Nahargarh Ranthambhore

The Travel Books don't have this one yet.

If you have read any or all of my other Indian pages, you've learned that I LIKE the haveli notion for lodging. Havelis are historic properties that have been restored to something near (or in some cases even beyond) their former glory. Many of these old maharajah mansions are 150 years old, and represent a faded but magical part of India's past.

We found a gem of a haveli in Sawai Madhopur. The place is called the Nahargarh Ranthambhore, and as of this poing in time (late 2008), it hasn't yet been discovered by the travel books. The reason is that they're just now finishing up the refurb on the property - they were still painting on the exterior, and we doing complete renovation on the third floor back part of the haveli. So for now, it's kind of an unknown entity on the world travel scene, and that will change very soon. This is a stunningly beautiful place to stay, as you will see in my photos.

IF YOU'D LIKE AN ADDITIONAL LOOK OR LOOKS AT THE NAHARGARH RANTHAMBHORE, I HAVE SET UP A SEPARATE TRAVELOGUE ENTITLED "HOTEL PERFECTION". GO HAVE A PEEK AND SEE IF YOU DON'T AGREE THAT THIS IS A PLACE YOU'D WANT TO STAY. It's the perfect combo of luxury, comfort and personal, attentive service.

But, the TRUE beauty of the Nahargarh are the people who work there. You have never in your days seen a bunch of folks more dedicated to helping, making you comfortable and insuriing that every part of your stay is perfect. The waiters in the dining hall are especially focused on customer service. The ubiquitous buffet line was designed to be "serve yourself", but these guys were almost insulted if you wouldn't let them get whatever you wanted for immediate delivery to your table. Incredible service, wayyyyy beyond excellent.

Unique Quality: As I described above, the BEST part of a perfect place (the Nahargarh) was the service and staff. Here's a little story that sums it up...

All of the waiters were terrific, but there were a couple of them who REALLY seemed to like us. Part of it might be that they knew we found and selected the hotel on our own, we were not part of a group. They treated us like gold and were especially helpful and courteous to my wife and daughter. On the night before we left, they were asking about our plans for the next day. When we told them that we were leaving after breakfast, one of them became somewhat sad and mentioned that it was his day off. It clearly bothered him that he wasn't going to be present to say goodbye at breakfast, it was like he wanted one more chance to make us happy, one more morning to bring fresh-squeezed juice anytime our glasses went empty. One more chance to give directions to the chef to make our omelet dreams come true. You get the idea. So, we shook his hand that night and thanked him profusely for being so kind to us.

The next morning, we got up and after packing, we went to breakfast. We were enjoying our meal, with the attentive help of one of our "guys". A few minutes into breakfast, here comes the other guy, hastily putting on his turban. We greeted him with smiles and handshakes, and asked if we'd misunderstood him yesterday when he said he was off for the day.

He said that he WAS but that he'd decided that he wanted to come in for breakfast just to say goodbye.

Incredible.

There is a photo of my wife and daughter with one of our "guys" on my Nahargarh Ranthambhore dining room tip. (restaurant tip)

• Opinion of Price: more expensive than average
• Related to: Castles and Palaces, Historical Travel

Nahargarh Ranthambhore Photo: The Nahargarh Ranthambhore

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