There are hotels and then there are luxury hotels.
There are luxury hotels and then there’s Narendra Bhawan.
I recently spent 2 nights in this stunning Art Deco hotel, and it is gorgeous, elegant, and 100% lives up to its Instagram image, which in these days of filters and skilful editing says something.
And now is perhaps the time to admit that I actually chose to stay in Narendra Bhawan because of Instagram!
Yup.
And even more so, specifically because of the 2 resident Golden Retrievers.
Yup.
Narendra Bhawan is stunning, architecturally and decor-wise, with an instinctive flair and quirkiness.
Service, rooms, food – everything was absolutely perfect.
Smashing food.
Lovely service, which was friendly and impeccably polite at the same time.
I would’ve loved to spend all day lounging around in the hotel, preferably petting the dogs, but Bikaner is such an interesting town that there was loads to see and do, so we were out and about much of the day, but I (for one) actively looked forward to returning to such comfort and elegance.
Sadly it was just too darn cold in January to use the roof-top pool, but if ever I’m lucky enough to return to Narendra Bhavan in warmer weather, I may well spend all day in the pool. When I’m not playing with the dogs, that is.
There isn’t a garden as such, just an admittedly small almost driveway-like space, called the “gaushala” – because the late ruler who lived here did indeed have a “gaushala” (cow shed) there. He also had loads of dogs, but the current 2 residents amply make up in character and love for what must’ve been a pretty raucous welcome, back in the day.
This is the outdoor eating area (below) – small but intimate.
The hotel is like an elegant museum with exquisite works of art and quirky furnishings, dramatically lit and displayed and all put together with impeccable taste.
Take a look at the stunning piano, if you will:
This is the thing I coveted most from the hotels’ extraordinary collections:
We paid our own way.
We didn’t know anyone at the hotel, or indeed in Bikaner.
I didn’t tell anyone in Narendra Bhawan that I blog and write reviews.
This comes 100% from the heart.