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Most people who retire from the Indian Administrative Service write their memoirs or take up golf. Teji and Neelu Randhawa chose to open a bed-and-breakfast in their heritage mansion in Hauz Khas Enclave. And they filled it floor-to-ceiling with hand-woven durries, carved wood, traditional textiles, lithographs, and Teji's own photographs, stunning images from decades of travelling India as a civil servant. The result is more or less a privately curated museum that just so happens to serve exceptionally good parathas.
What to expect
There are six rooms, each named and decorated around a piece of India's cultural geography: Banni for the Kachchh handicraft traditions of Gujarat; Ajanta, thick with the colours of those ancient Maharashtra cave paintings; Hampi channelling the ruined grandeur of Karnataka; Kama doing something tasteful with the Khajuraho brief; and Neem, which overlooks a park and takes its cue from India's flowering trees. Every room is spacious, every bathroom en-suite and well-appointed, every bed the kind where you have an undignified argument with yourself about leaving.
What else to look forward to
But the rooms, good as they are, aren't really the point. The point is… Teji. Guests across years of reviews use language that stops just short of proposing marriage to him. He is an encyclopedia of Indian history and culture who will help you plan your itinerary, book trains, arrange drivers, walk you around the neighbourhood, and send you off to the airport with a packed breakfast of parathas. He’s published books on Indian heritage and architecture. His photographs line the dining room walls. Browse his rare book collection. Ask him about Bhuj. Ask him about anything. This is a man who spent his career travelling India and has not yet run out of things to say about it.
The location, too, is a pleasure. Hauz Khas Enclave boasts tree-lined streets, a park next door, and community gates keeping the honking at bay. And yet the Hauz Khas Metro station is a ten-minute walk away. Hauz Khas Village with its 14th-century tombs, rooftop bars, art galleries and independent boutiques is also at strolling distance. Humayun's Tomb, Qutub Minar and Lodhi Garden are all within a short ride. Plenty of Delhi to see and plenty of haven to come back to.
Dinner is available on request. Breakfast is served around a communal table where strangers routinely end up sharing travel stories until mid-morning. The masala chai, full stop. The hosts hand guests a detailed information packet on arrival including maps, restaurant recommendations, and transport options that is more useful than most guidebooks. Solo women travellers rate this place with warmth.
Haveli Hauz Khas is not for the minibar crowd, the poolside crowd, or anyone whose idea of a good morning begins with a buffet. It is for the curious traveller.
Time Out tip: Ask Neelu or Teji for restaurant recommendations in Hauz Khas Village before you head out. They've written books on this city. Also: this place does not accommodate Delhi NCR residents.
Getting there: 30 minutes by car from IGI Airport, which is 10km away.