How to choose: town, desert edge or dunes
The old town: below the fort, a handful of heritage hotels in former palaces and havelis let you walk straight out into the lanes.
The trade-off: you give up some space and quiet for the pleasure of being in the middle of things.
The desert edge: the stony country a short drive out, where larger resorts sit in walled grounds with pools, gardens and spas.
- Old town
- Heritage palaces and havelis below the fort
- Desert edge
- Resorts 15-20 minutes from the fort
- The desert
- Private estate or dune camp
- Our usual mix
- Two nights near town, one in the desert
- Why it works: calm and room to breathe, with the fort a fifteen or twenty minute drive away.
- The desert itself: a private estate like The Serai, or a camp among the dunes at Sam or Khuri, an hour from town.
- Our usual mix: two nights near town for the fort, havelis and lakes, and one in the desert for the silence and the stars.
- Families: often prefer a single base with a pool, and drive out to the dunes for an evening.
- Couples: often want the romance of a camp.
- First-timers who walk everywhere: may be happiest in a heritage hotel in town, if they don't mind a little noise.
- Remember the rhythm: out from sunrise to late morning and again in the late afternoon, at your hotel through the hot middle of the day.
- What matters most: a pool, shaded courtyards and a good lunch, more here than almost anywhere in Rajasthan.
The hotels we book, and who they suit
- Suryagarh
- Families, calm after the fort
- The Serai
- Romance and silence
- Mandir Palace
- History, walking the old town
- Nachana Haveli
- Couples and solo travellers
- Jawahar Niwas
- Period atmosphere and gardens
- Marriott, Fort Rajwada
- When smaller hotels are full
- Names left off on purpose: many hotels call themselves luxury, palace or heritage, and some are charming, but we describe only places we know well and would book for our own family.
- Ask us: if you have seen a hotel you like that isn't here, we will tell you honestly what we know about it.
Suryagarh, the fortress on the Sam road
Where: about thirteen kilometres west of town on the road to the Sam dunes.
What it is: a modern hotel built in the manner of an old Jaisalmer fort, in the same yellow stone, around courtyards with a pool at its heart.
- Honest about itself: it is not a historic building, and it doesn't pretend to be.
- What it gives you: space, calm and a strong sense of place, with carved stone, quiet corners, a spa and long dinners under the sky.
- Who it suits: our first choice for families, and for guests who want the fort by day and peace at night.
- Well placed: close enough to town for an early start at Gadisar, and to the dunes for a sunset at Sam. Read our full Suryagarh guide.
The Serai, SUJAN's desert camp
Where: about a hundred acres of private desert scrub off the Jodhpur road, around forty minutes from town.
The tents: large, beautifully furnished suites, in wonderfully quiet land.
- A day there: wake to birdsong and the smell of the desert, walk out at dawn among khejri trees and thorn scrub, dine by firelight.
- Choose it for: romance, a honeymoon, silence and the feeling of a private expedition with all the comforts.
- The trade-off: a little further from the fort than Suryagarh, so it suits travellers who want more desert and less town. Read our guide to The Serai.
Mandir Palace, the royal residence in the old town
Where: below the fort, in the heart of the old town.
Its history: the residence of Jaisalmer's rulers for generations after they came down from the hill. Members of the royal family still live in part of it.
- Badal Vilas: its most famous feature, a tall, finely carved tower rising above the town.
- Hotel and museum: part is a heritage hotel, part a museum, and the carving and courtyards are among the finest in town.
- Who it suits: travellers who want history and to walk into the old town, and who will trade a resort's space for a real palace's atmosphere.
- Rooms: they vary in a historic building, so we choose them carefully.
Nachana Haveli, a nobleman's house in town
Where: a short walk from the fort.
What it is: a centuries-old haveli built around courtyards, belonging to a branch of the Bhati family, run as a small heritage hotel.
- The rooftop: its restaurant looks across the old town.
- The feel: intimate rather than grand, like staying in a family house.
- Choose it if: you love old buildings, want to walk everywhere and don't need a pool or a spa.
- Best for: couples and solo travellers rather than families with small children.
Jawahar Niwas Palace, the royal guest house
Built: around the turn of the twentieth century as a royal guest house.
- What it is: a palace in yellow sandstone with high-ceilinged rooms, lawns and a view of the fort, a few minutes' drive from the old town.
- Today: a heritage hotel, gently old-fashioned in feel.
- Who it suits: lovers of period atmosphere and gardens who want something between a town haveli and a resort.
Jaisalmer Marriott Resort and Spa
Where: on the edge of town.
