Come discover 100 of the most romantic small hotels and places in the world.
Old desert caravans carried goods eastward from the Himalayas through an historic Mughal empire landscape.
Where the Macedonians marched, the Guptas ruled, and the British raj fled to escape New Delhi’s oppressive summer heat. The Himalayan foothills of northeastern India have terraced hillsides carved out of dense forests; its upper regions are mighty and snowcapped.
Turn of the century palace built by the Maharajah of Tehri Garhwal and used by the British viceroy as an escape from the summer heat, dust and noise of New Delhi. Now expanded into a spa retreat offering austere luxury and a place to meditate and practice Ayurveda and yoga in the land where it first began. Ananda overlooks the Ganges River, 3,280 feet below.
T: +91 13 782 7500. 75 rooms. $275-
www.anandaspa.com
Shimla, the beautiful capital of Himachal Pradesh, was once the British Raj’s summer capital. It was Shimla where Rudyard Kipling wrote and Nehru and Gandhi plotted independence. Today the “Queen of the Hill Stations” still has remnants of this time. The Oberoi Group has several fine hotels here but to experience an authentic Raj experience, stay at Chapslee, former summer home of a Rajahand now operated by his grandson’s family as a hotel.
T: +91 177 280-2542. 6 rooms. $125-
www.chapslee.com
Stay in luxury suites with four poster beds and teak club chairs. With breathtaking views of the Kanchenjunga Mountain Range, Glenburn stretches from an elevation of 3,700 feet down into a Himalayan river valley in the heart of Darjeeling tea country. Originally a 19th century British planter’s house and estate, Glenburn has been meticulously restored by one of India’s pioneering tea families, the Prakashes, who now own it.
T: +91 33 2288 5630. 4 Suites in Burra Bungalow. $400, incl. meals.
www.glenburnteaestate.com
17th and 18th century Mughal Emperors made Agra the capital of India. The area contains superb Mughal monuments, including the magnificent Agra Fort. It also the “most extravagant monument ever built for love”, India’s Taj Mahal, one of the most romantic places in the world. Located in central Northern India.
From every room, a view of the Taj Mahal.
T: +91 562 231515. 105 rooms. US$ 370-
www.oberoihotels.com
Grand palaces and majestic forts along northwest India’s ancient silk route and its Mughul-ruled lands. Stay in a thakur’s (a gentleman land-owner, the equivalent of an English lord) home, now open to paying guests.
A palace fortress, immensely old and once very grand, today a fully staffed home of a thakur couple, descendants of the first thakur to own the palace. Old photographs of tiger shoots and bejeweled maharajas usher you into the fairy-tale world of pre-independence days.
T: +91 291 311611. US$ 100-
https://houseofrohet.com
Enormous suites in this newly built palatial fortress hotel located one hour south of Jodhpur. They stable Marwai horses and provide guide-led safaris through the desert to nearby tribal villages. Camel rides too.
T: +91 964 6169 665. 9 rooms. US$ 300-
https://houseofrohet.com
An intimate nobleman’s house located in the streets of Old Jaipur. Recently refubrished, it is still owned by the family’s descendants.
T: +91 141 263-2370. US$ 200-
http://www.samode.com
A 3-story 19th century former merchant’s haveli (mansion) set in the bustling Jeweler’s Market in the pink-walled Old City, a World Heritage site. Restored in 2021 with style and whimsy by the 9th generation descendants of India’s oldest jewelry store whose family sold jewelry to kings, queens and maharajahs.
T: +02 800 55 51680. US$ 300 +. 5 room suite.
www.thejohrijaipur.com
India’s first jungle resort is located near the Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve—formerly the private hunting grounds of the maharahajs of Jaipur—and now one of the best places on earth to view tigers in the wild. The luxury tents are decorated with breezy sari fabrics, Burmese teak furniture and tiger-striped carpets.
T: +91 7462 23999. 29 tents. US$ 500-
www.oberoihotels.com
Popular beaches line the coast.
The land of surf, spices and coconuts, Kerala is located on a sliver of land between the blue Adriatic Sea and the dramatic Western Ghats mountains on India’s southernmost tip. Kerala is a popular destination with Europeans seeking Ayurvedic de-toxing treatments.
Guests stay in tharawads (traditional wooden cottages) and travel by kettu-vallam (rice boat) in this tropical region of inland waterways, rivers, and lakes.
T: +91 481 524491. 42 cottages. US$ 105-
https://www.cghearth.com
Containing a stylish mix of antiques and modern furnishings, the former colonial mansion is located in the historical district of Fort Cochin.
T: +91 484 216 666
www.malabarhouse.com
India’s west coast has beaches, Portuguese history and architecture, and a decades-old reputation as an alluring anything-goes party destination. Avoid the overdeveloped southern beach areas filled with hotels and package tourists and go up river and north.
Secret beachside setting on a private ten acre spit of land located between the Arabian Sea and a creek. Originally a 19th century family’s summertime retreat the current descendant – a well known fashion photographer – has opened it up to paying guests.
T: +91 982 003 7387. 3 cottages and 3 tents. US$ 125-
www.aseascape.com
Located 200 miles off the coast of Kerala, these coral islands are India’s smallest union territory. Only 1,500 visitors come a year because of the government’s conservative initiative.
34 teak beach huts on 128 island acres featuring turquoise blue lagoons, silvery beaches and lush green coconut palms. A total escape from the world: no t.v. or phones.
T: +91 484 266 8221. 30 rooms. US$ 290-
http://bangaramislandresort.in
A necklace of balmy islands southwest of Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean, favored by Europeans.
Environmentally sympathetic with a luxurious and natural rustic sensibility, this fashionable retreat was created by the scion of a wealthy Indian family and his Swedish wife, a former model.
T: +960-230 304/5. 65 villas. US$ 560-
www.soneva.com/soneva-fushi
The Seychelles are among the world’s most enchantingly remote romantic places: Indian Ocean islands with spotless beaches, rare birds, giant palms, warm water swimming and snorkeling.
Rooms with views of the ocean and neighboring islands.
T: +248 233 316. 10 rooms. US$ 400-
www.chateaudefeuilles.com
These 572 islands are located in the Bay of Bengal and form the western perimeter of the Andaman Sea. While the eastern fringes of the Andaman Sea are famous for the upscale beach resort islands of Phuket and Langkawi, the Andaman Islands still retain the original wild and untamed character of this pocket of South East Asia. Only a few Andaman Islands permit tourism.
Take a two hour flight from Mumbai, a one hour boat ride, and 30 minute drive on a primitive road to reach one of the most beautiful white sand beaches in Asia. 15 nearby dive spots are filled with exotic fish but nothing beat a swim with Rajan, the hotel’s tusked male elephant.
T: +91 319 228-2151.18 thatched-roof cottages. US$ 100-
www.barefootindia.com
