राम राम सा from Jaipur’s Chokhi Dhani Ethnic Resort

With an opportunity for a 1-night stay trip and rains all around, we decided to dash to a city we love, Jaipur! Exploring was not on the cards so we narrowed down on staying at Chokhi Dhani Ethnic Resort. I had been there ~9 years ago and have some good memories of the place.

Photo of राम राम सा from Jaipur’s Chokhi Dhani Ethnic Resort 2/25 by TravelerInMe — Terracotta based deco

Photo of राम राम सा from Jaipur’s Chokhi Dhani Ethnic Resort 3/25 by TravelerInMe — Beautiful door of one of the premium suite

Since I have been to the Chokhi Dhani Village Fair a couple of times before, it did not hold much attraction this time around. For those who are yet to visit this village fair, its open to the public from 5 pm – 11 pm. One can experience the Rajasthani culture, cuisine, performing arts and handicrafts in a village like set up and in the end enjoy a good traditional thali served with immense love.

Photo of राम राम सा from Jaipur’s Chokhi Dhani Ethnic Resort 4/25 by TravelerInMe — Inside Chokhi Dhani Ethnic Resort in Jaipur

Our drive was strewn with drizzle and rain here and there. I was just keeping my fingers crossed that it was not so in Jaipur because I did not intend to stay in the room. Well, it was drizzling at our destination city. My mind started working for an alternative plan if the Rain God continued his work.

Photo of राम राम सा from Jaipur’s Chokhi Dhani Ethnic Resort 5/25 by TravelerInMe — Entrance of the resort

Photo of राम राम सा from Jaipur’s Chokhi Dhani Ethnic Resort 6/25 by TravelerInMe — Kids’ Area (near the entrance)

Photo of राम राम सा from Jaipur’s Chokhi Dhani Ethnic Resort 7/25 by TravelerInMe — Ganeshji’s temple near entrance

We reached the resort and after check-in were escorted to our cottage. Miraculously the rain stopped and sun peeped on and off thereafter……..

Photo of राम राम सा from Jaipur’s Chokhi Dhani Ethnic Resort 8/25 by TravelerInMe — Reception, huge with lovely interior

Photo of राम राम सा from Jaipur’s Chokhi Dhani Ethnic Resort 9/25 by TravelerInMe — Temple in the reception area

Photo of राम राम सा from Jaipur’s Chokhi Dhani Ethnic Resort 10/25 by TravelerInMe — Various cottages, havelis, suites

The room was just as I had imagined and fit the bill of a relaxed stay. Super cute from outside and absolute cool inside. It had all the modern amenities and was its interior was definitely pleasing to the eye.

Photo of राम राम सा from Jaipur’s Chokhi Dhani Ethnic Resort 11/25 by TravelerInMe — Our pretty cottage (outside view)

Photo of राम राम सा from Jaipur’s Chokhi Dhani Ethnic Resort 12/25 by TravelerInMe — Our Cottage (inside view)

We ordered a plate of Nizami biryani (which cost a whopping 1100/-) for lunch and I busied myself in exploring the resort thereafter.

The designated staff were busy making the path within the resort dry and clean after every spell of rain. It was warm being greeted राम राम सा (Ram Ram Sa) by smiling helps and staff alike.

Photo of राम राम सा from Jaipur’s Chokhi Dhani Ethnic Resort 13/25 by TravelerInMe — View from Chokhi Dhani Ethnic Resort

The resort is designed well with colorful, ethnic decor and look. There are dining options within the resort besides the ones in the village fair. I took a leisurely walk around, remembering my previous visit in between.

Photo of राम राम सा from Jaipur’s Chokhi Dhani Ethnic Resort 14/25 by TravelerInMe — Decor – colorful and traditional

Photo of राम राम सा from Jaipur’s Chokhi Dhani Ethnic Resort 15/25 by TravelerInMe — There are plenty of pretty sitting areas where one can spend time

The sunset and we slowly got ready for the village fair. We were not exactly keen about it since we have been there many a times. To top it the drizzle came as a spoiler for the entire time we were there.

Photo of राम राम सा from Jaipur’s Chokhi Dhani Ethnic Resort 16/25 by TravelerInMe — Clock Tower

The ground was all muddy, slimy and dimly lit. It was an ordeal moving around. Now, as per the staff there is no concrete path or bright light to give it a village look. Though if you ask me a bit of development in the village will not hurt!

We had some pani puri , bajre ki roti aur lahsun ki chutney (pearl millet chapatti with garlic cold sauce), enjoyed some folk dance/music and headed to a new section called Kalagram. This section houses shops that sell handicrafts of Rajasthan and few other states of India. One can pick up souvenirs as well as shop for ethnic items here.

Photo of राम राम सा from Jaipur’s Chokhi Dhani Ethnic Resort 17/25 by TravelerInMe — Kalagram section in the Village Fair

Photo of राम राम सा from Jaipur’s Chokhi Dhani Ethnic Resort 18/25 by TravelerInMe — Swimming Pool

Since the rain continued, we decided have our dinner and get back to the comforts of our room. The resort guests’ have a separate dining area, Jeeman Khas, in the village fair. This is besides two other dining options open to everyone with one of them needing a reservation . One might need to wait for their turn but its definitely much lesser in comparison to the wait time in others.

Photo of राम राम सा from Jaipur’s Chokhi Dhani Ethnic Resort 19/25 by TravelerInMe — Colorful and vibrant “Chandi Bar”

For us, the dining experience was a spoiler. While the food and dining room staff were fine, the infrastructural support, ambience and most importantly the communication needs attention. The last time we went, the dining was in an in-house restaurant Bindola with live ghazal. But this time around it simply let us down.

Photo of राम राम सा from Jaipur’s Chokhi Dhani Ethnic Resort 20/25 by TravelerInMe — View from one of the resort restaurants

Photo of राम राम सा from Jaipur’s Chokhi Dhani Ethnic Resort 21/25 by TravelerInMe — One of the restaurant of Chokhi Dhani Ethnic Resort

Photo of राम राम सा from Jaipur’s Chokhi Dhani Ethnic Resort 22/25 by TravelerInMe — One of the eating areas inside the resort

Once through dinner, we went to meet the Manager-On-Duty and shared our feedback, hoping that some sense prevails and things improve. From our conversation we discovered that we could have opted for any of the restaurants (at the resort and fair) with pricing variation. This bit the sales team did not communicate, the check in team followed suit and so did the team who sanctioned the coupons. They could have saved this poor feedback and our experience would have been perfect like last time, had their communication been complete. If you want to keep your stay experience good through out please opt from restaurants within the resort or the Royal Fine Dining in the fair.

Photo of राम राम सा from Jaipur’s Chokhi Dhani Ethnic Resort 23/25 by TravelerInMe — Aarogosa (outside view)

Photo of राम राम सा from Jaipur’s Chokhi Dhani Ethnic Resort 24/25 by TravelerInMe — Breakfast buffet spread at Aarogosa

We had a sound sleep with pitter-patter music of the rain. I woke up early to catch the sunrise but it was still raining. For a change I slept beyond my usual time and woke up close to start of breakfast. The breakfast is a wonderful buffet spread at their ‘Aarogosa‘ restaurant. This time they did not fail to impress. I had a hearty breakfast and was all set for the return journey ……… this time we left Choki Dhani Resort with a mixed experience.