Shalbha Sarda

I find it fascinating how travelling for wellness is a trend that’s long predated any other kind of tourism. In 200 AD, Romans would cross many many hundreds of miles only for a taste of the magical waters brimming with geothermal goodies in the baths at Algeria. European doctors all throughout the previous millennia had a penchant for prescribing lengthy seaside holidays at fancy sanatoriums (have you read The Magic Mountain?).  India’s no stranger to wellness. As the birthplace of Ayurveda and yoga, it’s been drawing hordes of the burnt-out and spiritually curious to some of its best wellness centres for decades. Retreats here have only gotten bigger and better, and normally, fall into two camps: those steeped in ancient tradition and scripture (like Ananda in the Himalayas, or Atmantan), and the slicker, more contemporary setups that throw tech into the wellness mix – Tulah Clinical Wellness, for instance.  They’re both for very different kinds of clientele, and it’s easy enough to not be able to tell the difference from only a glossy brochure or website. That’s where this guide comes in handy. 

Chain hotels are safe, stolid bets. Standard five-star service, clean white sheets, a television that works, and no real complaints. But in cities like Jaipur (arguably the most venerated vertex of the Golden Triangle), it’d be a bit of a crime to settle for a cookie-cutter stay when gorgeous boutique hotels beckon. Time-worn royal havelis, Rajput-meets-Scandi design, artisanal interiors – I can guarantee that Jaipur has hotels you won’t find anywhere else.  If that isn’t convincing enough, here’s something practical – Jaipur is India’s wedding capital, which means peak season comes with all the hectic stuff travellers may not necessarily want: baraats, fireworks, inflated room prices. This is where smaller boutiques truly shine. They help you dodge crazy prices without skimping on the good stuff: the real Jaipur, cafés, bazaars, bars and all. Here’s a list of the ones you can’t miss. 

Touted as the pioneer of wellness stays in the country, Ananda owes half the heavy-lifting of that claim to the Himalayas alone. The palace gazes down at the Ganges (mostly green-blue here in these parts) on one side, and up at the mountains on the other. It’s somewhere between hazy mist and forest.  The rest is an expanse of gem-like gardens and white heritage-style buildings,  all under the steady gaze of the Viceregal Palace, the erstwhile home to the Maharaja of Tehri Gharwal, still kitted out with the century-old furniture, antique four-posters, vintage tapestries and Belgian mirrors. The result, though, isn’t all heady opulence. There is some groundedness here that most heritage palace hotels sidestep.  Who is it for? Wellness is the brisk aim here. The palace will form merely the backdrop; most of your stay will likely be spent between the spa block and your elegant, neutral-toned room, which owes very little to royal nostalgia.  What I mean to say is: if you’re after a glamorous holiday replete with several outfit changes and late, booze-fuelled dinners, this is not it. This is a disciplined, schedule-driven affair. You will wake early, be in bed by 10pm, and probably eat far less than usual.  Travel light – there’ll be a soft white cotton kurta-pajama set waiting for you in your wardrobe, replenished twice daily. You will live in it daily and silently be thankful, considering the amount of oil in your body and hair from the spa treatments. I’d say there’s something d

Dharana Shillim is a solid mix of Ayurveda, clinical science, and advanced diagnostics. The idea is to thoroughly map your health thoroughly with programmes tailored for both a quick reset and a longer overhaul. Set deep in the Sahyadri hills near Pune, within the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Western Ghats, the property feels wonderfully cut off. Originally part of the Hilton Shillim Estate Retreat & Spa, Dharana has since evolved into a far more focused, fully fledged wellness institution. At 3,000 acres, you're essentially sharing a vast chunk of mountains and forest with a small handful of other guests. And unlike many wellness retreats where outdoor activities are bolted on as extras, your walks, treks, and hikes here are very much on campus. What are the rooms like? Inside Dharana's 99 standalone villas, expect earthy tones and clean lines. They feel like a self-contained hideaway of sorts, albeit with floor-to-ceiling windows, leaning into a biophilic design. If you're used to five-star city hotels, this might feel like a shift, especially at this price point. But you're here to relax – not be dazzled by glossy floors and crystal chandeliers.  The one-bedroom Garden Pool Villas are the most popular, and for good reason: sitting areas, sunken bathtubs, workspaces, outdoor terraces, and generous private pools. In the rooms, herbal teas replace your usual caffeine hits, and you'll find yourself reaching for them more than you expected. What about the treatments? There

Tulah isn't your casual detox holiday. Backed by one of the biggest and most advanced hospitals in Calicut (Kozhikode), Meitra, and its founders Faizal and Shabana, this is clinical wellness with a capital C. At roughly $2,000 per person per night, you're definitely not here for slow living with a side of massages. Yes, there is Ayurveda and yoga in the mix, but with hospital-grade support to back them up. This is the place to come if you're ready to be told things about your body you may have been ignoring. What about the treatments?  This is a full-blown multidisciplinary setup. Your social calendar here includes Ayurvedic doctors, psychologists, dentists, fitness trainers, nutritionists, and specialists in modern medicine. The first few days are a whirlwind of blood work, CT scans, and MRIs. Then comes the Tulah Index, a neat summary of your overall health (brace yourself). Based on this, a hyper-personalised wellness plan is created and synced to an app. High cholesterol? The nutritionist curates your meals accordingly. Low bone density on a DEXA scan? Your yoga instructor knows exactly which pose you can't escape. Everything adjusts to you. You also go home with a health dossier on the app – a ‘souvenir’ of sorts that you can share with your doctors, therapists, dentists, and gym instructors back in your city to keep the plan going. What's a typical day like?  A blur of advanced imaging, body scans, blood tests, Vedanta sessions, clinical yoga, Tibetan therapies, Ayurved

