Bundi Vilas

I cannot imagine there is a better place to stay with better hospitality. The staff is just perfection. For Westerners, this is not a classic Western hotel and the shower is not the pressure you are used to and the water takes time to heat up. If that is ok with you then the rooms are beautiful and spacious enough. Please note you are staying literally connected to the Garh Palace. The chef is fantastic. For dinner, get the chef’s tasting. You can dine on the roof looking at the Garh Palace illuminated above you. One of the best dining views ever.

We didn’t stay at the hotel but only dined at the Bundi Vilas restaurant. It was a fixed menu created by chef Mohammed - and what a sensory and visual experience it was. Delicious vegetable dishes, full of flavour, with a spectacular view of the palace at night. Amazing service from the staff and the extremely friendly chef. Perfect romantic dinner spot for couples!

My wife and I have just returned from Rajasthan and stayed at Bundi Vilas. Bundi was one of our favourite stops and Bundi Vilas was a key part of that experience. The hotel is small, built into the walls of the amazing fort, but full of character. Don't expect lots of space and luxury, instead a traditional but very clean hotel, with excellent customer service. The manager, Vishnu, was always on hand to help and went the extra mile to look after all our needs. A standout for us was the absolutely stunning location of the hotel's rooftop restaurant. In our view it has the best view of the fort in town and, of probably all the rooftops we visited in other Rajasthan palace cities. You sit directly below the beautifully lit walls, and each night witness the fascinating annual migration of bats in and out of the fort (at a distance!) plus antics of the monkeys that take over the fort walls each evening - really entertaining! This is capped off by beautiful home-cooked food by 'Masterchef' Mohamed, who created fabulous and varied vegetarian food each day. Mohamed spoke with us to find out what we liked, and what we'd like to try, including sweets, and even very kindly boxed up sweets for our onward trip. Overall, whilst not the most 'luxurious' hotel we stayed in during the trip, Bundi Villas more than made up for this with bags of character, personal touches and strong memories that we will cherish after our return. We'd highly recommend Bundi as a stop (fabulous fort and laid back 'less touristed' small town) and Bundi Vilas as your base. Additionally, through the hotel, you can book a guide for a day - absolutely worth it for the fort and surroundings like the Cenotaph. The guides are a small local team that explored all of the hidden passages and frescoes in the fort during Covid, and have fascinating stories to tell. We travelled to, and from, Bundi by train (in to Bundi from Udaipur), out from Kota (to Jaipur) - easy via the ixigo app.