The Best Places in India
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A Dutch-era mansion in Fort Cochin's historic quarter, Malabar House is the kind of colonial-house boutique hotel that somehow feels neither museumified nor stripped out for a design magazine. Rooms are furnished with antiques and art, air conditioning being about the only concession to the present century. Courtyard, pool, private balconies, and the Malabar Junction restaurant inside, with Chinese fishing nets and a neighbourhood called Jewtown a short walk out front.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Selected Hotels
- Michelin Guide Selected Hotels
A Tie
There are 37 places with the exact same Score, so they share #168. We don't pick a winner we can't back up.
- #168 Taj Malabar Resort and Spa, Cochin 63.405
- #168 Taj Swarna 63.405
- #168 The Malabar House (this place) 63.405
- #168 The Oberoi Vindhyavilas Wildlife Resort, Bandhavgarh 63.405
- #168 Tilar Siro, Andamans 63.405
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Tented suites with canopied ceilings and Gond artworks sit just outside Bandhavgarh National Park, where the tiger population is one of the denser ones on the subcontinent. The Oberoi Vindhyavilas is a luxury wildlife resort spread across 21 acres, with pool villas overlooking fields and forest and safaris at dawn to justify the early alarm. A spa and a tranquil lake keep the afternoon from feeling like a nature documentary.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Selected Hotels
- Michelin Guide Selected Hotels
A Tie
There are 37 places with the exact same Score, so they share #168. We don't pick a winner we can't back up.
- #168 Taj Swarna 63.405
- #168 The Malabar House 63.405
- #168 The Oberoi Vindhyavilas Wildlife Resort, Bandhavgarh (this place) 63.405
- #168 Tilar Siro, Andamans 63.405
- #168 Woods At Sasan 63.405
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Thi-Lar-Siro means "land born from the sea" in the Great Andamanese language, which is about as good a name as a resort can have. Reached by ferry from Port Blair, this stilted, thatched property on Havelock Island is built into the existing tree line with local timber, stone, and floor-to-ceiling glass facing the Andaman Sea. Marine biologists are on staff year-round, which sets the tone before you've unpacked.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Selected Hotels
- Michelin Guide Selected Hotels
A Tie
There are 37 places with the exact same Score, so they share #168. We don't pick a winner we can't back up.
- #168 Taj Swarna 63.405
- #168 The Malabar House 63.405
- #168 The Oberoi Vindhyavilas Wildlife Resort, Bandhavgarh 63.405
- #168 Tilar Siro, Andamans (this place) 63.405
- #168 Woods At Sasan 63.405
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Floor-to-ceiling windows frame a working mango orchard on the edge of Sasan Gir National Park, home to Asia's last wild lions, and the resort leans hard into that fact. The 38 rooms and pavilions step up in space and privacy, with warm contemporary interiors that make the outside feel like a feature rather than a backdrop. Lion safaris, outdoor yoga, and village visits sit alongside Gujarati and Italian menus at the restaurants.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Selected Hotels
- Michelin Guide Selected Hotels
A Tie
There are 37 places with the exact same Score, so they share #168. We don't pick a winner we can't back up.
- #168 Taj Swarna 63.405
- #168 The Malabar House 63.405
- #168 The Oberoi Vindhyavilas Wildlife Resort, Bandhavgarh 63.405
- #168 Tilar Siro, Andamans 63.405
- #168 Woods At Sasan (this place) 63.405
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Copper roofs catch the last light across eight hectares of terraced hillside in the Western Himalayas, which is a better alarm clock than most hotels can offer. Amaya is a sustainably built resort outside Kasauli, with suites, chalets, and villas hand-constructed from local stone and brick. Interiors are deliberately spare, so the pine forests and famously clear mountain skies do the decorating. It earned a spot on The 50 Discovery list.
The awards
- The 50 The 50: The 50 Discovery
- The 50 The 50 Discovery
Why #205, not #206
Both places show 62. This one's exact Score is 61.7 and the next is 61.5, so it ranks first. We round what you see, but we rank on the exact number.
- #205 Amaya (this place) 61.7
- #206 Coco Shambhala 61.5
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Four two-bedroom eco-villas tucked into their own palm-and-frangipani enclaves on a quiet stretch of the Konkan coast, each with a private infinity pool and nothing between you and the Arabian Sea. Coconut wood furniture, jute rugs, open-air living pavilions: the natural-materials commitment is thorough enough to feel like a design manifesto. If the point is to disappear, Coco Shambhala has thought of most of the logistics already.
The awards
- The 50 The 50: The 50 Discovery
- The 50 The 50 Discovery
Why #206, not #205
Both places show 62. This one's exact Score is 61.5 and the one above is 61.7, so it ranks second. We round what you see, but we rank on the exact number.
- #205 Amaya 61.7
- #206 Coco Shambhala (this place) 61.5
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The awards
- The 50 2025 · Most Admired Hotel Group Award