Dera Mandawa

Rajasthan & the North

Rating: Mid-range

Dera Mandawa overview

Dera Mandawa is the former residence of the Mandawa family in Jaipur. This gracious two storey building with its central courtyard now offers you a peaceful retreat just a short walk from the old city, with the City Palace and other main sights within a short drive.
Guest suites all face the courtyard, with spacious bedrooms and large bathrooms. Ground floor rooms have 2 bedrooms each and a balcony at mezzanine level, while upper floor rooms have outdoor seating areas. All are decorated with colourful fabrics and cushions, and have family photos and memorabilia. They benefit from air conditioning and fans, and have a supply of drinking water and tea and coffee making facilities.
Most meals are served in the courtyard in the open air, though there is a dining room if the weather is inclement. Breakfast is a choice of Indian or continental dishes, lunch and dinner are set menus and need to be ordered in advance. If you're interested in local food the hotel can arrange cooking demonstrations. Indoors there's a lounge and a library with a TV, collection of DVDs and reference books. Sitting in the gardens you can watch the many species of birds as you rest after some busy sightseeing. Guests at Dera Mandawa are able to use the swimming pool at Alsisar Haveli, a 5 minute drive away.

details

Open: Dera Mandawa is open all year, though operates with a smaller staff between May and September (low season).

Location: Dera Mandawa is located on Sansar Chandra Road about 500 yards from the old city of Jaipur. The railway station is 3kms away.

Rooms: There are currently 9 guest suites. They are all large enough to take 2 extra beds if needed, so can accommodate families. Ground floor rooms have a spare bedroom, and have private terraces. First floor rooms have private seating areas. Each suite has a different colour theme. All have air conditioning, phone, safe, hairdryer, minibar, tea and coffee maker and filtered drinking water.

Activities: You’re well placed for sightseeing with the City Palace is just 3kms away, Jantar Mantar observatory 5kms, and old capital of Amber is 6kms from the hotel. The hotel arranges musical performances in the evening and has its own resident musician. Kite flying is popular with children. They also stage cooking demonstrations which guests are welcome to participate in. These need to be booked in advance.

Facilities: The central courtyard is the main social area where you can sit and relax and enjoy meals. There’s a small garden to the rear, sometimes used for cookery demonstrations. The hotel has a cosy lounge and a separate library where you can watch TV or a DVD, leaf through a book or play a traditional dice game. The dining room is used when the weather is too cool for outdoor meals. There is no pool on site but Dera Mandawa guests are allowed to use the swimming pool at Alsisar Haveli a 5 minute drive away, and the hotel can provide transport. The hotel has good eco credentials and harvests rainwater, uses solar heating and bio-gas methane on the kitchen.

Dining: Meals are served in the courtyard and occasionally in the dining room. Lunch and dinner need to be ordered in advance and are based on traditional Indian cooking.

Children: Children of all ages are welcome. Suites can take 2-3 extra beds and ground floor suites have 2 bedrooms.

Health: We recommend malaria prophylactics for travel to India.

Communication: There is free Wi-Fi internet access.

GUY