Six Senses Fort Barwara: the 14th-century fort that took a decade

Tigers in the morning, temples at dusk

This is the point of the postcode: Ranthambhore National Park is a 30-minute drive away. If you have read our coverage of SUJÁN Sher Bagh, you already know this is India's most cinematic tiger country. Fort Barwara is the other way to do it. Safari at dawn, then back through the gates for lunch at The Cortile, a session with the sommelier in the Viewing Gallery, or dinner under the stars at Shikar Burj on the fort's highest terrace. The spa is a spectacle in its own right: 30,000 square feet spread through the original women's palace and both temples, running from Ayurvedic treatments to full sleep programmes.

Getting there is easier than the fairy-tale setting suggests. Jaipur airport is a 2.5-hour drive, Delhi six to seven hours by car, and the hotel's hosts will meet your train at Sawai Madhopur with cold towels before whisking you up in an electric SUV. One honest note the hotel itself makes: the fort overlooks a living village, so the occasional sound of real life drifts over the walls. We think that is rather the point.

Rooms, rates and the enquiry form are on the Six Senses Fort Barwara stay page — tell us your dates and we'll do the arranging. When we land a deal here, members hear first.

Fort Barwara or Sher Bagh: which base for Ranthambhore?

We keep both on our books, and the honest split is temperament. SUJÁN Sher Bagh is twelve tents at the park's edge — campaign furniture, campfires, the safari as the whole point. Fort Barwara is forty-eight suites half an hour from the gates — the fort, the 30,000-square-foot spa and the restaurants are half the reason you came, with tigers at dawn as the other half. Travelling as a pair where one of you wants canvas and the other wants ramparts? That argument is precisely what we're for — tell us your dates and we'll price both.