The Only Indian Stay That Made It To “World’s Best 50 Hotels”

Rajasthan’s Sujan Jawai has been named among the world’s best fifty hotels. Located in Rajasthan’s Pali, an area popular for its leopard sightings, it is the only Indian hotel that made it to the prestigious list and stands at 43rd rank. The hotel received a prize from ‘The World’s 50 Best Hotels’ in Guildhall, London.

On receiving the award, the hotel’s owner Jaisal Singh told NDTV, “It’s a huge honour for us to receive this award. We are delighted and our teams are delighted. We worked very hard to bring Sujan to this level over the years. We believe in celebrating the best of India, of our culture, our wildlife and making a positive impact in the areas which we operate . We are very very happy that this is being celebrated and recognised now and has put us in the top fifty hotels in the world. We are very very happy.”

Jaisal Singh, who started Sujan Jawai in 2013 along with his wife Anjali, said his vision for Sujan was to create a pioneering conservation tourism model that would benefit wildlife and local communities, not just an elegant and luxurious safari camp. Mr Singh, who himself is a passionate wildlife lover and photographer, added that the idea was to combine the best of Indian hospitality with a vision to protect India’s wildlife.

Sujan Jawai, situated in the middle of the wilderness surrounded by a private forest, got its name from the seasonal Jawai river which flows through the landscape of where the hotel is located. The hotel offers luxurious stay in lavish tents and also provides experiences such as exploration of wildlife and rich biodiversity of the area accompanied by skilled naturalists, field guides and trackers. If you’re a guest at Sujan Jawai, you can take excursions to the adjacent Jawai Leopard sanctuary and the Jawai Dam, which is home to several migratory birds and crocodiles. 

What makes Sujan Jawai truly stand out is the sincere effort the group makes to promote sustainable tourism and support local communities in the area. The hotel’s owners also run a property in Ranthambore. The proceeds from both properties go to helping local communities that in turn plays a critical role in preserving indigenous wildlife and natural habitats.

Sujan Jawai also runs a mobile medical primary health care service, they have adopted 10 schools in the area to help improve education of 5,000 children and the hoteliers conduct rewilding programs focusing on bringing wilderness back to farmlands for biodiversity to thrive.

The “World’s 50 Best Hotels” are chosen based on feedback from anonymous voters across the world. The voters include travel journalists, hoteliers and seasoned travel specialists. A total of 600 voters curated the “World’s 50 Best Hotels” list.

The other hotels featured in the list include Capella Bangkok, which is ranked first, Paris’ Cheval Blanc, Raffles Singapore, Aman Tokyo, Dubai’s The Lana, and Paris’ le Bristol among others.