Jaisalmer is the Rajasthan city most travellers skip. It sits in the Thar Desert near the Pakistan border, a long way from the Jaipur–Jodhpur–Udaipur circuit, and its hotel stock has never matched its fort, a living citadel of golden sandstone that UNESCO lists as a World Heritage Site. The Leela Jaisalmer, due in December 2026, is the first of India’s big luxury brands to build there at scale: an 80-room desert resort and spa on 30 acres, with rooms and tented villas, a lake, a pool and lawns designed as much for weddings as for travellers.
The Leela Jaisalmer: Key Facts
- Opening: December 2026
- Location: Thar Desert, near Jaisalmer Fort, with access to Jaisalmer Airport and by road from Jodhpur
- Size: 30 acres of desert landscape
- Rooms: 80, a mix of rooms and tented villas
- Facilities: spa and salon, swimming pool, kids’ club, multiple dining venues, a large man-made lake, a pillarless ballroom, outdoor lawns and courtyards
- Owner and operator: managed by The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts under an agreement with The Godwin Group
- Rates: from £140 a night, per the agency release
Tents in the Golden City
The tented villas are the reason to pay attention. Jaisalmer’s desert-camp scene has long been dominated by mid-range operations that run a few nights of dunes and camel rides. A Leela-branded tent with a proper spa and a lake in front of it is a different proposition, and closer to what the Oberoi did with its wildlife tents at Vindhyavilas. The 30-acre site also gives the resort room to keep the wedding business, which the ballroom and lawns are clearly built for, away from the guests who came for the desert.
Why Jaisalmer, Why Now
Rajasthan’s luxury hotels cluster in Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur. Jaisalmer has the fort, the havelis and the Sam dunes, but a thin layer of hotels and a reputation as an add-on rather than a destination. A flight from Delhi or Jaipur into Jaisalmer Airport makes it a reasonable two- or three-night stop, and The Leela’s arrival gives tour operators a hotel they can sell at the same tier as their Jaipur and Udaipur properties.
Why It Matters
The Leela has been expanding fast since Brookfield’s fund took the brand over, and Jaisalmer is a bet that Rajasthan’s golden triangle can stretch into a quadrangle. The £140 from-rate is low for the brand, and it suggests the resort will open as an upper-upscale property rather than a palace-tier one. That is not a criticism; it is the right price for a destination that still has to prove itself.
Why I Am Watching This One
My only first-hand Indian hotel review so far is Forte Kochi, a heritage house in Kerala, and India’s palace and desert hotels are a gap I want to close. A Leela tented villa a short drive from the Jaisalmer fort is the kind of property that would make a Rajasthan trip worth planning around, and the December opening puts it in the cool season, which is when you want to be in the Thar.
Tip: Jaisalmer is a two-flight journey from most of Europe and Asia, via Delhi or Jaipur. Plan three nights rather than two: the fort and havelis take a day, the dunes an evening, and the resort itself deserves the third.
Prices and How to Book
The Leela’s agency gives a from-rate of £140 a night. The hotel is not yet listed on the booking platforms I checked, and The Leela’s own site carries the signing announcement rather than a booking page. I will add rates and links when reservations open.
Disclosure: this article contains affiliate links. If you book through them, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Read my full disclosure policy.
This preview is based on official announcements — I haven’t stayed at The Leela Jaisalmer yet. Read more about how I review or visit my Work With Me page.
