The honest picture first
Princely capitals: Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur and Bikaner were capitals of princely states, and after independence many princes turned their palaces into hotels.
Ajmer was different: from 1818 it was ruled directly by the British as the small province of Ajmer-Merwara, a pocket of British India surrounded by Rajputana.
- City palaces
- None of real scale
- Spa resorts
- Pushkar, about 15 km
- Lake palace
- Kishangarh, about 30 km
- Close to Ajmer
- Pratap Mahal, Pushkar road
- A long day
- From Jaipur
- No palace to convert: there was no maharaja in residence, so there was no city palace.
- Its great buildings: a shrine, a mosque, a Mughal fort that is now a museum, and a school for princes that is still a school.
- Built for pilgrims: hotels range from simple guest houses in the dargah lanes to comfortable modern business hotels on the main roads.
- Few are luxury: very few offer what our guests mean by it: quiet, generous rooms, real gardens, a good pool, a careful kitchen and staff with time for you.
- Said plainly: we would rather tell you this than oversell a room, and show you how to lose nothing by sleeping outside the city.
- The city's story: our Ajmer travel guide tells it in full.
Choosing your base by the kind of trip you want
Pushkar, for most of our guests
Where: about fifteen kilometres west of Ajmer, over the Nag Pahar ridge.
Why: the best resorts in the district, with pools, spas and quiet countryside around them.
- The rhythm: the dargah early, back for lunch and a swim, and Ajmer again for the evening qawwali, all a short drive.
- The bonus: Pushkar itself, with its lake, its ghats and its evening aarti.
- Remember: the town is vegetarian and keeps its own customs on alcohol. Our Pushkar guide has the full picture.
Kishangarh, for a palace and painting
Where: about 30 kilometres north-east, the former small Rathore state whose former ruling family still runs a palace on the lake.
- Why: the only true palace stay close to Ajmer, for travellers who care more for atmosphere and history than for a spa.
- Practical: the closest stay to Kishangarh Airport, useful on a first or last night.
Ajmer itself, for pilgrims and early starts
- When it makes sense: for the dargah above all, the dawn rituals or the Urs, or a very early train from Ajmer Junction.
- How to choose: a hotel on the edge of town with a garden, not one in the old quarter, and sightseeing in the cool hours.
Jaipur, for a long day out
Distance: about 135 kilometres, roughly two and a half hours on the highway.
- When it works: if you are settled in a Jaipur palace and only want the dargah. Leave after an early breakfast, home for a late dinner.
- The cost: the evening qawwali, unless you drive back after dark.
Hotels in and around Ajmer city
Pratap Mahal, an IHCL SeleQtions hotel
Where: on the bypass road towards Pushkar, at the village of Hokra, in grounds of several acres with the Aravallis around it.
Who runs it: the SeleQtions collection of the Indian Hotels Company, the group behind Taj.
- What it has: a palace-style building with a pool and a spa. Of the hotels on the Ajmer side of the ridge, it comes closest to a resort.
- Its position: useful, between the dargah and the Pushkar lake.
- Be clear: it is a modern hotel in palace style, not a historic palace. Service tends to be praised, but impressions of the rooms and setting vary.
- How we use it: we inspect it regularly and book it for guests who need an early dargah visit or the Urs, or who prefer a large hotel with a familiar group behind it.
Mansingh Palace, near Ana Sagar
Where: within walking distance of Ana Sagar lake.
- What it is: a long-established, comfortable mid-range city hotel with a restaurant and a bar, reliable for business travellers and families. Despite its name, not a palace.
- Its advantage: the evening walk on the lake embankment is easy.
- Our advice: a single practical night, not the centrepiece of a luxury journey.
What to expect from the rest
The range: many modern business hotels and guest houses close to the dargah.
Variable: standards vary enormously, even within one property.
- The old quarter: hotels are hemmed in by lanes that are noisy late at night and very early in the morning.
- During the Urs: prices rise steeply and every room fills.
- Near the shrine: if you must stay there, we check a specific room and tell you honestly what you will get.
Over the hill in Pushkar
Just outside town: Pushkar's old town is tight and crowded, and its finest hotels sit among fields and low dunes with the Aravallis behind.
- Where most guests stay: this is where we put most guests visiting Ajmer.
- Comparing them closely: our guide to luxury stays in Pushkar and the detailed luxury hotels in Pushkar page.
The Westin Pushkar Resort and Spa
The place: a modern resort on the edge of Pushkar, rooms and villas spread through gardens, some with private plunge pools, with a spa, an outdoor pool and views of the hills.
- The most polished stay in the district: the easiest to recommend for international standards after a day in the dargah lanes.
- Who it suits: couples, families and anyone who wants a proper spa and a quiet swim between sightseeing.
- Ask for: a villa set away from the main block if privacy matters.
Ananta Spa and Resort
The place: a large resort in quiet countryside at the foot of the Aravallis, a short drive from the lake, with a full-service spa, an outdoor pool and gardens.
