We booked 2 rooms at the Haveli for 3 nights. We absolutely loved the character of the place. Deluxe room on the first floor for my partners parents was huge and bright, with large bathroom complete with two basins and large balcony overlooking courtyard below. They did experience problems with hot water and having no water on different days, but these were attended to promptly. Also being older they found the stairs a bit steep. We booked the Sheesh Mahal suite was is a fantastic taste of the maharja style, however be warned it is a very dark room, but a great experience. Breakfast was really good and staff attentive and sweet. Dinner in the outside courtyard in the evenings was a lovely - lit with candles, complete with puppet show, music and one night a young boy dancer - food was good. We all enjoyed the authentic Indian ayurvedic massages which is a light warm oil massage, finished with stream of warm oil streamed onto the forehead, followed by steam room (very hot and steamy). Pool area is gorgeous although we did not have time to enjoy it. Great that you can walk straight outside in the hotel and be in the action, we had a driver prebooked who was fantastic and just went on rickshaws to go shopping. A fantastic experience all round, craziness of Jaipur combined with the peace and quite of the hotel - perfect! We would definitely come back to Haveli.

We chose this hotel at random because our original selection wasn't available so it was a bit of a shot in the dark but we were delighted with our choice.

This is a fascinating building, formerly a town residence for a Maharajah! The rooms are on varying levels, often set in small courtyards and with numerous nooks and crannies where small water features, seating areas etc are to be found.

Our room was very large with an impressive en suite bathroom, almost as large as our sitting room at home, about 24feet long and 12feet wide. The bath was deep and slightly sunken and looked very appealing while the shower enclosure was of at least double size and stood between his and hers wash hand basins. There were also his and hers wardrobes, sufficient racking to accommodate 4 suitcases and a comfy chair along with the obvious toilet. The bderoom had a desk and chair, large sofa and enormous bed as well as TV, fridge etc. The Air conditioning was ultra efficient and even the outdoor seating area had a fan to cool the air! Small bottles of water were provided free of charge. Room service and Laundry were both excellent and charges for both were reasonable.

The staff were helpful and considerate, the food good, especially the Buffet Dinner, the setting lovely and the pool fantastic. We spent 5 nights here, more than the average for a stay in Jaipur, but we enjoyed ourselves immensely partly because of the wonderful surroundings.

The hotel also provided accomodation for our driver, something which many of the larger hotels no longer offer, but which made us feel much happier, knowing he had a roof over his head and access to basic facilities.

If you're looking for somewhere different at prices that aren't over the top then this hotel should be one of the ones you consider - you wouldn't regret it.

We selected the Samode Haveli in order to round out our experiences in our tour of Rajasthan. Most of the luxury hotels are built outside of the city, so the Samode Haveli was a great place to be closer to the action. We really enjoyed the feeling of staying in a building with history and a reasonable price.

The rooms were decorated in period details. The room was large and spacious and kept very cool in the heat of the summers. Being a tall person, I did hit my head a few times on the low entry-ways.

The pool was great, as they have three sun-bed type things that overlook the grounds and the pool.

We did not dine at the restaurant as the main dining room was being renovated and there are much better other evening meal choices. The breakfast staff was very sweet and attended to our every need.

We really liked the fact that we could walk around and see things on our own. The hotel's cab fare policy is expensive, so we just flagged down an auto-rickshaw anytime we wanted to go somewhere without a driver or guide attached

A fun place to stay and would go again when in Jaipur.

Quite pleasant stay; probably the best of the "havelis" converted into hotels in Jaipur. Could have been nice stay! If you intend to spent time there just watch your belongings. I forgot my wallet in the room just 1 hour and 100 EUR were stollen.

A wonderful surprise off the back streets of old Jaipur. Gracious courtyard for meals; excellent pool; funky 'heritage' rooms. We stayed in the Sheesh Mahal suite and got a sense of what the maharajas experienced but in smaller scale. There were a few maintenance problems and some bumbling in attending to them. A grand old residence in the old city.

Haven of quiet in a crazy city!

Excellent outdoor dining, and lovely pool area. We paid extra for a suite which was a bit bland - long corridor bathroom, and no views. Didn't use the taxi service - City Palace is walking distance (well, we think so!), and there is excellent fabric shopping at the nearby Jorawarsingh Gate (Saurashta). Gem Palace in MI Road is also a must.

Staff OK for India, but nothing exceptional. But, you are in an authentic palace...........

