Jaipur: India’s famed Pink City that attracts well-heeled travellers from across the globe seeking a taste of its magnificent palaces, royal heritage and eclectic charm. Now picture this: A bustling by-lane in Jaipur’s pink-walled bazaar (one of the oldest in the city, and a UNESCO World Heritage site), where perched in the centre of the organised chaos is The Johri, a 19th-century merchant’s haveli (mansion)-turned-hotel that is a far cry from the city’s many five-star palace hotels. Instead, the three-storey intimate boutique hotel is a classic-meets-contemporary oasis that serves as a relic of the past while reimagining it for a new generation of urban nomads. Here, Rajasthani heritage – think antique furniture, textiles, murals and art from across the state – mingles with a mood that’s almost Wes Andersonian.
The hotel is serious about borrowing from its surroundings. Its name, for starters, takes after the location Johri Bazaar, which essentially means jeweller’s market. The five elegant suites are also named after five different jewels, which have led the way for their distinct interiors and personalities. Even though it was launched during the pandemic, what gave the hotel an instant leg-up was the dynamic duo behind it – renowned hospitality entrepreneur Abhishek Honawar and seventh-generation jeweller Siddharth Kasliwal of The Gem Palace, who already have another boutique property in the city, 28 Kothi, to their credit. And the two have stayed true to their reputation of preserving local culture with modern spruces with The Johri.
If you’re not checking in, check out its season-focused vegetarian restaurant for a meal of Indian classics. Or make a beeline for the lounge that serves high chai in the afternoons and cocktails post sundown. Either way, The Johri is the perfect vantage point to immerse yourself in the many charms of Jaipur’s old city and all the history it has to offer.
3950, MSB Ka Rasta, Johri Bazaar, Ghat Darwaza, Jaipur, Rajasthan 302003; thejohrijaipur.com
Praachi Raniwala is a lifestyle and fashion journalist whose work has been published in The New York Times, Vogue India, Condé Nast Traveller India, Washington Post and Financial Times’ How To Spend It
