The Fort Pokaran - A Heritage Hotel — Hotel in Pokaran

The Indian Bucket List Hotel - Review

The Fort Pokaran

As I arrived at Fort Pokaran,The hotel staff helped me unloading my photography and camping equipment from my Royal Enfield Himalayan.

History : The Fort of Pokaran also known as ‘Balagarh’ is situated in the Thar Desert, built by the clan of Rathores in the rare yellow sandstone. It lies in the Marwar city of Jodhpur and its history dates back to the 14th century. This fort comprises of many other significant establishments like Hawa Mahal, Mangal Niwas, Phool Mahal, etc..

The original structure of the place as a fort has ornamentally carved walls of red and yellow sandstone combined with traditional ‘jharokas’, turrets and parapets of the Mughal architecture. Main hall of the fort known as the Mangal Mahal has four protruding octagonal Jharokas.

Other attractions of this fort includes a Durga temple along with a museum comprising of a wide variety of artifacts of the ancient era along with many mural paintings, armory, handicrafts, costumes and pottery items of the erstwhile kings. The fort also houses a grand library known for its collection of classic books providing information about

Room: The furniture is exquisite in design, comfortable mattress and tastefully decorated. Mini bar, fruit basket, hand sanitizer and 4 bottles of mineral water.

Service: Polite and go every way to make my stay enjoyable. I feel lucky to be served and appreciate them for what service they provide and go extra mile by honoring almost all requests. Mr Devi was brilliant

Food: The dining Hall is a magnificent and clear view of the garden and pavilions. Wide variety of mouth-watering courses. I had Indian Thali assorted breads for dinner and best scrambled eggs for breakfast; best so far on this trip.

Hosts: Ms. Bhavini Kumari Pokaran was friendly and welcoming, always on top of things and met all guests who were staying at the property.

Location: Perfectly placed as central point well placed between Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Bikaner.

Distances: Jaipur – 511 KM Udaipur – 440 KM Jodhpur – 171 KM Jaisalmer – 110 KM Bikaner – 240 KM

Nearest airports Jodhpur & Jaisalmer

Did I mention free wifi and endless cups of tea?

Must visit when in Rajasthan!

Photograph courtesy: The...

Hotel within a Fort. Sounds an exciting experience, isn't it? With the same expectation we checked in to the this hotel on 6th Nov 2021. Our overall experience can be summarised in one word - pathetic.

We changed rooms 3 times as the rooms that were being offered to us were having some or the other problem - either water not coming in the bathroom or poor hygiene or too much chaotic. There is no reception not any intercom service. Staff will provide their mobile nos and you need to call them.

Staff are anything but customer friendly. They do not understand the meaning of pleasing a customer. Since we planned to checkout early in the morning, we called the staff member at around 6.45 am to request them to provide us tea in the room (which is chargeable as in case of any hotel). Seemed that the staff was asleep and told me that we need to make use of in room kettle to make our tea since all staff members are asleep. After paying 7k per night, this is not the response that you expect.

Rooms - Rooms don't even have a mobile charging socket. If you want to charge your mobile, you have to either switch off one of the lamp and use that socket or ask for an extension. You have to ask for everything right from water bottle (which is complimentary) to towels / napkins. I had booked a room with an extra bed which was on chargeable basis. They told me the bed is not available and then they arranged something which looked like being used by their staff. Mattress were in poor shape, torn etc.

Restaurant: They dont have a set menu. You have to place an order for food by 6.30pm for your dinner else you won't get what you want to eat. They have an option for buffet which is priced at Rs. 1000 plus taxes which includes 2 vegs, 1 dal, roti, rice and 1 sweet. Taste of the food is average.

Overall rating is as under. Property - 3.5 star. Property is beautiful but needs upkeep and maintenance. Service - 1 star. Service level is extremely poor. Food - 3...

Pokhran is a city and a municipality located in the Jaisalmer district of the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is a remote location in the Thar Desert region and served as the test site for India’s first underground nuclear weapon detonation. Balagarh fort was built by the Marwar Thakur, Rao Maldeo in the 14th Century, it is otherwise known as the Pokhran Fort. Pokhran means the place of five mirages enclosed by sandy, rocky, salt ranges. Although a small temple made of red sandstone, the fort is dedicated to Goddess Durga. It is situated in a remote region of the Thar desert which also served as a test site for India’s first underground nuclear weapon detonations.

The majestic fort has a huge door with sinister spikes jutting out to stop elephant stampede. It houses a museum displaying armoury, pottery, miniature paintings and costumes worn by the maharajas of the bygone era. Surrounding the fort is the village of Pokhran that welcomes every traveller with a warm heart. The local weavers and potters working at the market, safari over the sand dunes, a community that feeds the migratory birds are all the beauty of Pokhran.

The best time to visit Pokhran Fort in Jaisalmer is during the winter season which begins in the month of November and lasts till February. The rest of the year, Jaisalmer experiences extremely high temperatures keeping the deserts dry and arid. The mercury level fluctuates between a maximum of 31°C and a minimum of 7°C during the winter season. The average remains around 20°C, making it an enjoyable time to explore the Fort located in the midst of the Thar Desert. Summers and monsoons (from April to September) are not recommended because the average temperature is quite high, around 34°C during summers and 30°C during monsoons, and the region receives low amounts of rainfall.

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