- The feel: calmer and more rural than the Westin.
- Who it suits: travellers who like space and silence, and families who want room for children to run.
- At fair time: far enough from the crowds to sleep, close enough to reach the fairground at sunrise.
Pushkar Palace, on the lake
The place: a heritage hotel on the lake shore, in an old building with terraces looking across the ghats.
- The trade-off: rooms are simpler than at the resorts and vary a good deal, and the lanes around it are busy.
- The reward: nothing beats the view of the lamps on the water at aarti.
- Who it suits: travellers who care about atmosphere above all. We choose the room carefully.
Luxury camps at fair time
When: the Pushkar fair in Kartik, usually October or November.
- What: several luxury tented camps near the fairground, with furnished tents, private bathrooms and dining under the stars. Waking to camel bells is unforgettable.
- Book early: the best fill many months ahead and standards vary, so we book only camps we have inspected.
- Dates and days: our Pushkar Camel Fair page explains them.
A lake palace in Kishangarh
Phool Mahal Palace
The flower palace: a nineteenth-century palace of the Kishangarh rulers on the shore of Gundolav lake, run by the former royal family as a heritage hotel.
- The view: rooms look across the water to the old fort-palace, and the terraces are the best place in town for tea at sunset.
- Heritage, not polish: comforts are simple and rooms differ a great deal. The charm is the family history on the walls and the view.
- Who it suits: lovers of painting and old houses. It pairs naturally with a morning in a Kishangarh painter's studio.
Roopangarh Fort
The place: north of Kishangarh, an earlier seat of the same Rathore family, restored as a heritage hotel.
- The feel: quiet and rural, reached through village country, and very much a fort, with thick walls, courtyards and steps.
- Choose it for: a night of silence and history, not a spa.
- On the road: it breaks the drive between Jaipur and Ajmer somewhere memorable.
When Jaipur is the better base
When it suits: a short journey, elderly parents who dislike changing hotels, or a Jaipur palace you love too much to leave.
The drive: a good highway, manageable with a comfortable car and a driver who knows when to stop for tea.
- Drive
- About two and a half hours each way
- Good for
- Short trips, elderly parents
- You miss
- The evening lamps and qawwali
- Our preference
- One night in Pushkar or Kishangarh
- Where to sleep: Rambagh Palace, the former home of the maharajas of Jaipur, or The Oberoi Rajvilas in its gardens on the edge of the city.
- Still in time: you can stand in the dargah courtyard by mid-morning.
- The cost is the evening: the lamp-lighting and the qawwali are the soul of the dargah, and seeing them from Jaipur means driving home late at night.
- Our preference: one night in Pushkar or Kishangarh, to see Ajmer at both edges of the day. Our Jaipur guide has more on the city's palace hotels.
Heritage or modern, and what each gives you
Heritage, the good: thick walls that keep the heat out, family portraits, courtyards, and a view that has not changed in a century.
Heritage, the quirks: rooms vary in size and light, plumbing can be temperamental, and service is warm but small-scale. Wonderful for a night or two if you know what to expect.
- Heritage
- Phool Mahal, Roopangarh, Pushkar Palace
- Modern
- Westin, Ananta, Pratap Mahal
- Heritage gives
- A sense of place
- Modern gives
- Consistency
- Modern, the good: good beds, reliable hot water, pools, spas and kitchens that can cook to order for a child or a special diet.
- Modern, the lack: no history, and some can feel generic.
- Splitting a stay: in Pushkar we often do one night at a resort and one at the lake, for both comfort and atmosphere.
- Across Rajasthan: our heritage havelis and palace hotels pages explain the wider differences.
What money buys here, and what it can't
Time and calm: here the luxury is those, rather than marble and chandeliers.
A pool to come back to: after the heat of the dargah lanes.
A private guide: one who has known the khadims for years and can find you a quiet corner for the qawwali.
- A waiting car: at the edge of the old quarter, rather than a long walk in the sun.
- A villa garden: to sit with a book through the afternoon.
- Not for sale, privacy at the shrine: everyone, from a cabinet minister to a labourer, takes off their shoes and walks into the same crowd. That equality is part of the place.
- No VIP route: there is none through faith here, and we would not book one if there were. We time your visit for the calmest hour and stand beside you.
- Grand hotels on either side: Udaipur, with its lake palaces, and Jaipur, with its royal homes, are a day's drive away.
- Balancing budgets: our page on what a luxury Rajasthan journey costs explains how.
Rooms, requests and small things worth asking for
Away from noise: a room away from the main road and the wedding lawns. Many hotels host weddings in season, and music can run late.
Old or new wing: in heritage hotels, ask which. Both can be good, but they feel completely different.
- In Pushkar: check the hotel's policy on alcohol and meat before you book. The town is vegetarian, and its hotels follow local custom in different ways.
- For a dawn visit: ask for an early breakfast box or tea in your room. Most hotels are happy to arrange it.
