The 14th century Hill-Fort in Kesroli is the oldest heritage hotel in India. Situated atop the Hornstone Breccia rocks about 150-200 feet up high, Kesroli is in the Alwar district of Rajasthan and only a couple of hours drive from Delhi.
The Hill-Fort was said to be built by Yaduvanshi Rajputs, descendants of Lord Krishna, who converted to Islam in the mid-14th century. It was then taken over by the Mughals and the Jats before it once again reached the hands of the Rajputs in 1775. Its golden period was under the Ranawat Thakur Bhawani Singh during the period from 1882-1934.
The seven-turreted Hill-Fort is conveniently located in the centre of the ‘Golden Triangle’ and is a good base from which to visit the palaces, museums and sanctuaries of Alwar & Sariska as well as the temples in Mathura. At the hotel itself there is little more to do than to soak in the history and relax after a day’s sightseeing or travelling by reading a book or playing board games, and enjoying the good food and service.
There are 21 rooms at the fort including large common areas. It would be an ideal retreat for small groups and families looking for a quiet getaway or a base for sightseeing. This idyllic heritage hotel is also perfect for young couples looking for a romantic break.
The Hill-Fort is known for its historic conservation from its original state in the 14th century. They have retained the basic structure —however they have expanded the number of guest rooms by converting the horse stables into bedrooms. They employ local staff from the neighbourhood villages and the state of Rajasthan mainly. A large portion of the food also comes from Alwar. They also promote the local culture by having a small group perform Rajasthani folk songs and serving a selection of the state food.
Stay
The décor is bright and cheerful with handblock printed Rajasthani furnishings produced in the sanganer and related regions. The rooms have well insulated walls that keep it cool in the summer and warm in the winter. The rooms have a good number of windows and most have a view of the fields outside. There are no phones or TVs in the room. The cheapest rooms are tiny though the rooms get bigger and bigger with the price you pay.
Every room has a theme and is decorated so—for example the Tota Mahal (Parrot palace) had little watercolour paintings of parrots, a large wooden parrot and the colours of the room were green, red and yellow (parrot colours) with a touch of blue. Fitting to our theme, we even had beautiful live parrots outside our room and in the rest of the property. The ‘Tota Mahal’ was originally part of the stables so the place where the horses would be fed is now a bench and the walls include holes in the walls—the place to tie the horses.
The bathrooms have disposable soaps (herbal) and then shampoo, conditioner and hand and body lotion in little disposable containers. Most bathrooms only have showers (no bath tubs). There are a bucket and mug in every bathrooms and a stand alone sink. The bathrooms have mosaic tiles with a geometric design in cream and a contrast colour and the walls and the décor are coordinated to match the tiles.
Dine
The food is definitely a high point at this hotel. Every meal we had (lunch, dinner and breakfast including tea) had a delicious offering of Indian and continental food. The Rajasthani offerings included lal maas (a mutton preparation) which was outstanding and ker sangri (a dish of leaves which are dried and preserved for 4-6 months). Even the shell pasta in the white sauce with parmesan cheese was excellent. Typical Indian staples like yellow daal (lentils), paneer (cottage cheese) and roti (Indian bread) was excellent as well. At lunch our dessert included creamy vanilla ice cream and almond pudding.
For tea we had spicy Indian masala chai (flavoured tea) with home made butter cookies and a freshly baked cake.
Dinner was a lavish buffet with dishes like Mutton with Olives, a Pasta Toscana as well as a delicious broccoli soup. The Indian selection was equally interesting. For dessert, there was an innovative Baked Yogurt which was subtly flavoured and delicious, as well as a decadent rich chocolate mousse and Gaajar Halwa (an Indian dessert made from carrots). They also had shelled ground nuts and jaggery – a local delicacy that is eaten during the winter.
Breakfast was freshly baked bread (with both white and brown bread), fresh fruits and juices, cake, the famous Neemrana preserves from their property in the mountains —apple chutney, pear and plum, porridge or dry cereal, eggs and something Indian.
