Avijit Singh Rohet, Director, House Of Rohet, joined us for a detailed conversation as part of NewsX India A-List. In the exclusive interview, Avijit shared his journey in hotel management, vision for House Of Rohet and the heritage of his four fathers. Read excerpts:
Speaking about the journey of House Of Rohet, Avijit said, “The journey of House Of Rohet began as an experiment into hospitality by my grandparents and my parents, way back in 1990. It has been a journey since then. We converted our ancestral home, which is Rohet Garh, currently one of the first heritage hotel of the country, back in 1990 as an experiment. From there, our journey kind of snowballed on. We have a small bouquet of four properties now, all offering experiential experiences to our travellers, completely different take on what you would find in your regular city 5 star hotels. That is what our USP is, offering scratch beneath the surface if you will, into Western Rajasthan.”
Talking about the different properties under the umbrella of House Of Rohet and what makes each one of them special, he said, “Our first property is Rohet Garh, which is a heritage hotel and is our ancestral home. It has been our family home since 1622, so I am the 15th generation of my family to be living here. Lots of histories in these walls and we have been very conscious not to change any of the old structures. Everything we have been done repurposed for the hotel, has been done in the old building. It’s been a challenge to do so. It is not easy at all but it has been an experience. Today, Rohet Garh stands the testament of what heritage hotels can become and what value old buildings hold in today’s India. Our second property is Mir Garh, which really is the jewel in our crown. It’s a 9 suite only luxury bouquet property built on top of a sand dune, literally in the middle of nowhere. It is about 20 km west of the village of Rohet, just toward the sunset. You don’t find population in 2 km radius. Over there, really is the homage of art and craft of rural Rajasthan. We were very conscious creating Mir Garh to use only and only local artists, local craftsmen and sourced everything that we put into the property only from in and around the city of Jodhpur. It’s a testament to the art and craftsmanship of the area.
Our third property is a more rustic experience, which is our wilderness camp. Rohet Wilderness Camp is again a small boutique camp but a very rugged experience. Again, very different from the kind of palatial royal feel of Rohet Garh and the uber luxury experience of Mir Garh. The camp is entirely eco-friendly. All the walls and floors are plastered with cow dung and clay and done by hand every year by the local village women. It is entirely powered by solar. It is more of a outdoor experience for those who like to be part of one with the wilderness, enjoy the birds in the morning and see wildlife outside their tents. Our newest property is the Rohet House in Jodhpur, which we opened just pre-pandemic. That is kind of an urban take on the art and craft of Rajasthan. It is a chique city villa, done up in a traditional way yet keeping it with the times. It is like contemporary take on Rajasthani art. All the walls in the Rohet House are handpainted by local artists. They have really created masterpieces on the walls.”