We had three rooms reserved here for a two night stay - a standard single and two 'deluxe' double/triples. Due to a broken down train blocking the Delhi-Jaipur line we were delayed on our way there and instead of arriving in the evening we got there about 8.30am the next morning. Immediately on arrival the reception staff said in the circumstances they would show us straight to our rooms and not worry about check-in paperwork until later, which was a pleasant start.

Our rooms were lovely: all individual in style and furnishings, with Indian fabrics, old photographs on the walls, tiled floors, and loads of space. The standard room had no outdoor space and looked over the gravel courtyard at the front; in all other respects it was just as pleasant as the 'deluxe'. One of these had a paved area to the front with some chairs, and the other had a beautiful private balcony with an upholstered daybed and table and chairs. All the rooms had pleasant bathrooms and plenty of toiletries and towels.

Breakfast is served in a central courtyard and the staff are very attentive. The range of food available is reasonable but not huge - there was plenty of fresh fruit, a few Indian dishes, one or two hot Western dishes, and eggs/omelettes made on request.

The pool area is absolutely beautiful - with plenty of sunbeds, several huge comnfortable daybeds, and a bar area. There are gardens and a small play area alongside and the whole setting is lovely - really relaxing. What is particularly amazing about this place is its location - it is within the old walled city and thus right in the middle of the bustle, yet the hotel itself is wonderfully calm and peaceful - so guests get the best of both worlds.

We had dinner at the hotel that evening and between us we ordered both Western and Indian dishes. The Western food was acceptable but not outstanding; the Indian dishes were absolutely wonderful. The hotel manager came and introduced himself to us while we were eating and informed us that as our late arrival at the hotel had been beyond our control he was not charging us for our rooms that night - despite the fact that the hotel was full and the delay had been outside his control too!

My husband said the check-out process was a little slow and trying (perhaps he encountered the same staff as some of the other reviewers here!) but other than that our stay here was delightful and problem-free. I would recommend this hotel unreservedly, especially to anyone who likes their luxury hotels to have character and charm as well as amenities.

Regarding the various comments about taxis, we never had to arrange them through the hotel as we met a really great driver at the station who gave us his number and took us everywhere we wanted to go - without any attempts to push particular shops or tours; his quote to drive us from Jaipur to Agra was less than half what both the hotel and another firm recommended on this website wanted; he was excellent although his English is somewhat limited. His name is Mombeinef and his mobile number is ----.

The location is perfect for traveling around Jaipur and surrounding area, the hotel itself is an oasis of calm, provided you don't want good friendly service. Particularly from the surly guy at reception - mentioned in another review.

however on the taxi front we used 'Datar Singh' one of the hotels drivers who was excellent giving us exactly what we asked for with no - my friend has a shop/restaurant etc cons. He also (almost) never uses his horn!

Nice place, but grumpy sullen staff.

I agree with all comments about the hotel but we found a problem with the travel desk. We wanted to hire a car and driver for the day to cover the main sights in the morning, Amber Fort, City Palace, Palace of Winds and Jantar Mantar and then to visit some specific shops in the afternoon. We were refused! There were only set packages available which meant visiting Amber Fort along with several sights we did not wish to see for half a day and then the city tour for another half day. There didn't seem to be any other taxis around so we opted for the Fort in the morning but instructed our driver not to take us to the other sights in the package and told him that on our mid morning return to the hotel we intended to make our own way to the city sights and explained that we wished to shop in the afternoon. He then took us on to the City sights obviously sensing commission in the afternoon. When he picked us up after lunch he refused to take us to the shops we wanted to visit! We were charged for the whole day. The Samode staff were not interested in our complaint. So the Haveli would be fine if you have a car and driver for the trip or are in a group but difficult if you are travelling independently.

we travelled from Bharatpur\ Agra (Taj Mahal etc) to Jaipur and stayed at the Haveli on a 3 day special heritage package. Like the Souks of Morocoo, having driven through bustling alleys to get to the front steps, it was a surprisingly secluded and peaceful hotel in the bustle of Jaipur.
They say we were upgraded, as independent travellers, and i believe we were as the room was spotless, large and tremendous artwork all over.
The pool area was excellent, the breakfast and food in general was first class, and no buffet dinners but menu service was a blessing.
I had a haircut and shave at a local barbers 50 yeards from the hotel front gate (turn right and on the corner) and spot on and only 50 rupees (plus a 50 rupee tip).
Not too many rooms, so not too many other gursts but that leads to attentive staff.