Within Fort Walls
There are excellent local folk performances ever evening, which you do not want to miss. The open courtyard is magically transformed with white fairy lights dotting the trees. For larger events they bring in a crafts bazaar with bangles and other locally produced crafts including henna artists. The Neemrana store also has a few items from the neemrana store as well as those produced locally.
Games: Playing cards, Chess, Carrom board. A Treasure Hunt and a game of Musical Chairs can be arranged!
Library, Cooking classes can be arranged for guests.
Outside Fort Walls
Visit to Sariska Tiger Sanctuary (48 kms)
Visit to Alwar city (15 kms)
Visit to the Siliserh Lake (25 kms) for boating during morning & evening.
Visit to Kankwadi Fort, Neelkanth Temple, Pandupol, the monuments of Tijara, Jaisamand Lake, Bhangarh-Ajabgarh, and the hot springs in Talvriksh.
The Hill Fort offers bicycles for its guests as well as a camel cart and camel ride.
The Hill Fort Kesroli has been carefully converted into the oldest heritage hotel maintaining most of the original structure with a few minor renovations. Being a heritage property, most of its furniture and décor are antique pieces.
Surrouding the property, they have planted thorny bush plants that help with soil preservation and are used as fodder for fauna. The dried twigs are used for fires. The manager mentioned that they do reuse some of the gray water from the kitchen to water the bushes. The fort has a large variety of flora and fauna within its walls. Among the birds we saw were brightly coloured parrots on the top of the fort and peacocks that roamed the premises.
The bathrooms do not have state of the art bathroom fittings but use old fashion taps which do not aerate the water. The commodes are Parry’s Cascade which don’t use a lot of water either. There are bathtubs in only a couple of bathrooms and mostly shower heads and taps. They provide a bucket and mug in most rooms for those that want to have a bucket bath. The water level is sufficient but runs very deep. This being a desert area the local staff has a natural instinct to not waste water. There are signs in every bathroom requesting guests to conserve water and specify if they want their towels washed.
There are separate dustbins in the bathroom and the room but it is dependent upon the guests to segregate matter if they wish. One of the chefs mentioned that the village does have a separate trash bin for the wet organic rubbish and therefore they segregate when disposing.
The staff at the Hill Fort Kesroli has been trained to check lights in rooms and areas and make sure they are switched off. The geysers were ‘autocut’ in that they had thermostats which did not draw electricity till used. They do not have centralized systems with key cards that control the power in the rooms—nor do they use energy efficient bulbs. However, CFL light bulbs are used in the staff quarters. All the rooms have plenty of light, though which means not much light is required till the sun sets. The fort is also well insulated as the walls are very thick thus keeping the place cool in the summer and pleasant in the winter. We happened to go during a very pleasant time of the year (January 18) and we didn’t need a heater or air conditioner.
At the Hill Fort Kesroli, they use 100% cotton towels and cotton linen. The table cloth, curtains, furnishing are all cotton and handblock printed locally in Rajasthan (Sanganer and Bagaru). Even the uniforms are cotton. According to the manager the old used linen in decent condition is sent back to the central Neemrana office. However at times they give this away locally to poor people.
The Neemrana properties centrally source most materials. But being a heritage property, most of its furniture and décor are antique pieces. Also they support the local artisans such those producing handblock printed furnishings in Rajasthan.
The Hill Fort Kesroli employs local guides for the guided tour. They have a few cars in-house and drivers to take their guests around. The Hill Fort Kesroli has a mix of local staff and revolving staff that are placed from other Neemrana properties. They therefore have staff from Uttaranchal, Haryana, Punjab, Delhi and Rajasthan. The Hill Fort has all male employees with just one woman sweeper. The manager believes that the local culture is not conducive to encouraging their women folk to come work in the property but they are open to hiring women.
The Neemrana Hotels Pvt. Ltd has the best package for its employees in the heritage hotel categories. They provide free education for the employees’ kids, medical check ups for employees in house in the property where doctors gives staff a clean bill of health. Neemrana properties give their staff a bonus (percentage of salary), as well as medical insurance, Provident Fund and good salaries.
