Kaner Retreat - India's First Desert Botanical Resort

We loved everything about our weekend here. Sapna the proprietor is from Rajasthan’s Marwar region, and she’s a passionate advocate of its traditions and culture. The campus-like property is clearly a labour of love, a tranquil place with native plants, nice rooms, and a lovely lighting system at night. The food is delicious and healthy, and the experiences on offer include a 4x4 ride over the dunes and a nature walk with Sapna as guide. We were lucky enough to visit during bird migration season and she arranged a visit to Khichan, where huge flocks of demoiselle cranes visit from Russia and Central Asia in winter - an extraordinary sight. This place is worth every Rs if you want to connect with the culture, food and people of the Rajasthan desert.

We had a wonderful time at this lovely place - amazing host, delicious food, thoughtfully curated experiences and a very serene, tranquil environment that calms you down. This was such a welcome change from the overly touristy experience of Jaisalmer and Jodhpur. We will be back and for a longer duration. This is an absolutely must visit place for those who really want to be away from the hectic city life. The quiet here is to be experienced to believe it. And the ownwer and his staff are so amazing at their hospitality. The owner's pet dog is a delight too.

When I look back at 2022, I made few good decisions and randomly choosing Kaner Retreat as my stay was life changing one. I had stopped travelling way before the pandemic and kinda lost my wanderlust. But after Kaner Retreat I think I have got my mojo back. Kaner Retreat will forever remain a special place in my heart, the location, the ambience, the chill in the air, the invigorating fragrance, the people and the teasing magic that carries is difficult to capture in words or pictures. I cannot begin to share how happy it made me and my wife when we threw open the door to our room, it felt like a dream. It has a beautiful open sky verandah that had a cool, refreshing earthen pot of water, a micro garden and a seating area with rustic chairs and a small teapoy. The room itself was so big, cross ventilated and allowed the light to dance every hour of the day, it didn’t even spare the moonlight. I can still smell the fragrance of our room, assortment of teas, coffees, the welcome drink and soul stirring welcome sweet, the desert cotton and a massive art work over our massive bed just made our trip memorable, within few seconds of moving in, we realised that this is going to be one of the best stays of our lives. Speaking of food, I crave for the Kaner food even today, the scrumptious spread of Indian lunch with local produce and hybrid recipes, the mesmerising Mediterranean lunch, dinner at the dunes and the breakfast…My God! nothing in the world motivates me more than the breakfast at Kaner. We never had any kind of desert experience, we were introduced to the picturesque desert landscape on Jeep Safari, then the most beautiful Thar orientation walk. It was a perfect amalgam of botany, history, life experience and unwavering charm of Mrs. Sapna Bhatia. Just when I thought it was the best experience at Kaner, they surprised us with the Horse workshop with Alfresco tea at the Hillock overlooking the sunset. This was by far the best experience and the sole reason behind it was none other than Sanvi Bhatia, the youngest owner of Kaner Retreat. Her passion and love for horses was so satisfying to watch. She introduced us to her favourite horse, she regaled us with Horse stories and mind blowing trivia. If Sanvi is around on your trip, consider your trip to be entertaining and adventurous. And lastly the soul stirring conversations we had with Samirji and Sapna ji under a starlit sky made my trip unforgettable. We meandered through literature, travel, food, love for Old Delhi and Urdu. Aah! It was food for the Soul. I wish that I can make it to Kaner Retreat every year and challenge them to give me new experiences each time and they literally said this to us: Challenge Accepted. Love to Bhatias, Love to all the lovely Staff and Love to Kaner Retreat, my favourite place in India.