Accommodations in Ranthambore

 

We have always been thrilled with the hotel selections on our Gate 1 Travel packages, and our Classic India package, aside from a few REALLY hard beds, was no exception.

We typically research to see where we’ll be having breakfast and to check out their spa treatments as we know that generally the days are jammed packed and that foot massages can save your trip.

Sawai Madhopur

Sawai Madhopur in Rajasthan is about a 250 km drive from our last resort in Agra.

We realized very quickly in our research that there is nothing close by and that this and other resorts attracted visitors heading toward the Ranthambore National Forest, the former hunting grounds of the Maharajas.

You know you are remote when part of the address for the resort includes “near the helipad.”

The Tigress Ranthambore

The Tigress is a new construction heritage style property located just minutes from the Ranthambore National Park. It afforded us the opportunity to explore the park on two safaris.; one in the morning and a second time later in the day.

We were all greeted by a gentleman with a hand-painted camel and cart used to show guests the expansive property. We never partake in animal rides of any kind for personal reasons and do not have any judgment of others that do.

Inside we were welcomed with non-alcoholic welcome drinks and a large team of staff that took the luggage to our rooms. I headed out for a short walk and found a good size pool and a Pool Shack area with seating that was serving chai and cookies.

We ate most of our meals in the Royal Flavours Restaurant, located just steps outside of our room. It seated about 90 people with a built-in buffet, and it also had some seating and food station outside in the Center Courtyard.

The food was delicious and as usual, had a decent mix of Indian and continental cuisines. One of the features of the restaurant was this fabulous hand-painted mural of a peacock, the national bird of India.

On our last evening, we enjoyed dinner on the rooftop at Royal Panorama.  The resort had an extensive buffet with a station at the end where chefs were making jalebi for dessert. We also enjoyed some local entertainment.

Royal Suites

The resort has 36 Royal Suites as well as 20 Luxury Suites, and even though we can’t find much on them, their website talks about 14 Royal Luxury Tents.

Our group was all in the main building in “Royal Suites” and royal they were. These were probably the most spacious accommodations of any of our trips.

The main room had a king-size bed with a hand-stenciled ceiling. From what we heard, each room was different. We had a private, walled patio with outside seating off to one side.

In front of the room, we had an ENORMOUS bathroom. As India is well known for its marble, it seemed to be everywhere. There was a full-sized soaking tub and a walk-in shower you could park a small SUV in. There was also a door from the shower (and a window above the tub) that opened into a locked off, outdoor space that no one could quite figure out. We all seemed to think it might be for private in-room massages.

All said, the accommodations were excellent and we wished we had spent a few more days there.

Shanti Spa

Off beyond the pool area was a gym and Shanti Spa facility. At this point in our trip, the hotels had not started shutting down spa facilities, and we were able to book ourselves massages.

The facilities are excellent, with several shower areas and a sauna. The staff was quiet and polite, and the massages were relatively good and not all that expensive.

Probably the only criticism was that you had to walk outside from the locker room to the treatment rooms, and the robes provided were indeed not a one size fits all. This big boy had to wrap himself in a towel and then squeeze into a robe.

The resort is absolutely the place you want to stay when exploring the national forest, the accommodations were beautiful, great food, and friendly staff.