On republic day and Independence Day the Hill Fort Kesroli distributes stationery, books and toys to the students in the local school. The charities and NGOs supported are done by the central Neemrana management. The Neemrana Hotels Private Ltd supports an NGO called Khushii which aims at empowerment of women and education in the village of Neemrana. However I did not see any information about this at Hill Fort Kesroli owned by the Neemrana Hotels group.
What’s Hot!
- Historic value and the interesting stories that come along with it.
- Quiet, romantic getaway, still quite undiscovered.
- Easy to reach for weekend travellers from Delhi and Jaipur (2hrs 45 minutes by car).
- Lovely view of lush green mustard and wheat fields around the Hill Fort (during harvest/ peak season)
- Excellent food-great fresh baked produce, tasty Rajasthani and continental cuisine.
- Very friendly staff yet non-interfering.
- Very enjoyable Rajasthani folk entertainment (7-8 pm) every evening.
What’s Not!
- Rooms are noisy (you can hear doors banging or guests moving around).
- Not all rooms are air conditioned.
- No master switches controlled by key cards so all the lights have to be manually switched off.
Ideal For Whom
This property is great for a romantic getaway—it is not very crowded and has plenty of nooks and corners. They have tables and chairs in the rooms that look out to the fields, creating a very contemplative setting. Small groups of working professionals looking for a quick weekend trip seem to take a liking for this property, so it might be something you would be interested in if you have the opportunity.
Families would also enjoy the visit especially if they combined it with a visit to the tiger reserve at Sariska. The place is not so ideal for those looking for an action packed/ exciting trip.
When To Visit
The peak season in Rajasthan is October to April. The weather around mid January to mid February will probably be cool and pleasant and the view will be lovely with mustard fields with yellow flowers. This is also a perfect time for bird watching.
Climate:
Autumn/Winter/Spring: October to April. Max. 31°C, Min. 11°C
Summer: May & June Max. 42°C, Min 25°C
Monsoon: July to September Max. 35°C, Min 22°C
How Many Days
A day and one night is probably ideal. You could arrive, unwind in this idyllic, historic property and stay for the very enjoyable folk entertainment and evening meal. The next morning you could go for a visit to the tiger reserve and ancient temples and leave form there. Alternatively, you could go to the Neemrana fort next, which is just an hour and 40 minutes away.
Things To Bring
Comfortable shoes as there might be a lot of walking to do, sunscreen as the sun is quite strong up on the hill. A camera is very important in a place like Rajasthan… like India actually. And a book for the evenings (no TV in the room).
Hill fort Kesroli is an old heritage fort perched on the hills of the Aravalli mountain ranges near Alwar in Rajasthan.
The property is 2 and a half hours’ by road from Delhi and about 192 km. from Jaipur in the Alwar district in Rajasthan. The nearest airports are Jaipur (domestic) and Delhi (international). There are trains that come into the Alwar station including the Shatabdi from Delhi. The Hill Fort will pick up its guests from the stations.
Nearest Railway Station is at Alwar (12 km.)
Nearest Airport is at New Delhi (140 km.)
The Hill Fort Kesroli is managed by the Neemrana Hotels Private Ltd which has 14 heritage properties all over India including the Neemrana Fort-Palace, its flagship property also in the Alwar district of Rajasthan. The Neemrana group like to call its hotels ‘non hotels’. The co-chairmen Aman Nath and Francis Wacziarg are unlikely hoteliers who seem to care more about preserving the historic value or the properties in their chain than to make money.
The Hill Fort Kesroli was originally built Yaduvanshi Rajputs who built it in the 14th century. After changing hands to the muslims, it landed back to the Rajputs when Alwar became a princely state. It was leased by the Neemrana Group from Mangal Singh, a Rajput. It has been run as a Neemrana hotel since 1993.
“Like waking to a glorious sunrise with panoramic views of mist-shrouded plains…Past flowering fields of mustard seed…The thakur distilled our Hill Fort and Neemrana experiences into one defining thought of ‘dwelling in the past’. We did just that, thankfully bypassing the local museums and lengthy ticket queues by optiong for an historic sleepover instead.” 2003, Peta Basset/Holiday Asia, Singapore