- What it is: a large modern resort in a Rajasthani style, with a pool, a spa and the reliable comforts of an international chain.
- Honest note: it lacks the character of Suryagarh or the heritage hotels.
- Who it suits: families and business travellers who prefer its familiarity, and anyone when the smaller hotels are full.
Fort Rajwada
Where: on the edge of town.
- What it is: a large modern hotel in the style of a Jaisalmer fort, with carved stone fronts and big public rooms.
- Who it suits: groups, weddings and travellers who want a full-service hotel close to town.
- When we use it: when the smaller properties are full, and for guests who value convenience over intimacy.
Choosing by the kind of trip you are taking
Honeymooners and couples
The obvious choice: The Serai, with its tented suites, private land and firelit dinners.
- Add a town night: for the fort and havelis.
- With the lakes: our honeymoon in Udaipur and Jaisalmer journey pairs it with Udaipur.
Families with children
Suryagarh: space to run, a pool for the hot afternoons and an easy drive to the dunes.
- One camp night: at a well-run camp, for the camels and the stars. Keep the rest simple.
- More ideas: our family journeys page.
Several generations together
What to look for: ground-floor rooms, short walks and good food.
- What to avoid: heritage buildings with steep stairs for the older members of the family.
- What works best: usually a resort on the desert edge, with private guides and cars so each part of the family sets its own pace. Read about our multi-generation journeys.
History lovers and walkers
- Stay in town: in a heritage palace or haveli, so you can walk out early into the lanes and come back for a rest.
- Worth the quirks: you will forgive an old building for the pleasure of waking up in one.
Photographers and stargazers
- Split your stay: town for early starts at Gadisar and the fort, the desert for dark skies.
- For the Milky Way: The Serai and the best dune camps are far enough from the town's lights on a clear winter night.
Heritage or modern: an honest comparison
What a heritage hotel gives: carving made by hand two centuries ago, rooms where history happened, and owners whose families are part of the town's story.
What it also gives: thick walls, steep stairs, small windows, rooms that vary in size and light, and sometimes the old town's noise at night.
Good and less good: the best manage all this with great charm. The less good hide behind the word heritage. We visit often so we know which is which.
- Heritage gives
- Hand carving, history, owners rooted in the town
- Heritage costs
- Stairs, small windows, varied rooms, noise
- Modern gives
- Space, plumbing, pools, quiet
- Our advice
- Choose by how you travel
- A modern hotel in the old style: like Suryagarh, it gives you Jaisalmer's look and materials with the space, plumbing, pools and quiet of a new building.
- Less authentic? Some travellers feel so. We think it a fair trade where the afternoon rest matters so much, and the real heritage is all around you by day.
- If you like history at the door: take a heritage hotel and expect some quirks.
- If you like calm and a pool: stay on the desert edge and drive in.
- Either way: see the real fort, havelis and temples by day with a guide.
- Read more: our journal pieces on heritage hotels and the best havelis to stay in.
Why we don't book rooms inside the fort
We understand why people ask. Waking inside the walls to a temple bell is a romantic idea, and the families who run the small guesthouses on the hill are not villains. But the hill cannot carry the load. If we ever see real, lasting change in how water is managed there, we will happily review our advice.
A living fort: one of the few in the world, home to about four thousand people.
Fragile ground: it stands on soft sedimentary rock and clay-rich soil.
- Built for little water: the old town was made for families who carried water up the hill by hand and used very little of it.
- Today: piped water, guesthouses, restaurants and hotels pour far more into the hill than it was built to take.
- What happens: the water weakens the soil, foundations shift, and parts of the walls and buildings have collapsed.
- On the watch list: the World Monuments Fund listed the fort in 1996 and in later reports. Heavy monsoon rain has brought down parts of the walls more than once, most notably in 2016.
- The arithmetic: a hotel guest uses many times the water of a resident family, for showers, baths, laundry and kitchens.
- So we stay outside: you lose nothing, and many of the most thoughtful travellers we know make the same choice.
- What you get instead: a quiet room with the fort lit on the skyline, and days inside with a guide whose family knows the lanes.
- Spending inside: we make sure our guests spend money with the people who live there, in their cafes, shops and homes.
- Read more: our Jaisalmer Fort guide and our note on travelling responsibly.
A night in the dunes
Sam: for sand outside your tent, the dunes of Sam, about an hour west of town.
Khuri: or the quieter Khuri, to the southwest.
Why we name none: camps vary enormously, and the best change with the seasons and their management, so we check every year rather than recommending one name for ever.
