Alsisar Mahal

The Alsisar line dates to 1757, when Thakur Samrath Singh, great grandson of Raja Shardul Singh of Jhunjhunu, took the fort; the eighth generation runs the hotels now. A quarter of the mahal came down when the Shekhawati Brigade under Colonel Forrester shelled it for the British, and was rebuilt in 1954. Restoration ran from 2000 to 2006, when it opened as a hotel, the new roof seismic proof, hundreds of old columns and brackets bought in to match the period.

There are 43 rooms and suites. The frescoes are the point of the place, gold leaf laid over painted scenes across walls and ceilings, with mirror work, stained glass and old furniture. Meals move between a frescoed dining hall, Badal Mahal on the top floor under a painted dome, and the courtyard. Drinking is split between a British Bar, a lounge built around a half cut US Army jeep, and the Dungeon, the palace's old jail. The pool sits below arched gazebos on a walled lawn.

Alsisar village is Shekhawati painted haveli country, so the hotel runs a fresco trail, camel cart rides and jeep safaris into the dunes. Since 2013 the palace has hosted the Magnetic Fields music festival each December.