Fly with me

With only three other tables in the breakfast room, I wondered if there was perhaps a way of chatting to some of the other guests, especially with the lady who had walked in after me and sat alone — so perhaps there are many others who travel alone — that is until her husband joined her ten minutes later. It was a small hotel of only nine rooms, hence the three tables, and due to which I wanted to keep such a hotel a secret.

The thing about India is that they don’t really understand boutique hotels, or so I thought until I came here, to the Amarya Villa (www.amaryagroup.com) in Delhi, a house where each room denoted a different category and was a different colour.

The Amarya was started by Alex, a Frenchman, whose wife was working with textiles in India and so decided to live here. While the villa is Indian in its furnishings, there are some aspects that lend a European touch. But all in all it was a nice escape. The guests were mostly from France, Germany and England.

The last-minute nature of my enquiry meant that I had the privilege of staying here for only one night. I moved on to another similar concept boutique in the heart of Hauz Khas village, called The Rose (www.therosenewdelhi.com), run — again — by a man from France. This hotel did in fact feel like a very European hideaway, tucked away at the end of a lane of shops, eateries and art galleries.

Yet again, as much as I would have loved to spend another two nights here, I was shipped off to The Rose’s sister property, Colaba House (www.colabahouse.com), just five minutes away in the residential enclave of Safdarjung. Here, I had an adjoining living room with a bookshelf filled with interesting books — historical, fiction, spiritual, Indian — which, even though I did not manage to sit and read, I enjoyed browsing through and looking at.

Disclosing information about these hotels, I feel as though I’m revealing precious secrets. With such a small number of rooms and such high demand, I wonder how I will need to book in advance next time. I guess if there was a downside to staying at a boutique hotel, it is the lack of a gym. But for a few days’ authentic experience where the staff treats you like family, the reception feels like your very own lounge and walking out on to the street gives you that sense of being a local rather than a tourist, it’s worth forgoing the gym.

I can’t say I didn’t enjoy staying at the ITC Sheraton last time I was in Delhi. In fact I loved it — who wouldn’t when you have a personal butler attending to you? Or in my case getting creams and medicines for my ankle that felt like it had broken. But that’s an entirely different way to experience India. Returning to the hotel in the evening and getting a pedicure just as the salon is closing, before indulging in an authentic, if a little rich, meal at Bukhara or the royal Dum Pukht, and then getting up the next morning to a kingly spread of colourful dishes and enticing aromas ... it’s quite the Maharaja or Mogul experience.

But this time, it was simply wonderful to discover such delightful small un-hotels, whose close proximity to my favourite area, the Hauz Khas village, made them even more enjoyable.

Follow Meera Ashish on www.talefourcities.com and @meeraashish and @talefourcities