How to choose: palace, haveli or lodge
The palaces: built by the royal family in the twentieth century. Above all Lalgarh, on the northern edge of the city, whose wings now hold two hotels.
Narendra Bhawan: the more recent home of the last maharaja. The palaces are large, grand and comfortable, with gardens and space.
The havelis: carved merchants' mansions in the old walled city, built by families who made fortunes elsewhere in India. Bhanwar Niwas is the finest open to guests.
- Royal palaces
- Lalgarh's two hotels, Narendra Bhawan
- Merchant haveli
- Bhanwar Niwas, in the old city
- Country retreat
- Gajner, a lodge by a lake
- Lalgarh to Junagarh
- About 15 minutes by car
- From Gajner
- About 40 minutes to the city
- The country retreat: Gajner, a royal lodge by a lake in a protected woodland outside the city.
- Location matters less: than in Jaipur or Udaipur, because Bikaner is compact and traffic is light by Indian standards.
- Distances: from Lalgarh, Junagarh Fort is about fifteen minutes by car. From Bhanwar Niwas you walk into the lanes. From Gajner the city is about forty minutes away.
- Choose by mood: Lalgarh for the full palace experience, the haveli for the life of the old city around you, Gajner for calm, birds and open sky, perhaps for a final night.
- The middle of the day: sightseeing is best early and late, so you spend the hot hours at your hotel.
- Lawns, a swim or a courtyard: Lalgarh or Gajner for lawns and space, Narendra Bhawan for its rooftop pool, the haveli for a book in a shaded courtyard with the old city outside.
- Across Rajasthan: our pages on palace hotels and heritage havelis explain these two styles of stay.
- The city itself: our main Bikaner guide sets the hotels in context.
The hotels, one by one
- Laxmi Niwas Palace
- Lalgarh's first wing, completed 1902
- Lallgarh Palace
- Run by the family trust
- Narendra Bhawan
- Last maharaja's home, rooftop pool
- Bhanwar Niwas
- Rampuria haveli, completed 1927
- Gajner Palace
- Lakeside lodge, about 30 km west
Laxmi Niwas Palace
History: the oldest wing of Lalgarh Palace, designed for Maharaja Ganga Singh by Sir Samuel Swinton Jacob and completed in 1902.
Who stayed: viceroys and visiting royalty, in the palace's heyday.
Today: the most opulent place to sleep in Bikaner, now run on a lease by a private hotel company.
- The building: red sandstone carved into screens, balconies and arcades inside and out, and public rooms hung with portraits, trophies and period furniture.
- The courtyard: lit at night, one of the great dining settings of the desert.
- Who it suits: travellers who want a true palace, with high ceilings, long corridors, grand staircases and a sense of occasion.
- Less suited to: those who prefer contemporary minimalism or a full-scale modern spa.
- Rooms: they vary considerably in size, light and outlook, because it was designed as a royal residence, not a hotel. Tell us what matters most and we will ask for the right one.
- The building's story: our Lalgarh Palace guide.
- More detail: read our Laxmi Niwas Palace guide.
The Lallgarh Palace hotel
The trust: in 1972 Maharaja Karni Singh set up a charitable trust in his grandfather's name and endowed part of Lalgarh to it.
Two hotels: two wings were turned into hotels. One became Laxmi Niwas. The other is run by the trust as the Lallgarh Palace hotel, an older spelling of the name.
- Its neighbours: the same red stone, gardens and history, beside the family's private wing and the Shri Sadul Museum.
- Its character: quieter and more old-fashioned, with long verandas, hunting-lodge furniture and black-and-white photographs.
- The feeling: a great house that has not been redecorated for visitors.
- Who it suits: travellers who enjoy patina and history more than polish, and who like the idea that their stay supports a family trust.
- Our check: service and maintenance in older heritage hotels vary, so we always check recent experience before recommending particular rooms.
Narendra Bhawan
History: the home of Maharaja Narendra Singh, the last maharaja of Bikaner and son of Karni Singh, who lived here until his death in 2003.
Today: reimagined as a boutique hotel with a strong point of view.
The design: rooms and public spaces follow the stages and passions of the maharaja's life, with an art deco thread throughout.
- Theatre in the details: from the furniture to the uniforms.
- Facilities: a rooftop pool with views over the city, and a spa.
- Who it suits: travellers who love design, wit and a little drama, and would rather hear a story told in a contemporary voice than sleep in a museum piece.
- Also good for: couples, and guests who have already stayed in several traditional palace hotels and want something different.
- Less suited to: those who want the gravitas of a centuries-old palace, who will be happier at Lalgarh.
- More detail: read our Narendra Bhawan guide.
Bhanwar Niwas
The family: the Rampurias, Jain merchants whose fortune was made in textiles and property in Kolkata, built a cluster of mansions in the heart of the old city.
This house: completed in 1927 for Seth Bhanwarlal Rampuria, in rose-coloured Dulmera sandstone.
Inside: Rajasthani carving and gold-leaf painting mixed with 1920s European taste, marble staircases, tiled floors and furniture made to Calcutta designs.
