without the noise of the market lanes, RAAS Jodhpur is the address to know.
Jodhpur, Rajasthan
Ajit Bhawan
★★★★☆
Ajit Bhawan has a real claim to being India's first heritage hotel. It was built in 1927 as the residence of Maharaj Ajit Singh, younger brother of the Maharaja of Jodhpur. The family opened it to guests in the 1970s, well before the idea became common, and they still run it. The property sits on Circuit House Road, close enough to Mehrangarh Fort that the fort walls are visible from parts of the garden. The grounds are the appeal: mature trees, lawns, water channels and a pool, all within the city. Accommodation is spread across the original house and a set of individual cottages and tents in the garden. That means no two categories feel alike. Vintage Suites keep period furniture and family pieces. The Vintage Tents are permanent, properly built, and considerably more comfortable than the name suggests. Food is served in the garden restaurant, and the kitchen's Rajasthani cooking is a genuine reason to eat in rather than out. There is also a bar and a spa on site. The family's vintage car collection is parked on the property, and they run jeep excursions to Bishnoi villages outside the city. Mehrangarh Fort, Jaswant Thada and the clock tower market are all short drives away.
Kashmir to Kanyakumari
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