Himachal Pradesh
If money was no object, regal Wildflower Hall would be almost anyone's top choice of lodgings in Himachal Pradesh. It looms like a modernist Bavarian…
Must-see hotels in Himachal Pradesh
Shimla
Some 40 steps down through a barely signed green gate take you from busy Cart Rd into a magical forest-garden wonderland. Here nestles this wonderfully…
Himachal Pradesh
Unwind amid bucolic views, birdsong and sounds of rushing water, cool off in the plunge pool beneath apricot trees, meditate, learn local cooking and even…
Shimla
For the full Raj treatment, you can't beat this exclusive retreat crammed with chandeliers, tapestries, antiques and family portraits. Five…
Himachal Pradesh
Built in 2017 but using traditional construction techniques, this superb family guesthouse sits beside the mellifluously rushing Jogini stream, 10 minutes…
Himachal Pradesh
Owned by urbane, local ski fanatics (including an Olympic hopeful for 2022), Iceland is Solang’s best hotel, with good pine-clad rooms, summer lawns and a…
Spiti
This inspiring place offers not just comfortable, atmospheric accommodation, solar-power back-up and great food, but also spiritual nourishment and lots…
Himachal Pradesh
Few places in rural India exude such a sense of well-judged classic-contemporary taste as this remarkable tea-estate retreat. The centrepiece is a sports…
Lahaul & Spiti
From outside it looks like a 1930s suburban house, but inside this is the classiest accommodation in Lahaul, new but with exposed stonework, a Tibetan…
Dalhousie
This 1895 heritage property, in the same family since the 1930s, has been renovated to give top-class comfort while retaining oodles of charm. There's a…
Manali
Four-storey Johnson Lodge offers big, bright pastel-hued rooms with a contemporary yet homely air, as well as luxurious two-bedroom duplex apartments (…
Parvati Valley
This magnificent collection of stone-and-wood villas and two 'machan' tower houses is quite unlike anything else in the valley, combining luxury and…
Mcleod Ganj
Up a lane near the Tsuglagkhang, Chonor House is an 18-room gem run by the Norbulingka Institute, whose wonderful handmade furnishings and fabrics are…
Himachal Pradesh
This friendly place, brilliantly run by a French-Indian family, is inconspicuously located on a bend of road between the castle and Roerich Museum. Its…
Himachal Pradesh
The Tirthan Valley's original and best-known guesthouse, Raju's has a perfect, peacefully spacious farm-garden location across the river, 400m downstream…
Himachal Pradesh
Head and shoulders above the Kalpa competition, the sensitively managed Shamba-La comes with numerous extras that turn a stay into a memorable delight…
Spiti
A Buddha figure and local costume displays lead guests into Tabo's most comfortable yet authentic-feeling hotel. Beautifully tiled-floor rooms have…
Himachal Pradesh
Gone Fishing has seven high-quality rooms in three inventively designed cottages (each with communal lounge) and is remarkable for using recycled wood and…
Spiti
With solar power, good bathrooms, little chokse tables and fresh clean linens, the excellent Tara Homestay remains the pick of Mudh's guesthouses. By day…
Mcleod Ganj
Unsigned down steps from the top end of Nowrojee Rd, this outwardly unremarkable, three-storey building in magenta and apricot is a delightful surprise…
Himachal Pradesh
As well as comparatively luxurious bedded tents, Banjara's very extensive riverside apple orchard also features two cottages and The Retreat, a relaxed,…
Himachal Pradesh
In a beautiful spot above the Ravi River 10km southeast of Chamba, this little hideaway includes a menagerie of ducks, birds, Guinea pigs and rabbits in a…
Dharamsala
Friendly, secluded Trimurti is rare in maintaining the essence of 'old' Dharamkot. Its eight neat, spotless rooms are centred on a lovely green garden but…
Shimla
Shimla’s glitziest hotel wraps most of its plush rooms around a multistorey piano-bar atrium, yet maintains a discreet sense of colonial-era charm that…
Himachal Pradesh
At the entrance to the Padam Palace, and incorporating historic features that are considerably older, the high-comfort Nau Nabh (Nine Queens) is a…
Lahaul & Spiti
From the bus station, climb 100m northwest then turn right to find this obligingly managed four-storey place. Immaculately clean rooms have sitting spaces…
Spiti
Almost invisible below the U of the main road 100m northeast of Sakya Gompa, Kaza's longest-running hotel has completely renewed the bathrooms in this mud…
Himachal Pradesh
Set amid lawns and camphor trees 12km southeast of Palampur, this 1930s summer palace was built for the Nawab of Bahawalpur then used by the Dogra royals…
Shimla
Perfectly located and with an attractive white-and-blue half-timbered exterior, Clarkes opened in 1898 and in 1934 was the first property of what would…
Himachal Pradesh
Four comfortable, rustic cottages along with a cosy cafe space and open-sided yoga 'temple' are layered up a steep, rural hillside just across a…
Shimla
Tucked into beautiful forest, yet just 500m from the main east Mall area, the stylish Marina has large, immaculate rooms given a contemporary twist by…
Shimla
Shimla's backpacker stalwart, the friendly, bright-red YMCA has been open since 1930 and takes all comers, regardless of age, gender or religion. Rooms…
Lahaul & Spiti
Only 40m up from the bus station, the large rooms here are some of Keylong's smartest, accessed off polished if starkly bare corridors. The cheapest, hard…
Spiti
Near the bus stand and post office in upper Kibber, this new but very traditionally styled whitewashed home has appealing views across the village and the…
Mcleod Ganj
This appealingly lonely forest hideaway 1km north of McLeod has large, spotless, comfortable cottages set around the charming owner's 1907 colonial-era…
Lahaul & Spiti
Barely 20m from the SBI ATM, on the opposite side of new bazaar, Chandrabhaga currently looks like a building site but venture down two sets of stairs and…
Himachal Pradesh
Just north of Chowgan junction beside the road to Old Bir, Colonel's is an overgrown boutique homestay-hotel set in spacious south-facing gardens layered…
Mcleod Ganj
This place offers a trippy environment of mural-daubed walls for those who can handle all the steps. The 13 rooms feature 6in mattresses and there are…
Himachal Pradesh
This impressive stone-and-wood building, owned and run by a local family, has 15 bright, spacious rooms with good, big bathrooms and fine balconies…
Manali
A cult backpacker retreat, this large family guesthouse is set in orchards just two minutes' walk off the main Old Manali strip. Rooms set off south…
