Haveli Hauz Khas

The house and its hosts

After retiring from the Indian Administrative Service, Teji — with his wife Neelu — opened their home, a heritage mansion in Hauz Khas Enclave, as a boutique bed and breakfast. They are self-confessed heritage aficionados who have written books on Indian history, architecture and travel, and the house reads like their bookshelf: photographs (all taken by the hosts themselves), lithographs, canvases, carved wood, traditional textiles and hand-woven durries, with a rare book and handicrafts collection guests are free to browse.

Five rooms, five themes

The five spacious air-conditioned rooms each take an Indian heritage theme with a colour scheme to match: Ajanta (the Maharashtra cave paintings), Banni (the handicraft region of Kachchh, Gujarat), Hampi (the Vijayanagar capital in Karnataka), Kama (Khajuraho) and Neem (the flowering trees of India, overlooking the park behind the house). All are described by the hosts as large superior-deluxe rooms with en-suite bathrooms, digital safes and tea-makers; the B&B is approved by Delhi's Tourism Department. Breakfast is home-cooked, with a choice of Continental or Indian.

The neighbourhood

Hauz Khas Enclave is one of Delhi's quiet, tree-lined residential pockets — the hosts make a point of it being safe for women travellers and families, with guards around the clock. A large park sits directly behind the house. Hauz Khas Village is walking distance: a 14th-century heritage site of pond-facing tombs and monuments now colonised by fashion boutiques, galleries and some of the trendiest restaurants and cafés in South Delhi. The house sits close to the Hauz Khas and IIT Metro stations on the yellow and magenta lines, with Qutab Minar 3 km away, Lodi Garden under 7 km, and both airports within about 13 km by the hosts' reckoning.