Kaner Retreat - India's First Desert Botanical Resort — Hotel in Rajasthan

Kaner Retreat was a very surprising find for us. The property came across while searing for an off beat experience, a non-conventional end to the year. And Kaner Retreat delivered to the T!

The property is located about 75-90 minutes from Jodhpur Airport, on the highway that leads to Jaisalmer. The property is located just far enough from the highway to benefit from the silence. Being run by a couple and their young daughter, Kaner Retreat greets you with warmth only a host-run experience can. The family is involved through the process, from being given the room tour by the youngest member, Sanvi, to being taken around the property and surrounding areas on a Botanical Walk by Sapna, to having your itinerary planned by Samir. It is a very personal experience, weaves together for each group by the family.

We took The Unplugged Package, which had a nice spread of activities planned through our stay there. We started our first day with a rooftop private dinner, lovingly put together for us. We were served a delicious Thali featuring regional and other delicacies. The experience was truly special given the setting and the fact that it was our first Year-End trip together as a couple.

The next day, we started off with a quick Power Paragliding session about an hour away from the property, which was essentially a 15 minute aerial tour of the area. Post lunch, we participated in a short Horse riding workshop at a stud farm, where Sanvi talked us through the riding process, and showed us a few things. Dinner was a bonfire and a nice food spread.

Our third day started with a tour of one of the few Olive Farms in the country, where we were served with a very nice Mediterranean Lunch prepared by the Kaner team, and served at the farm. It was an insightful experience that showcased not only the famed resilience of the people of Rajasthan, but also of the family that stuck to their guns to deliver on their goal. Post this, we headed back and went on an exciting drive through the desert in a decade plus old Mahindra Major 4x4 SUV. We went through multiple terrains, and some dunes, a very good experience overall.

On our last day, we started off with a Botanical Walk around the property followed by a Camel Ride through the Desert.

The Villa we stayed in was spacious, and featured, what I can easily confirm, were amongst the most comfortable mattress, pillow and quilts. They were well appointed with a kettle for boiling water, a pot of mineral water and tea. Do note that the villa did not feature a Television, which honestly isn’t a need given the property and the experiences on offer. All villas are named after local flora. The food on offer was largely North Indian, made with love and care, somewhere between Home Made and Restaurant style, which we felt was a very good balance.

To conclude, our experience at Kaner was definitely not mundane, it was a very good example of an off-beat vacation, away from extravagance and the usual boiler plate/templated offerings. Definitely recommend this for people with young kids over and above...

||When I look back at 2022, I made few good decisions and randomly choosing Kaner Retreat as my stay was life changing one. I had stopped travelling way before the pandemic and kinda lost my wanderlust. But after Kaner Retreat I think I have got my mojo back.||Kaner Retreat will forever remain a special place in my heart, the location, the ambience, the chill in the air, the invigorating fragrance, the people and the teasing magic that carries is difficult to capture in words or pictures.||I cannot begin to share how happy it made me and my wife when we threw open the door to our room, it felt like a dream. It has a beautiful open sky verandah that had a cool, refreshing earthen pot of water, a micro garden and a seating area with rustic chairs and a small teapoy.||The room itself was so big, cross ventilated and allowed the light to dance every hour of the day, it didn’t even spare the moonlight.||I can still smell the fragrance of our room, assortment of teas, coffees, the welcome drink and soul stirring welcome sweet, the desert cotton and a massive art work over our massive bed just made our trip memorable, within few seconds of moving in, we realised that this is going to be one of the best stays of our lives.||Speaking of food, I crave for the Kaner food even today, the scrumptious spread of Indian lunch with local produce and hybrid recipes, the mesmerising Mediterranean lunch, dinner at the dunes and the breakfast…My God! nothing in the world motivates me more than the breakfast at Kaner.||We never had any kind of desert experience, we were introduced to the picturesque desert landscape on Jeep Safari, then the most beautiful Thar orientation walk. It was a perfect amalgam of botany, history, life experience and unwavering charm of Mrs. Sapna Bhatia. Just when I thought it was the best experience at Kaner, they surprised us with the Horse workshop with Alfresco tea at the Hillock overlooking the sunset. This was by far the best experience and the sole reason behind it was none other than Sanvi Bhatia, the youngest owner of Kaner Retreat. Her passion and love for horses was so satisfying to watch. She introduced us to her favourite horse, she regaled us with Horse stories and mind blowing trivia. If Sanvi is around on your trip, consider your trip to be entertaining and adventurous. ||And lastly the soul stirring conversations we had with Samirji and Sapna ji under a starlit sky made my trip unforgettable. We meandered through literature, travel, food, love for Old Delhi and Urdu. Aah! It was food for the Soul.||I wish that I can make it to Kaner Retreat every year and challenge them to give me new experiences each time and they literally said this to us: Challenge Accepted.||Love to Bhatias, Love to all the lovely Staff and Love to Kaner Retreat, my favourite...

When I look back at 2022, I made few good decisions and randomly choosing Kaner Retreat as my stay was life changing one. I had stopped travelling way before the pandemic and kinda lost my wanderlust. But after Kaner Retreat I think I have got my mojo back.

Kaner Retreat will forever remain a special place in my heart, the location, the ambience, the chill in the air, the invigorating fragrance, the people and the teasing magic that carries is difficult to capture in words or pictures.

I cannot begin to share how happy it made me and my wife when we threw open the door to our room, it felt like a dream. It has a beautiful open sky verandah that had a cool, refreshing earthen pot of water, a micro garden and a seating area with rustic chairs and a small teapoy.

The room itself was so big, cross ventilated and allowed the light to dance every hour of the day, it didn’t even spare the moonlight.

I can still smell the fragrance of our room, assortment of teas, coffees, the welcome drink and soul stirring welcome sweet, the desert cotton and a massive art work over our massive bed just made our trip memorable, within few seconds of moving in, we realised that this is going to be one of the best stays of our lives.

Speaking of food, I crave for the Kaner food even today, the scrumptious spread of Indian lunch with local produce and hybrid recipes, the mesmerising Mediterranean lunch, dinner at the dunes and the breakfast…My God! nothing in the world motivates me more than the breakfast at Kaner.

We never had any kind of desert experience, we were introduced to the picturesque desert landscape on Jeep Safari, then the most beautiful Thar orientation walk. It was a perfect amalgam of botany, history, life experience and unwavering charm of Mrs. Sapna Bhatia. Just when I thought it was the best experience at Kaner, they surprised us with the Horse workshop with Alfresco tea at the Hillock overlooking the sunset. This was by far the best experience and the sole reason behind it was none other than Sanvi Bhatia, the youngest owner of Kaner Retreat. Her passion and love for horses was so satisfying to watch. She introduced us to her favourite horse, she regaled us with Horse stories and mind blowing trivia. If Sanvi is around on your trip, consider your trip to be entertaining and adventurous.

And lastly the soul stirring conversations we had with Samirji and Sapna ji under a starlit sky made my trip unforgettable. We meandered through literature, travel, food, love for Old Delhi and Urdu. Aah! It was food for the Soul.

I wish that I can make it to Kaner Retreat every year and challenge them to give me new experiences each time and they literally said this to us: Challenge Accepted.

Love to Bhatias, Love to all the lovely Staff and Love to Kaner Retreat, my favourite...