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AI generated summary, newsroom reviewed
A hotel is best when it is atmospheric and has something more than brick and mortar to offer. Some hotels give you a nice beach view while others offer magnificent snow-capped peaks glistening in the distance. Which of the two you might enjoy is a matter of personal discretion. However, we have curated a list of five spots that give you the whole range — snow-capped peaks, forested valleys and, in a couple of cases, a UNESCO listing thrown in. These spots are a mix of Indian and international ones ranging from the Wildflower Hall of Shimla to the Khyber Himalayan Resort & Spa of Gulmarg, Ananda in the Himalayas in Uttarakhand, Amankora Paro, Bhutan and the Forestis, Dolomites, Italy. Indiscriminately, all five have made a habit of putting the view ahead of almost everything else on the property.
Set 2,515 metres up in a 23-acre cedar forest near Mashobra, this was once the country retreat of Lord Kitchener, commander-in-chief of British India, before falling into government hands and reopening as an Oberoi property after a five-year restoration completed in 1998. Rooms sit behind large bay windows facing either the garden or the surrounding mountains, and the resort runs both indoor and outdoor heated pools alongside the Oberoi Spa. It's roughly a 32-minute drive from central Shimla and the Kalka-Shimla heritage railway.
Tariff: From Rs. 60,000 per night (Premier Mountain View Room, double occupancy, official Oberoi rack rate).
Spread across 7 acres in Jammu and Kashmir, the Khyber looks straight out at the Affarwat peaks of the Pir Panjal range and sits at a ten-minute walk from the Gulmarg Gondola, the highest cable car of its kind in the world. The property runs an indoor pool, sauna and Turkish steam bath, plus a Khyber Spa outpost using L'Occitane products. In winter, the gondola it neighbours turns the surrounding slopes into one of India's few proper ski destinations.
Tariff: From Rs. 24,110 per night (Premier Double Room).
Housed in the former palace estate of the Maharaja of Tehri Garhwal, Ananda sits at around 1,300 metres in the Himalayan foothills, looking down over Rishikesh, the Ganges and the Doon Valley. The 100-acre grounds include a six-hole golf course, an Ayurveda-focused spa, and Jolly Grant Airport in Dehradun is about 30km away. Rates typically bundle in a wellness programme and daily meals rather than being sold as a plain room rate.
Tariff: From about Rs. 92,500 per night for the cheapest double room, inclusive of taxes and fees.
Amankora's Paro lodge — one of five scattered across Bhutan's valleys — has 24 suites tucked into a pine forest overlooking the Paro Valley, with the ruined Drukgyel Dzong visible from the terrace and Jomolhari peak beyond it. The two-storey spa runs traditional Bhutanese hot stone baths, and the lodge sits five kilometres from Paro International Airport, Bhutan's only point of entry by air. Guests also pay Bhutan's Sustainable Development Fee on top of the room rate.
Tariff: From about Rs. 1, 61,500, plus Bhutan's Rs. 1,200 ($100) per person, per night Sustainable Development Fee.
Perched at 1,800 metres on the southern slope of the Plose massif near Bressanone, Forestis looks directly across at the Dolomites' UNESCO World Heritage peaks. The building started life as an Austrian-era tuberculosis sanatorium, chosen for this exact spot for its clean air and mountain light, before its conversion into a 62-suite hotel — 40 in newer towers, 22 in the original structure. The top-floor Penthouse has its own private pool and sauna with an uninterrupted valley view.
Tariff: From about Rs. 76,450 (€695) per night.
Rates are indicative or starting rates gathered from official hotel and travel-partner sources, and will vary by season, room category and current offers.