A CASE FOR STAYING IN

Set in the forest-fringed hills near Dehradun, a former family home turned six-suite retreat gently sets the pace for unhurried days

- MALLIKA ADVANI

For those who don't mind traveling far from home to arrive at a place that somehow feels like home, there's a growing constellation of former princely residences across the country redefining hospitality. A far cry from the palatial grandeur of Umaid Bhavan, Rambagh, or Falaknuma - with their vast suites and sweeping lawns - these smaller estates trade spectacle for charm without losing their sense of lineage.

Renovated with restraint and sensitivity, their architectural traditions remain, but on a more human, intimate scale. One of these, perched on a hilltop less than an hour from Dehradun, with shimmering views of the surrounding forest canopy and the Ganges below, is Kinwani House a former residence of the Tehri-Garhwal royals, restored into an English-style manor where everyday anxieties blissfully melt away amid floral linens, Persian carpets, French windows, and walls painted in pistachio and buttercup hues.