2026 doesn’t belong to palace hotels, but to boutique haveli properties

Not every great hotel was built to be one. Some of the best places to stay in India started as family homes, royal residences, aristocratic mansions and more. Restored with care, reopened with intention, and offering a kind of stay that no new-build can compete with— heritage stays have always existed in India. Right now, they're having a moment that feels less like a trend and more like a revisit.

Whether you're a seasoned traveller chasing experiences that can't be reproduced, a history lover who finds magic in centuries-old walls, or simply someone who wants to slow down somewhere deeply, genuinely beautiful, these five stays are waiting to write you into their next chapter.

Pilibhit House, Haridwar

To wake up to the Ganges from your window is one thing. To do it from inside a century-old aristocratic mansion with its own private ghat is something else entirely. Pilibhit House, built in 1913 and now lovingly restored, sits right on the sacred riverbank in Haridwar. Rooms face either the tranquil inner courtyards or the river itself, and the property's closeness to Har Ki Pauri means the evening Ganga Aarti is practically on your doorstep. A riverside spa, vegetarian dining, and the kind of unhurried, attentive hospitality that only a heritage property seems to know how to offer, Pilibhit House is Haridwar at its most serene and its most special.

The Johri, Jaipur

Tucked into the colour and clamour of Johri Bazaar, the Johri, sits inside Lal Haveli, a 19th-century home that has been restored with extraordinary love and craft. A Michelin Key holder and #93 on the list of the world’s best hotels, it houses five individually appointed suites that look out over a quiet inner courtyard. The restaurant has quietly become one of India's most celebrated, with a seasonal vegetarian menu that feels rooted in the community around it. Come afternoon, the Pukhraj Lounge lays out a signature high chai service before transforming into an intimate cocktail bar by evening. An iconic experience wrapped in history.

Manuscript Jhilwara Haveli, Udaipur

Built in 1910 as the royal residence of the Jhilwara family, Manuscript is the kind of Udaipur stay that surprises you. It is built around neutral tones, European-influenced interiors, and rust accents, all while letting the original jaali latticework, hand-carved pillars, and graceful archways carry the weight of history. A rooftop pool with views of the City Palace, a courtyard restaurant, and a lively rooftop bar with live performances round out a property that feels as much a cultural destination as a place to sleep. Less than a kilometre from Lake Pichola, it sits in the heart of everything Udaipur has to offer.

The Lotus Palace, Chettinad

Getting to Kanadukathan takes a little commitment, a 90-minute drive from Tiruchirappalli airport through the quiet countryside of Tamil Nadu, and every kilometre of it is worth it. The Lotus Palace is a 230-year-old Chettiar mansion, home to Burmese teak pillars, crystal chandeliers, and a central courtyard floor, enough to make you stop and stare. The bar is named 1795, the year the house was built, and the restaurant, 86 Pillars, celebrates Chettinad cuisine with a thali that people genuinely plan trips around. A stay here is not just a hotel experience, it is an immersion into one of India's most distinctive and undervisited cultural worlds.

Rambha Palace, Odisha

Perched on the banks of Chilika Lake, Asia's largest saltwater lagoon, the pink colonial grandeur of Rambha Palace announces itself long before you reach the entrance. And rightly so. Venetian chandeliers beside handcrafted metal figurines of the Odia Dhokra tribe, colonial four-poster beds dressed in vibrant Ikat textiles, French-style gardens framed by Doric columns, all are elements that leave you spellbound. Fourteen suites and a presidential villa, each with a personal butler, dining across seven cuisines, and birding on the lake at sunrise, Rambha Palace is the stay that makes Odisha feel like the discovery you always suspected it was.

Image: Pilibhit House, Haridwar - IHCL SeleQtions

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