Guleria Kothi

The setting

Guleria Kothi is a magnificently restored 18th-century riverfront house on Guleria Ghat, in the old-city Chowk quarter of Varanasi. The house dates from the era when the Peshwas — stewards of the Maratha empire — were building along the city's ghats, and it was raised from the famed sandstone quarried in the nearby Chunar area. The name comes from the guler, the wild fig tree, and in a lovely touch the owners have replanted a guler at its original spot, where it thrives today. Restoration began in 2009, and in 2012 the kothi reopened as a luxury heritage hotel — warm Chunar sandstone, antique adornments and local art, with the Ganga flowing past below.

The arrival is the story here: there is no direct car access at all. The only way in is by boat — the hotel arranges it, complimentary — followed by a climb of 26–30 stairs up from the riverbank (and 30–40 more between the Namo Ghat parking area and the boat). Guests are asked to give the hotel at least an hour's notice of their arrival time. During the monsoon, when the district administration halts boat services, the hotel switches to a 24-hour porter service from the taxi drop-off — a 15–20 minute walk through the old city's galis, with porters carrying every bag. The hotel is candid that all this makes the property a poor fit for guests with limited mobility; for everyone else it is, to my mind, one of the most memorable arrivals in India.

Rooms

Fifteen rooms, and just one category: every room here is sold as a Deluxe, allocated on arrival. Some rooms look straight onto the Ganga, others onto the beautifully restored courtyard — so treat a river view as a bonus rather than a promise (tell us it matters when you enquire and we'll ask, but the hotel doesn't guarantee it at booking). Worth knowing: there are no twin-bedded rooms. Couples get a double; friends sharing can have two separate duvets on one bed, or an extra bed added, subject to availability. Check-in is from 2pm, check-out by noon.

Dining

Gangā Teere, the fine-dining Indian restaurant, serves breakfast, lunch and dinner à la carte, with a particular emphasis on local Banarasi cuisine and seasonal delicacies — and in winter moves al fresco onto the open terrace, with chulhas (small earthen stoves) for warmth and the ghats spread out alongside. Café Guleria, on the open deck at the entrance overlooking the Ganga, does continental and fusion — pizzas, sandwiches, pita, and a kulcha sandwich stuffed with chicken or paneer tikka — from noon to 7pm (later in summer), with a live band on Sunday afternoons. Beyond the restaurants there is a traditional Banarasi Thali with seasonal dishes, local sweets and the iconic Banarasi paan, served to live instrumental music (order 24 hours ahead); candlelight dinners on the terrace with a flutist and floral decor; and the rarest of the lot — dinner on the Ganges itself, a regal vegetarian meal aboard the hotel's traditional Bajra boat, reserved before you arrive.

The experience

This is a hotel set up to hand you Varanasi. The team arranges tickets and slots for darshan at Kashi Vishwanath temple, guided temple tours, food walks through the city's kachori, jalebi, lassi, chaat and malaiyo institutions, heritage walks, visits to the weavers' district to watch Banarasi silk brocade being hand-woven, and tours out to Sarnath, where the Buddha delivered his first sermon. On the water: Subah-e-Banaras, a dawn boat ride as the ghats wake to chants and temple bells, and evening rides with instrumental music. Back at the house there are Sufi music evenings in the courtyard, and Kathak performances. The kothi is also an events venue — destination intimate weddings for 150–200 guests, haldi and mehndi ceremonies, corporate gatherings — with the Ganga and heritage palaces as the backdrop.