A guest house for the Scindia court
Our family has always found it fitting that the best hotel in Gwalior was a guest house rather than a palace. The Scindias still live in part of Jai Vilas next door. Staying at Usha Kiran, you are in a sense still their guest, in the house they built for exactly that.
The family: the Scindias were a Maratha house who rose in the eighteenth century and made Gwalior their capital. Their army camp below the fort grew into the royal city of Lashkar.
- Family
- The Scindias, Maratha rulers of Gwalior
- Built
- Taj gives 1880, other accounts 1902
- Purpose
- To house royal and state visitors
- Neighbour
- Jai Vilas Palace, built 1874
- Grounds
- About nine acres
- The palace next door: Maharaja Jayajirao Scindia built Jai Vilas in 1874 to receive the Prince of Wales, the future Edward VII. Usha Kiran was built beside it as a separate house for guests.
- The date: Taj dates the house to 1880, in Jayajirao's time. Other accounts give 1902 and link it to a later royal visit. We give both, because the sources disagree.
- What it was for: visiting royalty, officials and nobles stayed here, close to the court but with a household of their own.
- What it is now: a Taj heritage hotel, restored and relaunched in 2024, still within the old royal quarter of Lashkar.
Next door to Jai Vilas
The architect: Lieutenant Colonel Sir Michael Filose gave Jai Vilas three storeys in three orders, Tuscan, Italian Doric and Corinthian, one above the other.
The museum: most of the palace has been the Jiwajirao Scindia Museum since 1964, while the family lives in another part.
- The Durbar Hall: hung with two vast chandeliers said to weigh about three and a half tonnes each, among the largest in the world.
- The famous story: every guide tells how elephants were hoisted onto the roof to test that it would bear the chandeliers' weight.
- How we visit: late afternoon, then a walk back through the gardens as the light softens. It is a few minutes from your room.
- Meeting the family's world: our page on meeting royal families explains how we arrange introductions where families welcome them.
Inside the house
The style: a royal residence of its age, with carved stone screens, deep verandas, high rooms and the formal public spaces a court guest house needed.
The gardens: about nine acres of lawns and old trees, rare inside a busy Indian city. They are the heart of a stay here.
- The restoration: Taj completed an extensive restoration and relaunched the hotel in 2024. Expect fresh rooms inside an old frame.
- Rooms in the old house: ask for a heritage room in the original building rather than a newer wing. They carry more of the house's character.
- Mixed accommodation: the hotel has rooms, suites and a few villas. We match the choice to how you like to spend your afternoons.
- The mood: quiet, polished and slightly old-world. Many guests tell us it feels like staying with a well-connected family.
Dining in a Maratha court
Silver Saloon: the hotel's main dining room, serving through the day. Menus change, so we confirm what is cooking when we book.
Bada Bar: a grand old-style bar with billiard tables, the place for a drink after a day on the fort.
- Main restaurant
- Silver Saloon
- Bar
- Bada Bar, with old billiard tables
- Outdoors
- Dining on the lawns in the cool months
- Ask for
- Maratha and royal Gwalior dishes
- Royal recipes: ask for Maratha and Gwalior court dishes. We can arrange a meal of them in the gardens.
- The city's breakfast: step out with our guide for bedai, puffed fried bread stuffed with spiced lentils, with jalebi straight from the oil.
- Winter sweets: in winter every sweet shop in Gwalior is stacked with gajak, a brittle of sesame and jaggery.
- Monsoon snack: mangode, crisp fritters of ground moong, are what the city eats when the rains arrive.
Spa, pool and the shady hours
The spa: Usha Kiran has a Taj spa. We confirm the current treatments and book them ahead for your rest afternoons.
The pool: a pool in the gardens is a blessing from March onwards, when the plains heat up quickly.
- Rest days: if you are using the hotel as a base for Orchha, plan one gentle day with no long drive. The gardens make it easy.
- Walks: an early stroll in the grounds before the city wakes is a quiet pleasure of its own.
- More ideas: our page on spas and Ayurveda covers wellness across the route.