- Setting
- Back from the main road
- Bathroom
- Private, with hot water
- Music
- Acoustic, ending at a civilised hour
- Food
- Cooked fresh, not a buffet for a hundred
- Camels
- Healthy and well treated
- Setting: a camp should sit back from the main road, away from the loudest neighbours.
- Bathroom: each tent needs a proper private bathroom with hot water.
- Music: acoustic, and ending at a civilised hour.
- Food: cooked fresh, not laid out in a buffet for a hundred people.
- Camels: healthy and well treated.
- All five right: a camp that manages it is one of the great experiences of Rajasthan.
- Read more: our guide to luxury desert camps, and our journal piece on a night in a desert camp.
How a good Jaisalmer hotel shapes your day
Before dawn: a good hotel has tea and something to eat ready, so you can be on the ghats of Gadisar or the dunes at Sam as the sun comes up.
Breakfast: a proper one waiting when you return.
- Late morning: as the heat builds, come back to a cool room, a swim and a long, unhurried lunch.
- The afternoon: for reading, sleeping, a massage or watching the light move across a courtyard.
- At four: out again for the golden hours.
- Evenings: where the best hotels and camps shine, with musicians in a courtyard, dinner on a dune or among cenotaphs, a fire under the stars and, on clear nights, a telescope.
- Our way: we usually arrange these through our own musicians and guides, so the artists are paid properly and the evening feels personal rather than staged.
- Read about: our private dinners and the Manganiyar singers.
Which room to ask for
A fort view: ask if the hotel has one. Seeing the walls turn gold from your own terrace is worth more than an extra square metre.
Heritage rooms differ: a great deal in size, light and stairs. Tell us what matters to you, and we will choose the room, not just the category.
- Winter sun: ask for a room that gets the morning sun. Desert nights are cold and old stone walls hold the chill.
- In camps: ask for a tent on the edge, away from the dining area and the generator, facing open desert.
- Families: ask early for connecting rooms or a suite, as they are few in Jaisalmer's smaller hotels.
- Limited mobility: ask for a ground floor. Many heritage buildings have steep stairs and no lifts. See our page on accessible travel.
What money buys in Jaisalmer, and what it doesn't
Quiet, space and shade: real luxuries in a desert town.
Comfort: a pool at noon, a spa after a long drive, a bathroom that works perfectly and food you can trust.
- A proper camp: real beds and hot water rather than a canvas box beside a loudspeaker.
- Good people's time: a private guide who knows the families in the fort, a naturalist in the national park, musicians paid properly for an evening of their best songs.
- Not a better sunset: the light at Bada Bagh is the same for everyone, and the best hour at Gadisar is free.
- Not both at once: money can't buy a palace with a resort's facilities, because in Jaisalmer the two rarely come together.
- How we spend it: on the right hotel, the right guide and the right hour, and we save it where it makes no difference.
- The broader view: our page on what a luxury Rajasthan journey costs.
Places to stay on the way in or out
- From Jodhpur
- About 5 hours
- From Bikaner
- 5 to 6 hours
- Break the drive
- Manvar or Khimsar Fort
Manvar, the first taste of the Thar
Where: on the road from Jodhpur, a place to stop for a night among low dunes and villages.
- Why stop: your first sense of the desert before Jaisalmer, with an evening on the sand.
- Two gentle drives: it splits a long transfer, and guests arrive rested for the fort rather than worn out by five hours in the car.
Khimsar Fort
- What it is: a fort hotel in a village between Jodhpur and Nagaur, with its own dunes nearby.
- When: it breaks the journey well from Jodhpur or Bikaner.
Jodhpur and Bikaner
The approach: most journeys arrive from Jodhpur, about five hours away, or from Bikaner, five to six hours.
- Palace hotels: Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur and Laxmi Niwas Palace in Bikaner.
- All three: our desert triangle journey links them.
When to book, and what to tell us
Christmas and New Year: book months ahead. These are the busiest weeks in the desert, and the best camps and hotels fill first.
The Desert Festival: book early. It falls around the full moon of the Hindu month of Magh, usually in February, and the dates move each year. Read about the Desert Festival.
- Diwali: in October or November, lovely and busy, with Indian families travelling in large numbers.
- April to June: many stay away because of the heat, and some camps close for the summer. Prices are lower, but plan only early mornings and evenings outside.
- Tell us how you travel: walking or driving, lively or quiet, heritage or comfort. We will choose the hotel and the room together.
- Choose your dates: our best time to visit Jaisalmer guide will help.
