Tranquility of shining Lake Pichola and a view of beautiful Lake Palace, those standing high and convivial Aravali Mountains and gushing birds is a very regular outdoor scene from the Jharokhas of almost 180 year old Kankarwa Haveli in Udaipur. Once a residential building of a respected Rajput family, has now been transformed into a Heritage Hotel. And has become a favorite place to stay for hundreds and thousands of tourists it has been receiving from last 15 years.

Being a local resident I had no reason to visit any hotel in Udaipur but I am fortunate to be the part of UdaipurTimes.com which gave me an opportunity to view and describe the architectural beauty of my own city which I have never seen before. My day in Kankarwa Haveli was something which I will never forget. The fine structured, well carved and artistic architecture of this Haveli tells the story of The Golden Era of Rajput Dynasty, their luxurious lifestyle and their friendliness.

Such a hotel is Kankarwa Haveli standing on the shore “Lal Ghat” of famous Lake Pichola in Udaipur City.

The name consists of two words, Kankarwa which is the paternal village of the owners and Haveli means a multi story residential building with inner courtyard. This Haveli belongs to a Ranawat family which descends from the Royal Dynasty of Mewar Kingdom. The exact date of its construction is not known but it is around 170-180 years old.

Ranawat family resided in it up to 1920 A.D. after that it was rented to students coming to Udaipur from nearby villages, by the year 1950 the building was used by Government as a school. In the year 1993 Mr. Janardhan Singh Ranawat, the owner of Haveli decided to stay here and use it as a Heritage Hotel. It took 2 years for the complete renovation. In the year 1995 Kankarwa Haveli welcomed their first guest, since then many tourists and travelers from different countries of the world have stayed and appraised the hotel.

Kankarwa Haveli has been featured by Discovery Channel, National Geographic and Public Broadcast of Germany. Frommer wrote it as the best budget hotel in Udaipur in an article in New York Times and many other European and U.S. guidebooks and magazines have listed this hotel in their Top 10 Hotels in India list.

What makes it so special?

Rooms

Each and every room is well maintained and spotless which gives a feeling of warmth of a royal ambiance with colorfully dressed curtains that goes with the Rajasthani bed sheets and pillow covers. All over it has a pleasant homely environment.

Interestingly, like other hotels Kankarwa Haveli has no T.V. sets in any of their rooms to preserve the serenity of this royal accommodation. However, every room is equipped with air conditions, white tiled bathroom with a hot water supply and some also has bath tubs.

Almost all the rooms have Jharokhas opening up to a beautiful view of Lake. Jharokhas are also known as Gokhda in local Mewari language.

Roof top

On the Roof you can find a very interesting piece of Art and Architecture “Dhalyo” means slope which is a wooden shade for dinning space. Roof offers a heart moving view of Lake Palace Hotel and Jag Mandir palace in the Lake Pichola. I could not simply stop myself admiring the beauty of Udaipur from Kankarwa Haveli.

Food

Mr. Janardhan and his family members are doing their best to keep the Haveli in its original form and shape. They don’t even serve Non-Vegetarian Food as it is prohibited to keep the spiritual energy and soul at a higher state. Guests are served traditional Indian food and the same is consumed by the Ranawat family. The best compliment received by the Hotel is when the guest says:

“After many years I have slept peacefully without my sleeping pills in your hotel, ambience is too calm and soothing”

“I am canceling my rest of the trip to spend more days in this hotel, I like it very much”

Some guests even tear away their tickets to spend more time here as they feel themselves more balanced and souls are rejuvenated. Says Mr. Janardhan, proudly.

Kankarwa Haveli has 17 Air Conditioned and well furnished rooms, staying here surely make the trip memorable.

They also have a beautiful website (www.kankarwahaveli.com) from where you can get more detail information, online bookings and other enquiries. You can also contact on +91-294-2411457.