Gwalior from the palace gates
Gwalior Fort
What it is: a fort about three kilometres long on a sandstone plateau, which Babur called the pearl among the fortresses of Hind.
- Must see: Man Mandir with its turquoise and yellow tiles, Teli ka Mandir, the Sas-Bahu temples of 1093 and the Jain giants carved in the cliffs.
- When: early morning, driving up through the Urwai gate in the low light.
The Chaturbhuj temple and its zero
- What it is: a small rock-cut shrine on the path up the fort, with an inscription dated 876 CE.
- Why it matters: the numbers are written with a zero as we write it today, among the oldest known written zeros in India.
Gujari Mahal museum
- What it is: Man Singh Tomar's palace for his queen Mrignayani, now the state archaeological museum.
- Its treasure: the tenth-century Shalabhanjika from Gyaraspur. Ask in advance, because she is not always on open display.
Tansen's tomb
What it is: the grave of the great Mughal-era musician, in the garden of Muhammad Ghaus's sixteenth-century tomb.
- The custom: singers chew the leaves of the tamarind tree beside it, hoping for a sweeter voice.
- In December: the Tansen Samaroh festival of classical music is held here.
Lashkar and Maharaj Bada
- What it is: the royal city that grew from the Scindias' army camp, with bazaars, gateways and the great square of Maharaj Bada.
- When: late afternoon with a local guide, then the memorial to Rani Lakshmibai at dusk.
Day trips
Bateshwar and Mitaoli: about an hour north, some two hundred Pratihara temples pieced back together, and a circular yogini temple on a hill.
- Datia: the seven-storey palace of Bir Singh Deo, on the road to Orchha.
- The Chambal: a winter boat among gharials and river birds.
A palace in a city of music
Man Singh Tomar: the king who built Man Mandir loved song as much as war, and his court shaped dhrupad, the austere old form of Hindustani classical music.
Tansen: the greatest musician of the Mughal age was born in the Gwalior region and lies buried here.
- UNESCO
- Creative City of Music, 2023
- Oldest form
- Dhrupad, shaped at Man Singh Tomar's court
- Khayal
- Gwalior is home of the oldest gharana
- Festival
- Tansen Samaroh, every December
- The gharana: Gwalior is the home of the oldest gharana, or school, of khayal singing, the ornamented form most Hindustani vocalists perform today.
- Sarod Ghar: the ancestral house of the sarod family of Hafiz Ali Khan is now a small museum of instruments, photographs and recordings.
- A private recital: we arrange an evening with local musicians, often in the gardens or a quiet room. Tell us whether you prefer voice, sarod or both.
- In December: book early if you want to come for the Tansen Samaroh, because rooms in the city fill quickly.
With children and older parents
Short outings: the fort, Jai Vilas and Tansen's tomb are all a short drive from the gate, so you can visit in bursts and come back to rest.
For children: the zero at Chaturbhuj, the elephant story at Jai Vilas and the giant Jain figures in the cliffs win over most young travellers.
- For older guests: use the car to the top of the fort, and let the guide choose level routes across the plateau.
- Rooms: tell us early about stairs and connecting rooms, and we will check what the house can offer.
- More advice: our pages on travelling with children and accessible travel cover the wider route.
Two days from Usha Kiran, the way we would spend them
Day one, the fort
Early morning: up through the Urwai gate past the Jain colossi, then Man Mandir, Teli ka Mandir and the Sas-Bahu temples.
- Midday: back to Usha Kiran for lunch and a rest in the gardens.
- Afternoon: the Gujari Mahal museum and the Shalabhanjika.
- Sunset: the fort ramparts, then a drink at the Bada Bar.
Day two, music, palace and the old city
Morning: Tansen's tomb in the cool, then breakfast on bedai and jalebi with our guide.
- Late morning: Jai Vilas Palace and its Durbar Hall, a few minutes from the hotel.
- Afternoon: Bateshwar and Mitaoli, or the pool.
- Evening: a private recital of Gwalior's classical music, which we arrange.
With a third day
- Long day out: drive to Orchha via Datia, about three hours, and return after sunset at the chhatris.
- Or move on: sleep in Orchha for its dawns and dusks. See luxury hotels in Orchha.