- The Urs and the fair: book six months ahead or more, and expect higher rates and minimum stays.
- Dinner: ask for a Rajasthani meal rather than the buffet. Heritage kitchens often cook family recipes on request. Our Rajasthani food guide explains what to order.
Food and drink at your base
In Pushkar: a holy town where alcohol and meat are not part of local life, and hotels follow its customs in different ways.
In Ajmer: some hotels have bars. If a drink with dinner matters, tell us and we will choose accordingly.
- Pushkar
- Vegetarian, no alcohol in town
- Ajmer
- Some hotels have bars
- Dargah quarter
- Biryani, kebabs, sheermal
- To take home
- Sohan halwa
- After the qawwali: the lanes around the shrine serve biryani, kebabs, slow-cooked curries and sheermal, a soft bread enriched with milk and saffron. We go only to places with a fast turnover, or bring the food to your hotel.
- Breakfast in the city: kadhi kachori, a spiced kachori drowned in tangy yoghurt curry, with sweet tea at a busy counter.
- Jain and vegetarian guests: many kitchens around Pushkar cook without onion, garlic or root vegetables if asked in advance.
- Sohan halwa: Ajmer's dense, nutty sweet, sold in tins in the dargah lanes. Buy it on the way out.
How the seasons change the hotels
The cool months: the best weather and the busiest hotels, so the best rooms go first.
The Urs and the fair: every room in the district fills, rates rise and many hotels set minimum stays.
- Busiest
- October to March
- Book furthest ahead
- The Urs and the Pushkar fair
- Wedding season
- Winter weekends
- Lowest rates
- Summer and the monsoon
- Weddings: resorts around Pushkar are popular venues in winter, and we always check the calendar.
- April to June: very hot and quiet, when a pool to return to matters most.
- The monsoon: green hills, a filling Ana Sagar, and some of the lowest rates of the year. Our guide to the best time to visit Ajmer goes month by month.
Which stay suits which traveller
Couples and honeymooners
Where: a villa at a Pushkar resort, with a garden or a plunge pool.
- One evening: keep it for the lake shore at Pushkar Palace, for aarti and dinner on a terrace.
- What couples remember: the contrast between the private calm of the resort and the lamps on the sacred water. Our Rajasthan honeymoons page shows how this fits a longer journey.
Families with children
Where: a large resort with lawns and a pool, such as Ananta or the Westin, so children can unwind after the crowds.
- Timing: the dargah early, when the lanes are calmer, and the afternoon for swimming.
- What older children love: the boats on Ana Sagar and the golden hall at Soniji ki Nasiyan.
Pilgrims and those coming for the Urs
Stay close: during the Urs the roads around the old city are closed or jammed and every journey takes longer than expected.
- A sensible compromise: Pratap Mahal, on the Pushkar road.
- With a guide: one who knows the crowds and the routes the police open each day.
Lovers of art and history
Where: at least one night at Phool Mahal in Kishangarh, with a morning in a painter's studio.
- Ajmer: visit it for its monuments and the museum.
- The setting: you sleep in the town that produced Bani Thani, with the painters' palette all around you at dusk.
Multi-generation families
The hard part: grandparents often find the dargah lanes the most tiring part of the day.
- How we plan: a resort with level paths and ground-floor rooms, a car to the nearest point the police allow, and one well-timed visit rather than several.
- Read more: our multi-generation journeys page.
Getting from your hotel to the dargah
No cars at the gate: the old quarter's lanes are narrow and, at busy times, closed to traffic.
The walk: your driver drops you at the nearest point and you walk through the bazaar of rose sellers and cap stalls.
- From Pushkar
- About half an hour, then ten minutes on foot
- From Kishangarh
- Under an hour each way
- Last stretch
- On foot through the bazaar
- Carry
- A scarf, a little cash, your phone
- Leave in the car: your bag, camera and valuables.
- Your driver: will wait, or meet you at an agreed point.
- Visiting twice: return to your hotel in between rather than waiting through the heat in the city.
- How we arrange it: our guide to getting around Rajasthan explains our cars and drivers.
How we usually plan it
Day one: arrive in Pushkar by lunchtime from Jaipur or Jodhpur, rest, and walk the ghats for the evening aarti.
Day two, morning: over the ridge early to the dargah, then Adhai Din ka Jhonpra, the museum and Soniji ki Nasiyan.
- Day two, midday: back to Pushkar for lunch and the pool.
- Day two, evening: sunset at Ana Sagar, then the lamp-lighting and qawwali at the shrine, and home for a late dinner.
- A third night: move to Kishangarh, or stay in Pushkar for a slow day of sweets, bazaars and the hilltop Savitri temple.
- A longer journey: this is how Ajmer and Pushkar fit our Sacred Rajasthan journey, which continues south to Nathdwara and Ranakpur.
- More detail: our Ajmer itinerary gives one- to four-day versions, and things to do in Ajmer lists everything worth your time.