Self-care, but make it on a beach. CGH Earth's Swaswara isn't exactly a clinical overhaul… it's more of a ‘I'll feel better if I just slow down a bit’ kind of place. This one’s for the casual wellness seeker who wants yoga, maybe some Ayurveda, but also just a long walk on the beach. Between the sea and a stretch of wilderness in Gokarna, Karnataka, with its own patch of Om Beach, sits Swaswara. It leans towards naturopathy and traditional Indian healing practices, and crucially, you can come here to feel better without burning a hole in your pocket. What are the rooms like? Rustic is the vibe: thatched roofs, exposed brick, red oxide floors, mud pathways. The roomy Konkan villas are built from laterite stone sourced right here in Karnataka, each with an open inner courtyard full of herbal plants. Bathrooms are partially open to the sky, so you might end up showering with actual sunlight and a bonus dose of vitamin D. Only the bedrooms are enclosed and air-conditioned; everything else spills out into the outdoors. Each villa also gets a separate living space and a yoga deck upstairs. Not bad at all. What's the wellness offering like?Swasara keeps things refreshingly flexible. There are structured programmes if you want them – yoga-centred stays, Ayurvedic inputs – but you can also just try pottery and painting for some therapeutic meditation and call it a day. It leans more towards rejuvenation than transformation. Nobody's analysing you to the bone here; you're just being nu

Laalee might quite possibly be the artsiest boutique hotel in Jaipur, but that’s hardly surprising given the owner, Shan Bhatnagar, is an artist. Despite that though, you’d expect art, but not the sheer quantity that Laalee houses. Right off the bat, I’m amazed by the fact that not a single wall’s left unadorned: traditional Pichwai art with lotus and cow motifs; paintings of Lord Krishna, his gopis, and the rest of the ensemble; a massive painting of Shrinathji in the double-height lobby with two staircases. It’s a full-scale flamboyance, a head-on Pichwai takeover, all courtesy of Shan.  Laalee sits at the edge of the walled city – it’s where Jaipur town first began spreading beyond the four original gates. What you get is a modern neighbourhood that harkens back to older days – it’s close to everything you’d want to visit, yet blissfully removed from the honking, dust, and relentless traffic of the city centre. It is, after all, the posher, everyday bit of Jaipur. Not touristy at all.  Why stay at Lalee Don’t mistake the artistic flourishes for a lack of competence. Though once a private residence, Laalee needn’t hide behind the lavish storytelling to prove its worth. Sham and his wife, Devyani (a stellar chef) have refined the place to near-five-star standards, and sure, you may find yourself craving a patch of neutral wall, but Laalee owns the fact that it’s a maximalist’s dream. With the candlelit terraces, rose petals flung around, and Manganiyar music drifting through

It’s slightly unusual for travellers to peel themselves off Jaipur’s Instagram-baiting pink thoroughfares and wander into the less colour-corrected side alleys of the walled city. What they’ll find here is an assortment of time-worn havelis, some of them dating back to the city’s inception. Most are decrepit, but Padmaa’s one of the lucky ones: restored, and restored well.  Nothing about the exterior’s flashy. There isn’t much announcing its presence besides a 300-year-old wooden door, with frescoes peeking out from under layers of limewash. It’s the only thing separating Padmaa from the absolute chaos of honking scooters, stray cows, and locals loudly bargaining over groceries, but that only makes for a stunning contrast once you step inside. The ruckus outside melts into flute notes, the hotch-potch of the street’s replaced by a hush that only the thick walls of a haveli can conjure, and all around, you see stunning local motifs. The contrast happens to be the whole point, and the folks behind Padmaa know it.  Why stay at Padmaa It’s true that Jaipur has no shortage of palace hotels, plus plenty that would very much like you to believe they’re palaces, and they all come with the usual roll-call of massive gardens, fountain features and peacocks. Padmaa’s got some of that royal flourish, but placed against a much more realistic setting. It’s for travellers who don’t mind squeezing through chaotic lanes, who can tolerate a high honk-per-minute ratio, and can handle the real w

Many a traveller, upon setting foot in Jaipur, has expressed a certain disappointment at not finding the sand dunes they expected of the Rajasthan capital. Fortunately or unfortunately, the city’s long outgrown its sandy frontier days, but worry not: if the desert’s what you after, Teela offers a glimpse of it without having to travel all the way to Jodhpur or Jaisalmer.  This one’s not for the rugged camping folks. This is luxury camping, set across a vast, untouched expanse of family-owned land, framed by the Aravallis, wild pampas grass and towering cacti. It’s admittedly an hour outside of the main city, and yes, there are network issues, but Teela’s offering something that the heritage hotels in the city can’t – a break from the fort fatigue, and a fun little escape to the wilderness.  What are the rooms like at Teela? There are two types of accommodation at Teela: the geodesic domes and the Luna Airstream caravans. From the outside, the domes look fairly simple. They’re made from modular steel pipes wrapped in high-density waterproof fabric with curved PVC windows, which is also your first clue that this is very much a cool-weather escape. Inside is all very high design too. Each dome’s got a small kitchenette, a dressing area and a lounging corner set beneath the wide panoramic windows. It’s a clever balance between comfort and good design – the air-conditioning does a decent job of keeping both the hot and cold weather in check (though it doesn’t always put up the str