A palace base for Orchha
Why base here: Orchha has warm, simple hotels but no palace hotel. Usha Kiran gives you palace comfort at one end of the drive.
- To Orchha
- About three hours via Datia
- To Khajuraho
- A long day by road, via Orchha
- Fast train
- Gatimaan Express to Gwalior and Jhansi
- Our usual plan
- Two nights here, one or two in Orchha
- Day trip or night: a day trip means about six hours on the road and flat midday light. We prefer at least one night in Orchha itself.
- Then Khajuraho: most guests continue east to the temples. Our guide to where to stay in Orchha and Khajuraho covers the hotels there.
- By train: the Gatimaan Express from Delhi reaches Gwalior in a little over three hours, after a stop at Agra, and continues to Jhansi for Orchha.
Who will love it, and who won't
Lovers of history and palaces: a royal guest house beside a royal palace, a short drive from one of India's great forts.
Music lovers: Gwalior is a UNESCO Creative City of Music, and the hotel is a gracious base for recitals and the Tansen Samaroh.
- Families: gardens, a pool and short drives to the sights. Children love the zero at Chaturbhuj and the elephant story at Jai Vilas.
- Travellers through central India: the natural palace stop between Agra and Orchha.
- Not for those who want a small, quiet town: Gwalior is a busy working city outside the gates. For village calm, sleep in Orchha.
- Not a resort: come for history and gardens, not for beaches or a long list of activities.
How Usha Kiran fits our journeys
Rajasthan, Orchha and Khajuraho: Gwalior is the first stop after Agra on our Rajasthan, Orchha and Khajuraho journey.
After the Taj Mahal: Agra is about two hours away, so many guests come here after a night at The Oberoi Amarvilas.
- From Jaipur by road: six to seven hours through Bharatpur and Dholpur, crossing the Chambal ravines. We break it at Bharatpur for the birds.
- Palace to palace: guests who loved Umaid Bhawan Palace or other palace hotels find Usha Kiran a gentler, more domestic kind of royal stay.
- On to the river: the journey often ends in Varanasi, at BrijRama Palace on the ghats.
When to stay
October and November: clear and warm, the gardens fresh after the rains. Our favourite months.
December and January: cold nights and some foggy mornings, when the fort rises from the mist like a ship. Bring warm layers.
- Best months
- October to March
- Coldest
- December and January, with fog some mornings
- Hottest
- April to June
- Music
- Tansen Samaroh, December
- Lamps
- Bandi Chhor Divas at Diwali, on the fort
- Diwali: at the gurdwara on the fort, the Sikh community marks Bandi Chhor Divas with lamps and prayers. See our Diwali page.
- February and March: warm days, cool evenings, and the last comfortable weeks before the heat.
- April to June: very hot. Keep the fort for dawn and rely on the pool and the shade.
- Monsoon: the countryside turns green and the city eats mangode. Travel is possible but humid.
Getting there
By train: the fast Gatimaan Express from Hazrat Nizamuddin is the easiest way in. Our trains guide explains how we book the fast services and handle luggage.
By road from Agra: about two hours, a natural next step after the Taj Mahal.
- By train from Delhi
- A little over three hours on the Gatimaan Express
- From Agra
- About two hours by road
- From Jaipur
- Six to seven hours by road
- Airport
- Rajmata Vijaya Raje Scindia Airport, Gwalior
- By air: Gwalior's airport has flights to Delhi and other cities.
- In winter: allow for fog delays on morning trains and flights in December and January.
- On arrival: the hotel is in the old royal quarter of Lashkar, a short drive from the station.
What we tell friends before they stay
Use a car for the fort: the walk up from the Gwalior gate is steep, and the plateau is large.
Ask for the old building: heritage rooms in the original house carry the most character.
- Book the Shalabhanjika ahead: she is not always on open display at the Gujari Mahal.
- Dress for shrines: cover your head and remove your shoes at the gurdwara, and dress modestly at the Jain shrines.
- Hire a guide who knows music: in Gwalior, the monuments and the music are one story.
- Give it two nights: one night makes Gwalior a stop. Two make it a pleasure.