Savista Retreat was my home away from home for about two weeks this past January. I honestly can’t say enough about the place. The haveli is a beautifully kept piece of family history, and the rooms within are spacious, comfortable, clean, and meticulously decorated with impressive antique finds and locally fabricated furnishings. The whole place is gorgeous at night, and the common square or accessible upper terrace are great places to sit and observe the luminous night sky only rural Rajasthan can provide.

Staying at Savista is completely unlike staying in any other hotel. It’s more like a home-stay, as you quickly become aware of the feeling of family or community that permeates the place. The staff is approachable and considerate, and they are always willing to help, provide, or join in conversation. What makes Savista most comfortable is knowing that you have a welcoming and intellectually stimulating community to come back to after a day of exploring. It’s common for Savista’s staff and guests to gather for time together on a nightly basis, and I think that is a primary reason that guests often extend their stays.

Savista offers an impeccable amount of services and comforts to all guests as well. The minute luxuries of Western life are well accounted for, including safe tap water, reliable hot water and electricity, and clean (dry) bathrooms with all the Western amenities. Savista’s food is delicious, authentic, and usually made by employees from the surrounding villages. Savista can also provide massages, camel cart rides, organized expeditions to surrounding areas, or informal advice as to the best walks around the local farmland.

Although Savista is technically a 15 minute ride from Jaipur, the distance is welcomed. Reaching Jaipur for the day is easy and hassle free, and Savista is always happy to organize drivers for excursions. Guests have the freedom to enjoy the perks of Jaipur while having a safe, quiet, impeccably clean and utterly beautiful place to return to in the evening, which is impossible to find within the city. Savista’s surroundings are gorgeous and offer a great taste of village or farm life to compare with one’s experiences in Jaipur or other Indian cities. In my mind, waking up to roosters and goats will always be favorable over car horns and traffic.

I’d recommend staying at Savista to anyone. The Retreat and the landscape offer a peace of mind that is hard to find elsewhere in India. Having returned to the states, I often find myself missing the place and its people like I miss my home and my family.

Planning to take four days off after a Mumbai business trip to visit Rajasthan, I came across Savista when I googled "boutique hotel Jaipur" and having read the reviews on this site immediately decided to base myself there. I could not have made a better choice, since I discovered not only the local village but many of the splendors of the region without once feeling rushed. Indeed I even took a rare day off: having reveled in fresh guavas and chili for breakfast before my Rajasthani massage, I spent time on the roof terrace reading books from the well-stocked library, then trundled round the village on the local camel cart, receiving gifts of sugar-sweet peas fresh from the field and spicy masala chai, before coming back to one of Savista's delicious multi-course vegetarian dinners served with a smile and spent discussing the charms and challenges of India.

Before that, the owners and staff had arranged a memorable drive for me from Delhi airport, taking in a never-to-be-forgotten sunrise at the Taj Mahal, followed by the extraordinary Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri. The same excellent driver helped me discover tourist-free gems in Amber village - which I found just as wonderful as the big monuments in Jaipur - as well as the amazing blockprinting workshop at Bagru and a fascinating factory for handmade paper near the airport.

Hard to believe this all happened in such a short time, and I can't wait to go back! Had I stayed in the city in Jaipur I would have missed out on an essential part of my excitement in discovering this amazing country.

We were at Savista with Zandy R in January and couldn't agree more. Savista is authentic India - an ancestral home lovingly restored by it's owners with a fresh water pool gracing the center courtyard of a stunningly beautiful white stone building featuring wrap around terraces and balconies. Team Savista is there to accommodate all your needs with good humor and grace - they are truly your hosts and can arrange reliable drivers/cars for travel to Jaipur or nearby sites as well as provide you with unique local experiences like a block printing workshop with artisans in Bagru or cooking classes with their "chef". You can watch the sun set from the rooftop balconies overlooking tree-lined acres of rolling wheat and mustard seed fields, share drinks before dinner with other guests in one of the lovely decorated sitting rooms and after dark amaze at the starry night sky unsullied by city lights. If you are looking for an experience and not just another hotel room, if you value attention to detail and like home cooked vegetarian Indian food, this is the place for you with bathrobes made from Bagru hand block printed fabric, the deep well water (safe to drink) waiting in your room in a heavy silver pitcher with silver glasses covered with hand crocheted beaded doilies and each room individually decorated with family antiques, local art and artifacts. I can't wait to go back.

Best time to stay at Savista is October/November and mid February through April when you can swim and enjoy the outdoor grounds at night as the nights are a bit cold in December/January but we didn't mid. Plan to stay at least a week if not more. Savista is definitely a destination in India.

Tripadvisor
Dear Fellow Traveller
How do you find a place that gives you rest, conviviality, food for thought- and more than that- food for body and nourishment of the being. First you need a travelling companion (my wife) who is able to trawl web sites and find that nugget. It did help that ALISTAIR SAWDAY made a recommendation, but sadly in order to defray carbon emissions and save the planet , his books on India Accomodation sites are no longer published.  Happily places recommended previously, and I endorse this one,are still in place.

We were able to be guests @ Savsita Retreat in Jaipur District of Rajasthan, India. Our visit co-incided with the Jaipur literary festival where Indian and International literature was celebrated in generous form.

As for the Savista Retreat: as you travel along a busy highway from Jaipur it is hard to conceive of ending up , as you really do, in a stately quiet establishment on the edge of rural Rajasthan. Your hosts and owners are unassuming real people with deep roots in the community. Both have a background in economics and agriculture and social fabric of India from an academic and practical angle.
If you are interested you can learn a lot here to augment your pleasure and understanding of what you see around you.

The entrance and courtyard is a cool enclosure with calming candle light and soft music. Rooms are luxurious with personally chosen and cherished items that have grown to make the priviledged guest feel more comfortable than being home from home. ( It may seem banal to mention, but the en suite bathrooms will make any India traveller who needs to rough it at times, feel they are back in heaven).

Meals are made from locally sourced products and vary all the time. You may be surprised at the delicious variety of tastes that can emerge. Guests can meet at sunset over a sundowner and meals often accompany liveley discussion.
Aside from visiting the sites of Jaipur (facilitated by an efficient pooled taxi system) my best day was spent walking in the rural outback. This can be done for miles and miles. Local farming families are seen working their lands in time honored fashion. If you have a calm inner demeanour and the day is auspicious you may be invited to sit on a charpoy and drink fresh aquifer water, followed by a sweet chai rich in buffalo milk.

On arrival back, rest on the deck, stretch your legs, have a swim and reflect on vibrant meaning of life.......well the rest is up to you.

Zandy and Elke Rosochacki, Cape Town, South Africa