The rajbari at Bawali, about 30km southwest of Kolkata, represents a masterful exercise in restoration of a once-crumbling 18th-century palace. Many of the 30 atmospheric rooms and nine suites are set around a splendid neoclassical-style courtyard and everything is in the finest taste, with high ceilings, art, antique wooden furniture and copper bathtubs as well as showers in some rooms.
Excellent Bengali lunches (open to non-guests, ₹1300 to ₹1600) and Continental or Asian dinners are served. The 12,000-sq-metre property includes a sizeable pool, a pond with a long verandah perfect for evening drinks, and a spa offering a variety of healing therapies. Saturday and Sunday nights tend to be booked out weeks ahead by weekenders from Kolkata. A taxi from central Kolkata should cost around ₹1200. The drive can take two hours if traffic is bad.