Must see hotels in India

This riverside lodge 2km from Madla gate is a superb base. Eight large, very comfortable cottages are spread around the grounds, with thick, cooling mud…

A wonderful, laid-back wildlife lodge owned by one of India’s most dedicated tiger campaigners: film-maker, photographer and writer Belinda Wright. It’s…

Nestling next to the village of Kathiwada in Madhya Pradesh, just near the Gujarat border, this breathtaking 19th-century mansion was once the hunting…

How often do you get the chance to bed down in a genuine, functioning Himalayan royal palace? The six suites of old rooms here have been stylishly…

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…

For the full Raj treatment, you can't beat this exclusive retreat crammed with chandeliers, tapestries, antiques and family portraits. Five…

This award-winning, luxury homestay, the beautiful, spacious home of a couple who are experts in wildlife and travel, makes a great base for the park's…

Ivan – a guitar-playing Indian rum enthusiast – and his wife, Purnima, are your South Indian/Bengali hosts at this fabulous homestay offering a window…

Binsar's original Raj-era estate was built in 1856 as the home of British high-commissioner Sir Henry Ramsay. Today it's run by adventure-travel-writer…

If you aren't set on sleeping under the nose of the Taj, this centrally located travellers' hub offers the best-value accommodation in Agra, if not the…

Easily Gujarat's best hotel, this 1920s building – once the home of textile magnate Sheth Mangaldas Girdhardas – was converted into a heritage hotel by…

This homestay in a 1936 colonial home in a residential neighbourhood 1.5km from the old town is a true catch. Good-hearted host Harish, a 37-year veteran…

Live like royalty in this grand 1880 building with expansive gardens that was built as a guesthouse for the Prince of Wales (later King George V). Every…

Founded by the much-missed Mrs Bhandari (1906–2007), this slightly mothballed but friendly guesthouse is set in spacious grounds in Amritsar cantonment,…

About 2km north of the university in verdant Phuldanga village, the art-, craft- and book-filled home of a retired diplomat and his chef-and-designer wife…

This rambling 200-year-old haveli (traditional, ornately decorated residence) is run by the very helpful and knowledgeable Braj Bhushanjee family,…

A retired director of Uttar Pradesh Tourism is your host at this wonderful upscale homestay tucked away in a quiet residential neighbourhood near…

The 1939 Morris by the entrance sets the tone here, with a classy and stylish collection of courtyards and all-white terraces given colour by original…

It's as if the designers of this exemplary place read a handy guide to creating the ultimate bush-chic safari lodge and complied exactly. Superplush…

Passionate enthusiasts run this two-decade-old, conservation-minded lodge, which is deeply entrenched in studying Tadoba tigers. It's located in the…