Cool Hotels. Kim Inglis
was the time to expand. Neemrana has grown organically since 1464, and we are continuing the tradition." A new wing was added. In keeping with the monumental architecture, it houses a swimming pool made from stone crumbled from the billion-year-old hill, a gym, yoga room and Ayurvedic center below, an amphitheater for performances, and a conference center, museum and art gallery in Ghelot stone, so named after the nearby village where it is quarried. "But the whole palace is a gallery," I protested. "Yes, but there's always room for more," came the answer.
In 2001 the hotel earned the prestigious INTACH-SATTE award for Restoration and Tourism, and has now become synonymous with the phrase "restoration for reuse." As the judges noted: "Neemrana remains the foremost example of how we can pick architectural treasures from the national dustbin and turn them around into mainstream revenue earners in tourism,"
Neemrana's proximity to Delhi, its indefatigable owners, and the new facilities it offers ensure a steady stream of visitors to this fairy-tale fortress. After more than half a century of neglect, Neemrana's mighty profile is once again cast against the Rajasthani horizon—a testament to vision, talent and sheer hard work.
Village Neemrana, District Alwar 301 030, Rajasthan, India
tel: +91 1494 46007 fax: +91 1494 46005
email: [email protected]
Vanyavilas near Ranthambhore, India
The vast wooded estates of Indian princes used to teem with wildlife, Picnics and hunting trips were de rigueurior royalty, and many of their old hunting grounds are dotted with lakes, lodges and pleasure pavilions. What is today's Ranthambhore National Park was, from the turn of the century, the private hunting reserve of Jaipur's maharajahs, although it had been ruled locally, as the thousand-year-old fort atop its central hill testifies. But with control passing to Jaipur, the forests were closed to the public and stocked with birds and wildlife for shikars, or hunting expeditions.
On such occasions, a vast retinue of princes, kings, guests, hangers-on, servants, beaters as well as gun-bearers would have made the trip from the city to set up a home-away-from-home in a lakeside encampment. Typically these would have been tented, and in addition to kitchens, stables and sleeping chambers, there were pavilions for entertaining, dining and dancing. Royal tents were complex cloth palaces: inner layers were sumptuously embroidered and decorated, and came with fabric arches and different "rooms" for different functions. Gold and silver threads, velvets and silks, soft cushions and curtains adorned the interiors, while outer awnings constituted public areas. In many ways, such camps were portable recreations of court life,
Nowadays, visitors to Ranthambhore eschew hunting and shooting in favor of animal and bird watching. The park has had success in tiger preservation, and its ridges, lakes, woods and valleys are home to numerous species of deer, a rich variety of resident and migratory birds, hyenas, bears and jackals as well as a few leopards, coucals and over 30 resident tigers. Visits to the park are strictly monitored to avoid disruption to wildlife, and tiger sitings are quite frequent, Many visitors opt to stay in the semi-modernized royal lodge, but my recommendation is to check out Vanyavilas, a tented resort adjacent to the park. With a backdrop of the Aravalli cliffs and a meandering water garden setting, it is reminiscent of the old encampments of Rajput royalty.
Vanyavilas has an intimacy that is lacking at the other "vilas" properties. Set in a 22-acre (9-hectare) mango, lime and guava grove, it is super-deluxe (of course), but somehow smaller in scale and temperament, All accommodation is in air-conditioned tents (ten twins and 15 doubles), although they are so luxurious you can hardly call them that. Each has a teak floor and proper walls, an outer canvas sheet that provides additional protection from wind and rain, and a softer inner layer beautifully embroidered with miniature tigers and floral motifs. Beds are four-poster or twin and there are the usual wonderful amenities we have come to expect from these properties. The bathroom has a claw-foot stand-alone tub, folding table and rolled up towels, giving the impression of transportability. It is as if the bathroom had just been set up for the night's camping, and could be dismantled and taken to the next camp the following day
The public areas are set in a single-storey main building fashioned in the style of a traditional haveli or nobleman's home. From the ceremonial gatehouse, you walk past a modernist oblong water feature in Jaipur tiles of deep blue, to a teak door with brass inlay flanked by two elephant statues and flaming braziers. The severity of the entrance is softened by a reception lobby that sports frolicking elephants in gold leaf chasing each other around the ceiling architrave. All is fresh, open and cool. There's a snug colonial-style library, and access to a sweet-smelling courtyard where a neem tree was bursting into lacelike flowers and scenting the air. Here a small pool flanked by tasseled parasols offers cool from the raging Rajasthani heat,
Because the focus of the resort is on the national park, conversations at dinner invariably center around who spotted which tiger and who trekked where. Choose between the indoor dining room where exuberant frescoes depict local scenes (left) and the sunken outdoor dining space. Seating is on the perimeter on stone benches; here Rajasthani applique cushions are arranged around a central fireplace that boasts a roaring log fire from December to March. The walls sport murals of trees in a homespun blue dye on a white background and two musicians in the corner entertain during your meal. Periwinkle blue ceramic plates enhance the summertime picnic feeling.
Members of staff are erudite and warm, and all speak excellent English, Nightly presentations by Fateh Singh Rathore, who for more than 25 years has been a resident of Ranthambhore, are lively and informative. Vanyavilas is lucky to have him as their resident naturalist. As Geoffrey C Ward writes in his book Tiger-Wallahs (2002): "Fateh has lived within Ranthambhore's forested heart as a ranger, mapped and built its roads asia wildlife warden, successfully shifted 12 villages from it as a field director, nearly lost his life defending it against outsiders intent upon its destruction, and helped to document for the first time the secret lives of tigers whose astounding openness his efforts made possible."
If you aren't hooked on tigers before you get to Vanyavilas, my bet is you will be by the time you leave. Those cuddly stripes are super-seductive.
Ranthambhore Road, Sawai Madhopur, Rajasthan 322 001, India
tel: +91 7462 223999 fax: +91 7462 223988
email: [email protected]
Samode Palace near Jaipur, India
"Hurry, hurry...you're late," he hissed, then grabbed me by the arm and disappeared into the dark. I ran after him, through the courtyard, down the steps, through the next courtyard, the dark, heavy Rajasthani air like a blanket, and out through the front door ("two steps, mind"). Then I heard the distant music, and as my eyes adjusted to the darkness—I focused on the form of trees, four camels, two horses in the outer court, torches blazing and the fort lit up atop the hill. It was a traditional Rajasthani, red-carpet welcome for a group of visiting dignitaries. I'd almost missed it,
We only just had time to draw breath—and the group came through the main gate into the courtyard. The men were dressed in white kurta pyjamas with marigold garlands, the ladies