Ananda in the Himalayas
A maharaja's palace estate of forty hectares, still the family's, run as a house by somebody else.
Ananda occupies a hundred acres, forty hectares, of sal forest on a ridge at Narendra Nagar in Uttarakhand, looking down the Ganges valley towards Rishikesh. The ground is the palace estate of the Maharaja of Tehri Garhwal, whose family moved the capital of the princely state up here in 1919, and it remains theirs: the hotel company operates the estate rather than owning it. That is the entry. A forty-hectare holding on a Himalayan ridge, with the forest intact around it and a title that has not changed hands in the way the guest would assume.
At the centre stands the Viceregal Palace, added to the older palace in 1910 or 1911 for a visit by the Viceroy of India that never took place. The building was kept, and later housed Mountbatten among others. Ashok and Neelam Khanna opened Ananda in September 2000 as India's first destination spa, restoring the palace as the public rooms and putting the accommodation in a block and in villas across the estate. It is published at seventy rooms with five suites and three villas, and elsewhere at seventy-five rooms and suites with three villas.
Operated, not owned. The estate belongs to a family whose state no longer exists, and a hospitality company runs it under them. Few holdings in this register separate possession from operation this cleanly.
A house built for someone who never came. The palace at the centre was raised for a viceregal visit that was cancelled. The estate has been putting the building to other uses ever since, and now it is a reception.
Who it is not for
Ananda is wrong for travellers who want a resort to be optional: the programme here is consultation-led and a stay of a week is advised. It is wrong for anyone who wants to drink and eat freely, since the kitchen is a wellness kitchen by design. It is wrong for guests who want the river at hand, because the Ganges is in the valley below and the estate is on the ridge. For a Rajasthan palace estate held outright by its operator, Amanbagh is the comparison.
Sources
- Encyclopaedic record and operator material - estate of a hundred acres, or forty hectares, of sal forest at Narendra Nagar, opened September 2000 by Ashok and Neelam Khanna as India's first destination spa; the Viceregal Palace was added in 1910-11 for a viceregal visit that never took place
- Published history - the property includes the royal palace of Narendra Nagar of the Maharaja of Tehri Garhwal; the princely capital was moved here in 1919; the palace later accommodated Lord Mountbatten
- The current division of title and operating rights between the Shah family and IHHR Hospitality is nowhere published and is the question this entry most needs answered.
Verification
- Official source
- Not yet checked
- Sources disagree
- accommodation is published as seventy rooms with five suites and three villas, and as seventy-five rooms and suites with three villas; the palace's construction is dated 1900 in one account and 1910-11 in others.
- Property confirmation
- Pending
- Last verified
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Booking
Private Resorts arranges each stay on request, quoting the rates available for the resort and dates. No benefit should be assumed unless it is confirmed in writing for the individual reservation.
Request a proposalClassified by The Resort Collection House · The Register · Edition 2026 · LHL-E-108
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