'French Haveli'- Experience Culture and tradition in heart of Ahmedabad old city. The 'French Haveli' is a traditional Gujarati heritage home. What makes it more exotic is the eclectic design influenced by colonial times in Ahmedabad. Staying in this beautiful restored 'Haveli' offers a unique experience in the traditional community living called 'Pol'. The history of this house goes back over 100 years, however the name is derived to commemorate the Indo-French project initiated in year 2000 to revitalize the Old City of Ahmedabad. French architects restored this Haveli and lived here. The 'French Haveli' is a Bed and Breakfast. We serve you a freshly cooked breakfast by our house help. The vegetables and ingredients are purchased from the nearby markets in the historic city centre "ManekChowk". You could go to these markets on your own by renting a bicycle parked outside French Haveli. We can help you to get local food for our approved restaurants and spread it as a exotic lunch/dinner in the lovely dining area at the 1st floor. We have a small efficient kitchen, which can be accessed with prior permission. Living in this house is to experience the Guajarati culture with comfort and luxury. The moment one enters this artistically decorated traditional Haveli, you realize how the craftsmen used space and energy effectively. The central court is open to sky, which gets in optimum air and light. This is generally the soul of all Havelis. The JHULA (traditional swing) is a place to sit and feel this building. You will get to peep down into the tanka (rain water harvesting tank, which we use as water reservoir to pump the 5 modern bathrooms). This traditional courtyard has a subtle combination of spaces flowing into the contemporary lounge, rustic kitchen and grand bathroom at the ground floor. Staying in this house you will experience privacy and yet be part of the central community space this French Haveli overlooks into. The community space has a Chabutra (bird feeder), a Jain temple and also a dilapidated Vaishnav temple (waiting to be restored). You will have the neighbourhood kids saying hello from the semi open doors (jali doors). Each room at the French Haveli has a unique feature and can ultimately be the best choice for your group depending on their needs. All rooms are air conditioned. The single rooms at the first floor of the French Haveli are the tiny jewels. The first jewel is called 'Chabutro'- means the bird feeder. Sleeping in this room is being atop a tree house or climbing the bird feeder. 'Chabutro,' located at the first floor, has a very strategic location, projecting out from the building in a way that gives it 3 sides window openings. This room has a private study at the ground floor with two doors. One door is a direct entry from the main street, which gives an advantage to come in the house directly. The other opens into the lounge and the court. This room uses the ground floor 'Blue Bathroom.' The other jewel is called 'Malo' - The Nest. This room again is unique as its one side window opens in the central court, meant to make connection to the entire house. The other wall has windows opening in the north side lane connecting the two community spaces. This room has again two doors giving access one to the lounge at 1st floor and other to the dedicated study area at 1st floor. These doors and windows help you control your experience of the space as per your need, mood or time of the day. This room has a dedicated toilet at 1st floor. Both single rooms have a comfort of large bed. Have the dedicated toilet at the same floor. The double room at the 1st floor "ORDO" is an opportunity to experience the traditional retiring rooms in the historic times of Ahmedabad. In the olden times when electricity was not available 'ORDO' was a retiring area from the families. The ORDO was typically having thick wall and small windows to beat the tropical heat. This 'ORDO' has one small window on the south wall, now air-conditioned, also has attached bath. The feature of having internal windows opening in the dining area to get fresh air from the central court can be exercised. All rooms at the 1st floor have an access to the small lounge overlooking the central court of the house on one side and the community space on the other. The suite room 'Mahajan Suite'. Mahajan - literally means 'Great Man'. This house has a history of being owned by the business community know as "Mahajan". History of Ahmedabad records that all the Mahajan community was philanthropic in nature. They along with business helped develop the community and the city. The 'Mahajan Suite' gives you luxury of a private terrace with gazebo, a private sitting and a large king size bed. The large bathroom has dress area fitted with Indian marble and traditional furniture. You have option to add an extra bed in this suite room. The 'Agaashi" - The terrace. This room with two queen beds is truly a traveller's delight, compact and airy. Its private balcony with Bougainvillea plants lets you look around the community and also examine closely the restored lime stucco on the facade. The large window when opened in central court dramatically expands the rooms and makes it bright and airy. The contemporary bathroom with the traditional 'Ghokla' makes the stay memorable for cultural travellers.