Six Senses Fort Barwara

A fort built in the fourteenth century above the village of Chauth Ka Barwara, in Sawai Madhopur district, stood largely empty for decades before a ten-year restoration turned it into a hotel. Six Senses Fort Barwara opened in October 2021 with 48 suites inside the walls, and within two months it had hosted one of the most photographed weddings in India.

History

The fort belonged to the Rajput family of Barwara, and its two palaces and two temples were in use until the twentieth century. The family, led by Prithviraj Singh of Barwara, decided to restore it with a hotel in mind rather than let it decay, and the works ran for about a decade before Six Senses, the wellness-led group owned by IHG, took it on as its first property in India. The opening came in October 2021. In December of the same year the actors Katrina Kaif and Vicky Kaushal married here, and the fort has been on the country's wedding map since.

Architecture and design

The restoration kept the fort's silhouette, its ramparts and its two palaces, the Raja Mahal and the Rani Mahal, while inserting modern services behind the old stone. The former women's palace became the spa. The two temples inside the walls were restored and are still used for ceremonies. The 48 suites sit in the palaces and in new wings built to the same height and in the same stone, with jharokha windows, courtyards and terraces. A pool runs along one terrace with the Aravalli hills beyond, and the village lies at the foot of the walls.

Rooms and suites

Suites have high ceilings, stone floors, carved screens and bathrooms with tubs; the larger ones occupy whole sections of the palaces with private terraces. Six Senses' habits apply: no plastic, a sleep programme, and a filtered water station in place of bottles.

Dining

Roohani, the signature restaurant, serves Rajasthani and wider Indian dishes drawing on the fort's own gardens and on the farms around the village. Cortile, in a courtyard, is the all-day restaurant with Italian-leaning food. A bar on a terrace takes the evening. The group's approach to food, local, seasonal and with an eye on waste, runs through all of it.

Wellness

The spa in the former queen's palace has treatment rooms, a yoga pavilion and a programme of Ayurveda, yoga and the group's wellness screenings. Sleep and detox programmes follow the Six Senses pattern, and the fort's quiet, with the village below and the hills beyond, suits them.

Weddings and events

The fort hosts weddings across its courtyards, temples and terraces, and can be booked in its entirety. Ceremonies take place at the restored temples, receptions on the lawns and ramparts, and the Kaif-Kaushal wedding of December 2021 set the template. Meeting spaces are modest, and the fort suits retreats rather than conferences.

Location

Chauth Ka Barwara lies about 30 kilometres from Sawai Madhopur, the railway town for Ranthambore National Park, whose tiger safaris are the main excursion. Jaipur's airport is around two and a half to three hours by road, Delhi about six. Trains from Delhi and Mumbai stop at Sawai Madhopur, and the fort is roughly half an hour from the station. The Chauth Mata temple on the hill above the village draws pilgrims through the year, and the countryside between the fort and the park is farmland and scrub where the hotel runs walks and village visits.