Travel Stories
Taj Jai Mahal Palace: Hotel Review: The Telegraph UK
This 18th-century palace, which is spread over 18 acres in central Jaipur, has tasteful rooms, a fabulous spa, swimming pool, and enough activities – including miniature golf, heritage walks, restaurants and a running track— to keep a guests entertained for a long weekend or more.
Alsisar Haveli: Hotel Review: The Telegraph UK
This heritage hotel was once a large 'haveli' (traditional home) for a large Indian family. It has a welcoming and rather dramatic façade, open courtyards, a swimming pool, and a boutique that sells block-print clothes.
Narain Niwas Palace: Hotel Review: The Telegraph UK
This heritage hotel, with its stunning entrance façade, has been with the same family since it was built in 1926, giving it an authenticity that is hard to duplicate. For a taste of Jaipur with all its charms and quirks, stay here.
Oberoi Rajvilas: Hotel Review: The Telegraph UK
A luxurious base from which to see Jaipur The Oberoi Rajvilas, Jaipur, India Telegraph Review/ Shoba Narayan/ Travel writer 8/10 This hotel just outside Jaipur, with red-brick architecture [...]
ITC Rajputana: Hotel Review: The Telegraph UK
This hotel evokes the spirit of Rajasthan through the use of riotous colour, mural paintings, excellent Indian cuisine, and folk music every evening. The rooms with jewellery motifs, outdoor swimming pool and the pomegranate-themed spa offer respite from the desert heat.
Shangrila Bengaluru: Hotel Review: The Telegraph UK
With 397 rooms, this hotel in central Bangalore — a favourite for glittering Indian weddings — ably represents the Shangri-La global chain with an outstanding spa; Chinese, Italian, Indian and Japanese restaurants; and a rooftop bar that offers sprawling views of the city.
The Ritz-Carlton: Hotel Review: The Telegraph UK
With over 1,200 art works displayed all over, this jewel-like hotel in the heart of Bangalore has arguably the loveliest spa in the city, highly-rated Indian, Chinese and Continental restaurants, a Mercedes-Benz chauffeur pickup, and a wonderful design motif of painstakingly-carved extensive latticework.
ITC Gardenia: Hotel Review: The Telegraph UK
This extremely environmentally friendly hotel adroitly mixes guilt-free luxury with sustainable practices, making it a great choice for eco-conscious travelers through its use of renewable wind energy, eco-friendly fittings, and recycles all water and waste.
Taj Coramandel: Hotel Review: The Telegraph UK
The only Chennai hotel that is part of the ‘Leading Hotels of the World,’ this 42-year-old landmark is where Chennai glitterati come for dates, engagements and weddings. It melds Chola bronzes, Tanjore paintings, Italian marble and Bohemian chandeliers to glittering effect.
Latest Articles
The cult that conquers: Hindustan Times
It is December in Bangalore. Finally, the bean that Bangaloreans wait for, and celebrate with a josh that is akin to how Delhiites celebrate the musk melon or how the whole country celebrates the mango during the summer.
Poem: Silence: in the DMQ Review
This poem was nominated for the Pushcart Prize. I am pinching myself. I had submitted it to the DMQ Review, which published it and later nominated it. Details in the post.
Annual Street Fairs: Hindustan Times
This is what I love about living in Bangalore. Amidst this tech-driven startup-city lies an agrarian festival that has somehow survived and thrived.
St. Mary’s Feast: Hindustan Times
I stand amidst the devout at St. Mary’s Basilica in Shivaji Nagar. We are gathered here to celebrate Mother Mary’s birthday.
Karnataka Rajyotsava: for Hindustan Times
Underneath the pomp of the Karnataka Rajyotsava lies a frustrating truth, and this is something every Bangalorean knows.
India Currents | Los Angeles
For the last two years, I have been visiting Los Angeles a few times a year. Here, then, is a guide to experiencing Los Angeles beyond its cliches.
Nine features I wrote for Condenast Traveler (US edition) a while back
Interviews with His Holiness The Dalai Lama
Follow my Youtube channel below
Follow my Instagram channel below
Shoba Narayan is an award-winning Indian author, journalist, and freelance travel writer based in India. She specialises in luxury travel, immersive journeys, and Indian culture with a focus on food, wine, culture, cities, and identity. With over two decades of experience, she has contributed travel features to Condé Nast Traveler (US edition), Travel & Leisure, DestinAsian, Mint Lounge, The National (Abu Dhabi), Taj Magazine, and Hindustan Times, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Telegraph UK, The Guardian UK, and Robb Report among others. Her awards include the James Beard food-writing award and a Pulitzer Travel Fellowship. Her travel writing spans India, Southeast Asia, Japan, China, the Maldives, Bhutan, Costa Rica, and beyond — always with a focus on the sensory, the cultural, and the deeply human. Based in Bangalore, India, Shoba is a leading voice on South Asian travel, reviewing luxury hotels in India and abroad, and writing immersive features on traditional Indian crafts, and contemporary Indian culture. As a freelance travel writer and memoirist, she writes evocative, deeply researched features on everything from birding in Costa Rica to spiritual tourism in Bhutan.
For editors: Shoba Narayan is an Indian travel writer and food writer, who contributes to assignments on travel, food, culture, and Indian cities. She has reported from across the world and writes narrative-driven features with a strong sense of place.
Key Expertise: India travel writer, freelance travel writer India, South Asia travel journalist, luxury travel India writer, food and travel writer India, Indian food writer, Bangalore travel writer, South India travel writing, cultural travel writer, narrative travel journalist, travel features India, heritage travel India, slow travel India, sustainability travel writer, hotel and destination features India, travel essays South Asia.