From Churu to Thanjavur, Kolkata to Goa, Vidya Deshpande looks at four luxury residences that redefine holidays by giving you curated culture, cuisine and inspired experiences
Summer’s here and everybody seems to be heading out on a summer vacation. But how do you make your holiday unique and different? The key lies in picking your place of stay carefully. The best way to keep away from the crowds is to pick a hotel that offers you privacy, comfort and the feeling of getting away from it all. I always like to choose homes turned into luxury boutique hotels, as they build in a lot of local culture, cuisine and creature comforts and you don’t have to ‘do’ or ‘see’ much as your hosts would have taken care of giving you the ‘local’ feel.
So what’s special about these places? The owners put in a lot into their properties to give you everything there is to see and do in this region. They are usually around the property also to give you the personalized touch and make sure that you are looked after well. Here are some properties that have gone the extra mile to make your stay special:
MaljiKaKamra, Churu
Drive into this narrow alleyway in Churuand you cannot imagine what lies behind the large wooden gates. Drive in and this tall green structure stands out like a sore thumb. The bile green colour throws you off a bit, but according to the current owners, Deepak Balanand his brother Narayan Balan, they have tried to keep it as close to the original. The havelibelonged to a local businessman and was used as a ‘house of entertainment’, probably explaining the bright green façade.
Churu is a small, dusty town in the Shekawati region of Rajasthan. The region is known for its havelis with fresco paintings and most of the big Marwari business families in India come from this region from the Piramals to the Goenkas to Singhanias and more.
Deepak and Narayan go the extra yard to make sure that your experience in Churu is special. They organize a whole range of activities from a walk through the ‘open air’ galleries in the town, to donkey cart races, special moonlight dinner around the ruins of a village tank, drive into black buck sanctuary, to village visits, dune bashing and more. And that’s what makes it special.
When you are planning a trip to Shekawati, start at Churu, move to Nawalgarh, Dundlod and finish off at Madawa. You could easily do a road trip from Delhi spread of 5 to 6 days. You could also reach Churu by rail, connected conveniently from Delhi. The tariff starts at INR 3400 per double room with breakfast – other meals and activities are extra.
www.maljikakamra.com
Svatma, Thanjavur
Tucked away in a residential colony is this lovely boutique hotel Svatma. One part of the hotel is a sprawling bungalow, with five luxurious suites. The house is done up like a typical regal Maratha Tamil house. For many years, between the 17th and 19th centuries, the Marathas held a portion of Thanjavur, after the end of the Cholaempire. Shivaji’shalf brother, Venkoji, ruled this area, followed by 8 other Maratha Kings, before it was annexed by the British.
It has wooden floor with high ceilings and two upper floors also made of wood. The ground floor has one suite, but the rest of the area has been largely maintained as a museum with typical Tamil musical instruments like the veena and Tanjore paintings. There are four suites of the first floor and a special honeymoon suite on the second floor. On the ground floor is a small café, where you can have some typical South Indian coffee and snacks while you play traditional games dice games, long lost to modern board games.
To the side of the bungalow is an annex with a gorgeous swimming pool, built to resemble a typical temple pond, a restaurant on the ground floor that serves Thanjavur cuisine. The food is all vegetarian but is something to write home about as the chef has great job of serving elegantly curated local cuisine. The annex also has 32 rooms spread over three floors and a lovely sky bar on the top floor, done up with traditional artifacts. The tariff is stiff, but is worth the expense, as you will enjoy the Tamilian hospitality. Room rates start at INR 14500 per night.
www.svatma.in
The RajbariBawali, Kolkata
An hour’s drive from the hustle-bustle of Kolkata, and you arrive in Bawali village, hidden inside which is a sprawling zamidari bungalow, The Rajbari. The bungalow was lying in ruins till 2008, when current owner Ajay Rawla spotted the ruins while exploring some temples nearby. He then bought the property and decided to restore it to its original glory. Rawla went about in a systematic way to restore this zamindar bungalow. He sought permission from all 16 previous families that owned the property and used architects and artisans trained by the Aga Khan Foundation from around the world to rebuild the property, brick-by-brick.
It took him eight years to rebuild the bungalow and turned it into a luxury boutique hotel in 2016. Each of the 32 rooms in the Rajabari has teak furniture from Burma, antiques bought from other homes being pulled down and even the linen and curtains are made from antique cloth restored by craftsmen.
There is nothing much to do there except enjoy the indulgence and luxury of the hotel with specially crafted Bengali meals. You could walk around in the surrounding villages are take a cycle tour in the rural areas, but the place is meant to simply chill around and give you a glimpse of zamindari-style living. The room rates start at INR 10,500 per night.
http://www.therajbari.com
Champakali Villas, Goa
For most, Goa means the beach, shacks, parties, food and drinks. But if you want to do something different, get away from the crowded beaches and yet get a feel of Portuguese Goa, then Champakali is what you are looking for.
Tucked away amidst a banyan grove in Old Goa, are the private villas of Bindu and BuntiBakshi. Two villas stand on the hillside near Mandovi River and offer luxury living that has a ‘homely’ feel to it.
This 12-room property is a half an hour’s walk from the famous churches of Old Goa, a short ferry ride away from the Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary and DivarIsland. It’s more about slow, indulgent living than about beaches and parties. Of course, you could hire a car and drive to Bambolim beach (25 minutes) or to Candolim beach (45 minutes) from the property and get your fillof what Goa is famous for: the beaches!
Ideally, it could be a part of your Goan trip, where after a few days of hectic partying and indulging on the beach, you could check into to Champakali to recuperate and rejuvenate yourself before you head back into the corporate world. The things to do from here are a heritage walk around Old Goa and its churches and a cycling trip to do some soulful bird watching at Divar’s Island. Room prices start at INR 10,000 a night in peak season and are about 30 per cheaper in the off season.
http://www.champakali.in
(Vidya Deshpande is a freelance writer and owner of Soul Purpose Travel that specializes in curated travel experiences)
