Mandir Palace was the residence of the rulers of Jaisalmer for more than two centuries — not a building later repurposed into a heritage hotel, but the genuine seat of royal life in the city for generation after generation. Its foundation stone was laid by Maharawal Moolrajji, alongside the construction of the temples of Shri Ram and Shri Girdhariji, with the palace complex built directly around them — meaning the building’s very origin is tied to an act of worship rather than simple royal ambition. That foundation dates to the late 1700s, making this one of the oldest continuously inhabited royal residences anywhere in our entire collection.

Successive generations of the ruling family added to the palace over the following two centuries, with the most recent and most celebrated addition — known as Jawahir Vilas — built by Maharawal Jawahir Singhji in the early twentieth century. The architecture throughout is Indo-Saracenic, a deliberate blend of Rajput design and Islamic decorative patterns carried into Jaisalmer along the old caravan routes from Afghanistan and Persia — a visible record of the trade and cultural exchange that once passed directly through this desert city. The palace’s most recognisable feature, a tower called Badal Vilas, stands as the tallest structure in the old city below the hilltop fort itself, rising seven storeys and offering panoramic views across the Golden City and the Thar Desert beyond it.

Raj Kumar Dr. Jitendra Singh, grandson of Maharawal Jawahir Singhji, transformed the palace into a heritage hotel and personally welcomes guests into what remains, in every meaningful sense, his own family home. This is the same individual who opened Mohangarh Fort to guests — and the connection between the two properties runs deeper than shared ownership. The same Maharawal Jawahir Singhji who built Jawahir Vilas here at Mandir Palace went on, decades later, to build the entirety of Mohangarh Fort for his younger son. Two properties in our Jaisalmer collection, built by the same man across two different decades, now stewarded together by his own grandson.

Several of the palace’s suites carry their own individual histories rather than generic room categories. The Surya Mahal Suite, with its own private balcony, dates to 1914 and was one of Maharawal Jawahir Singh ji’s own private rooms, finished with intricate stone carving, Italian marble and Jaisalmer stone floors. The Heritage Suites date to 1850 and 1900 — also his private chambers — one decorated with hand-made tiles and fresco work, the other with yellow stone interiors and pillars throughout the room, opening onto a large terrace overlooking the pool. The Golden Suites trace back even further, to 1770, 1780, 1790 and 1850, originally the personal rooms of the royal family itself. Few hotels anywhere can date individual rooms to specific decades, let alone attribute each one to a specific member of the family who once slept there.