Hotel Narain Niwas Palace

Some heritage hotels feel like museums with beds; Narain Niwas is the other kind, a lived-in country house that happens to be a palace. Built in 1928 as General Amar Singh's retreat, it was opened to guests in 1978 by Thakur Mohan Singhji Kanota with four rooms, and the same family, now its third generation of hoteliers, still manages it, alongside sister properties Castle Kanota and Rajmahal Palace.

The setting is the quiet trump card: 10 acres of gardens only 3 km from Jaipur's walled city, with rooms and suites done out in antique furnishings and hand-painted walls, plus cannons and weapons from Jaipur's defence dotted about the property.

Then there's the eating and drinking, which is a destination in itself. Bar Palladio brings Italian dining to tented pavilions; Shikaar Bagh channels royal hunting lodges; Café Orleans plays chic Parisian café; Imperial Lancers honours the Jodhpur Lancers, with heritage liquor tastings, cook-with-us classes and candle-lit private dinners in the gazebo on top.

Days fill easily without leaving the grounds, sunrise yoga, high tea, folk dance and puppet nights, the pool, the spa, the family museum, the Kanota Courtyard shopping arcade, or the hotel will point you at Jaipur heritage walks, Jhalana and Amagarh leopard safaris, and hot air balloon rides.