There’s a charming four-storey high small hotel on a hill in the off-the-tourist-radar town of Bundi in Rajasthan. A family of four – two sons, a daughter and their mother – restored this heritage haveli two decades ago in a traditional meets modern Rajasthan style, and have run it ever since. Arun, the youngest, and his mother live here at the hotel and you’ll get to know them when you spend time here.

Breakfast and lunch are taken in a sunlit, open room up high, dinner and drinks are served in the evenings on the rooftop terrace in the shadow of colossal Garh Palace above you, with Bundi’s blue rooftops sprawled below.

We were here when the moon was at its fullest so evenings were spent on the rooftop terrace until late, waiting for the moon to emerge bright from behind the surrounding mountains.

Arun took us out in the family’s retro jeep one afternoon to visit their lemon farm for freshly squeezed lemonade amongst the green grounds, he took us to see the monkeys at a local temple where they like to hang out and play, and then we went cruising into the sunset in the bush until it was dark.

Bundi's the perfect town to venture slightly off the typical tourist trail of Northern India's Golden Triangle, and staying here with Arun and his family will feel like home in a very foreign land.

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