Inn thing
If you love the good life, you’ll feel quite at home at The Serai — a cache of 21 luxury canvas tents and a spa created and managed by the international chain, Raison d’Etre. Spread over 30 acres of a 100-acre estate of scrubland in the Thar Desert, the camp is comfortably close to Jaisalmer (30km from the airport), and has suites with walled-in gardens, pools and even a private spa (at the Royal Suite). Part of its ‘holistic’ experience also includes food — continental and local delicacies — made with organic produce grown in its own gardens, a tented library bar, a baoli-inspired pool, camel and horse safaris, specially designed excursions to forts and havelis, campfires and a boutique to take a Madhubani painting or crafts from the Thar back home with you. Tariff: from Rs 25,000.
See www.sujanluxury.com.
Stay organic
Garden city, Bengaluru, just got a new, bright green address. The latest addition to the small crop of eco-hotels in the country, ITC Royal Gardenia-The Luxury Collection, is a collaboration between ITC and the international chain, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide. A 292-room property, it makes the most of energy- and water-efficient plumbing, solar power, rainwater harvesting and a zero-solid-waste policy. It also has over 1,75,000 plants and indoor soil-free gardens that grow vertically using a drip irrigation system. But despite its green edge, the hotel is far from austere. In fact, apart from the spa, outdoor pool, tropical gardens and signature restaurants, it also boasts of a helipad (not functional yet). Fittingly, all 11 floors echo themes like earth, water, fire, stone and foliage. Tariff: from Rs 12,000. See www.itcwelcomgroup.in.