- A hotel since: the 1990s, when the family opened it as a heritage hotel. It still feels like a private home.
- Why stay: to live inside the carved red stone you came to see, step into the lanes at dawn and come back to a quiet courtyard.
- Rooms: full of character, and each one different.
- Who it suits: couples, solo travellers and anyone interested in the merchant history of Rajasthan.
- Less suited to: those who want a pool, extensive gardens or large modern suites.
- More detail: read our Bhanwar Niwas guide.
Gajner Palace
Where: about 30 kilometres west of the city.
Its beginnings: a royal pleasure garden and lake created in the eighteenth century, which Maharaja Ganga Singh expanded into a palace and hunting lodge.
The shoots: it was the scene of the famous imperial sandgrouse shoots, when viceroys and princes came to Bikaner each winter.
- The railway: it was linked to the city by rail in the 1920s.
- A sanctuary now: Karni Singh later turned the hunting reserve into a wildlife sanctuary, and blackbuck, chinkara, nilgai and waterbirds live in the woodland around the lake.
- Today: a heritage hotel run by the HRH Group of Hotels, with red sandstone pavilions right on the water.
- The mood: calm and spacious, with long walks, birdsong and sunsets over the lake.
- Who it suits: travellers who want a night or two of peace, families who like space, and birders.
- The trade-off: less convenient for an intensive day of city sightseeing, so many guests combine one night here with one or two in Bikaner.
A night at Gajner, and why we love it
Gajner is not the place for those who want to be in the middle of things. It is the place for those who have been in the middle of things for a week and would like, for one night, to hear nothing but water and birds.
Arrive in the afternoon: after a morning in the city, and walk down to the water's edge before tea.
- The woodland: once the most famous shooting reserve in Rajputana, now a sanctuary ringing the lake.
- As the light softens: you may see blackbuck or chinkara moving through the trees, and herons and ducks settling on the water.
- In winter: migrant waterbirds join the residents, and keen birders can spend hours here with binoculars.
- Evenings: a drink on a terrace above the lake, dinner outside on a warm night, and a sky full of stars far from the city lights.
- Next morning: an early walk or drive in the sanctuary with a naturalist, then back to Bikaner or on towards Jaisalmer.
- The right ending: Ganga Singh's guests came here to shoot. Guests now come for the very birds and animals the sanctuary protects.
- Winter migrants: our page on birding in Rajasthan explains them.
Which room to ask for
Built as homes: Bikaner's heritage hotels were not built as hotels, so no two rooms are alike.
Two kinds of room: some have the high ceilings, period furniture and carved windows of the original apartments. Others were created later in service wings or newer blocks and feel more standard.
What we do: we ask for rooms in the oldest, most characterful parts of each house, and tell you honestly if the room we can get is not one of them.
- Lalgarh hotels
- Original wings, courtyard or garden views
- Bhanwar Niwas
- Off the main courtyard, or quieter upper rooms
- Gajner
- A view of the lake
- Families
- Interconnecting rooms or a suite
- Mobility
- Ground floor, near the lift or dining room
- In the Lalgarh hotels: rooms in the original wings, with views onto the courtyards or gardens, usually have the most character.
- At Bhanwar Niwas: rooms off the main courtyard put you at the heart of the house, while upper rooms can be quieter and brighter.
- At Gajner: ask for a view of the lake.
- Everywhere: ask about stairs, bathroom size and noise from weddings or events, because they vary greatly.
- Families: ask for interconnecting rooms or a suite, not two rooms on different corridors. Palace corridors can be very long.
- Mobility: ask for a ground-floor room near the lift or the dining room. Our accessible travel guide explains how we plan around old buildings.
Heritage or modern: an honest comparison
Newer hotels exist: Bikaner has newer business hotels, and some are comfortable, but none offers the experience of the palaces and havelis.
What heritage gives you: space, history, beautiful settings and personal service.
Long service: staff have often worked in the same house for years, sometimes for generations.
- What it may not give: the seamless consistency of a global luxury brand.
- The honest small print: a shower may take a moment to run hot, and air conditioning in a stone room may be noisier than you are used to.
- Thick walls: Wi-Fi in a building with walls a metre thick may falter in the far corners.
- Part of the charm: most guests come to accept these things, and the best heritage hotels work hard to minimise them.
- For seamless comfort: Narendra Bhawan, the most thoroughly reinvented, is likely to suit you best.
- For atmosphere: Laxmi Niwas, Bhanwar Niwas or Gajner will give you memories no modern hotel could.
What your money buys in Bikaner
Better value: compared with the palace hotels of Jaipur and Udaipur, Bikaner's stays often offer more for the experience.
Within reach: a suite in a palace wing is attainable for travellers who could not consider the most famous rooms elsewhere.
- Few groups: the hotels are rarely full of large groups.
- What extra money buys: better rooms rather than extra luxury, the original apartments, the best views and the most space.
- Beyond the room: a guide who grew up in the old city, and a private dinner in a courtyard.
- Time and access: early access to sights before the groups, and a naturalist for a morning at Gajner or Jorbeer.
