Villa Palladio Jaipur Hotel

Jamdoli Chouraha, Rajasthan, India

Superbly finessed, dramatic design brings this new and already iconic guesthouse to the fore in Rajasthan, India, fulfilling the owners’ Indo-Italian vision in terms of aesthetic, cuisine and hopitalit.

Jaipur – the ‘Pink City’ – is famed for its elaborate forts and temples, but it’s in the unassuming village of Sumel, 16km away, where things are really heating-up.

The carmine-red Villa Palladio Jaipur is blazing a new standard in design – every inch of this jewel box of a haveli is adorned with scalloped arches, turrets and hand-painted motifs. The signature style of Rajasthani- based duo Barbara Miolini and Marie-Anne Oudejans has already put Bar Palladio on the map, but this red-hot addition showcases their full creative vision.

The 1.2ha site had been a royal country retreat, but an Eighties renovation presented the pair with something of a blank canvas. They split the haveli into nine guest suites and began a more theatrical makeover, incorporating Italian maximalism alongside the Indo-Mughal features: checkerboard marble paving was laid in the courtyards, castellated watchtowers were decorated with circus stripes, and pillars were painted with crimson chevrons. From the billowing canopies to the staff ’s floral block print uniforms, their trademark flamboyance is evident in every finishing flourish.

Far from a case of style over substance, the Indo-Italian fusion borrows from the best of both cultures, culminating in effortless hospitality. Days are teed-up with a continental breakfast on the open-sided balcony, where birdsong and the scent of jasmine provide a feast for all the senses. Lunch has an Italian bent and dinner celebrates Rajasthan’s thali tradition – using ingredients from the hotel’s own organic garden.

With a well-stocked library, meditation room and oasis of a pool all within the compound, there’s no reason to leave. Yet those who do will be treated to the beauty of the Vidyadhar Garden nearby, as well as a wealth of safari options. If anything, it’s worth venturing out purely to experience the repeated awe on arriving back at the haveli all over again – order a red Campari, sink into a candy- striped day bed and give into the cherry, rose and vermilion stage-set surroundings.

Words by Rachel Walker

Doubles from £363. 00 91 141 296 9762,https://www.villa-palladio-jai...