Food and Drinks
Hank's Travel Best > Hotels
By Hank Leukart
May 5, 2013
Best luxury hotel for seeing a wild tiger in India
Khem Villas (Ranthambore National Park, India)
D
ishonest taxi drivers in India had drained my last ounce of patience when I finally arrived at the train station in Sawai Madhopur, India, near Ranthambore National Park in 2010. So, when a professional driver from Khem Villas, a ten-acre, “luxury jungle camp,” picked me up in a car, for free, at my request, it felt like a gift from heaven — and that was only the beginning of the lavish indulgence. That night, I found myself lying in a luxury tent in the most comfortable bed I had encountered in India, surrounded by tiger-filled wilderness. The next morning, after a delicious, vegetarian breakfast, I went on a jeep safari and was treated to a rare sighting of an enormous female tiger, one of the most beautiful animals I have ever seen in the wild.
The hotel even booked my continuing train ticket for me, which is no small favor considering the complexities of booking Indian train tickets. Travelers on any budget can (and should) go to Ranthambore to see tigers, but those who choose to splurge (a lot) on the Khem Villas will find themselves in an pampering oasis unlike anything else in India. WB
Khem Villas, VPO Sherpur Khiljipur, Dist. Sawai Madhopur, Rajasthan, India. +91 94140 30262 or +91 7462 252347/48. khemvillas@anokhi.com. www.khemvillas.com.
To read the whole story of the trip on which I discovered Khem Villas, read: India, I hate you. India, I love you. — A tiger prevents me from killing an Indian taxi driver.
A tourist sits outside his luxury tent at Khem Villas near Ranthambore National Park, India.
Khem Villas entrance
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