- On the road: a driver who knows the roads of the desert.
- Budgets: our page on what a luxury Rajasthan journey costs explains how we think about them across the state.
Dining in Bikaner's hotels
Two menus: the heritage hotels serve Rajasthani and international dishes, and the best meals are usually the regional ones.
The regional table: laal maas, ker sangri, gatte and bajra rotis with fresh white butter.
- Laal maas
- Fiery Marwar mutton curry
- Ker sangri
- Dried desert berries and beans
- Gatte
- Gram flour dumplings in yoghurt curry
- Bajra roti
- With fresh white butter
- Family recipes: ask the kitchen for them. Many chefs are delighted to be asked and will cook dishes that are not on the menu.
- Private dinners: we arrange them away from the main restaurant, in a courtyard, on a rooftop or beside the lake at Gajner, with folk musicians if you like.
- One meal out: we always build in at least one in the old city, for bhujia, kachori and rasgulla at the city's best-known shops.
- The dishes explained: our food of Bikaner guide covers them and where to eat them.
Getting the best from a heritage hotel
People, not systems: service is warm, personal and sometimes a little informal, and the best experiences come from engaging with it.
Talk to them: tell the staff what you enjoyed and what you would like.
Ask the chef: what the family used to eat. Ask the old retainers about the house.
- Give notice: for anything special, such as a private dinner or an early breakfast before a dawn drive to Deshnoke.
- Evenings: the centre of hotel life, with dinner served later than in many Western countries.
- Mornings: they begin early, since the best sightseeing hours are at dawn.
- Winter weddings: celebrations bring colour and music, and occasionally noise.
- Individuality: expect it in everything from plumbing to the opening hours of the pool.
- Thanking the staff: our guide to money and tipping explains how.
When to book, and when hotels fill
January: the Bikaner Camel Festival brings visitors from across India and abroad. Book several months ahead for the best rooms.
The wedding season: roughly November to February, on auspicious dates, family celebrations can fill the palace hotels.
- Busiest
- January, the Camel Festival
- Wedding season
- Roughly November to February
- Main season
- October to March
- Quiet and hot
- April to June
- Monsoon
- July to September, little rain
- Colourful but noisy: we check the event calendar before booking.
- The main season: October to March.
- April to June: very hot, and the heritage hotels are quiet, with some good-value rates for travellers happy to sightsee early and late and rest by the pool between.
- July to September: Bikaner receives little rain compared with southern Rajasthan, and the hotels are calm.
- Each month: our best time to visit Bikaner guide explains it.
Practical notes before you book
Winter nights: December and January are cold, and stone rooms hold the chill. Ask for a heater and an extra blanket, and pack a warm layer for courtyard evenings.
Summer heat: from April to June it is intense. Check your room's air conditioning on arrival, and sightsee early and late.
- Cold nights
- December and January
- Pool weather
- October to early December, from late February
- Arriving
- Mostly by road or train
- Dry days
- No alcohol served
- Pools: outdoor pools are most inviting from October to early December and again from late February, since winter mornings and evenings are cold. Ask us which hotels have one.
- Getting here: Bikaner's airport has limited domestic flights, and most guests arrive by road or train. Our guide to airports and flights explains the options.
- Alcohol: served in the hotels, but not on official dry days. Our page on alcohol and dry days explains the rules.
- Celebrations: tell us in advance about a birthday or anniversary. The palace hotels are wonderful at private dinners and small surprises, given notice.
Where to stay on the road to and from Bikaner
Khimsar Fort, towards Jodhpur
Where: on the road south to Jodhpur, a natural night between the two cities.
- Its setting: dunes nearby and a sense of rural Marwar.
- More detail: our guide to Khimsar Fort, and our page on Khimsar, the village and its countryside.
Castle Mandawa, towards Jaipur and Delhi
- Heading east: the painted towns of Shekhawati make an excellent first or last stop.
- Where to stay: Castle Mandawa is the classic choice, in the town of Mandawa among its frescoed havelis.
Jaisalmer and the desert camps
To the west: Jaisalmer has some of the finest stays in the desert, from Suryagarh to luxury tented camps.
- The circuit: our desert triangle journey links Bikaner, Jaisalmer and Jodhpur.
- Choosing a camp: our page on luxury desert camps explains how.
Our matches for different travellers
First visit, wanting a true palace: Laxmi Niwas Palace.
Design lovers and repeat visitors who have seen many palaces: Narendra Bhawan.
- Couples and solo travellers who want the old city on their doorstep: Bhanwar Niwas.
- Families who want space, or anyone after a night of calm and birds: Gajner Palace.
- Lovers of patina and history over polish: the Lallgarh Palace hotel.
- Honeymooners: a palace suite at Laxmi Niwas or a stylish room at Narendra Bhawan, with a final night by the lake at Gajner. Our Rajasthan honeymoons page has ideas for the rest of the journey.
- A slower trip: two nights, one in the city and one at Gajner, is a lovely combination.
- Planning the days: our Bikaner itinerary shows how, and our list of things to do in Bikaner helps fill them.
