House of MG
Ahmedabad

In a city that hums with centuries of trade, textiles and tradition, The House of MG is both a time capsule and a place to pause. Tucked beside Sidi Saiyyed Mosque in the old city of Ahmedabad this heritage mansion is a living relic of 20th-century grandeur, lovingly restored by the great-grandson of its original owner.

This isn’t your slick, sterile kind of hotel. It’s a place layered with memory and meaning, where every corridor creaks with stories of Gujarat’s once-thriving merchant elite. There are 38 rooms and suites, each one uniquely dressed in vintage photographs, hand-embroidered bed linens, terracotta tiles and antique cabinets that echo of another era. Some rooms are vast, with deep soaking tubs and swing beds, others are more modest but no less charming.

The House of MG is a home as much as it is a hotel. In its courtyards and arcaded verandahs, guests sit with morning chai as the city stirs, or venture to one of India’s most esteemed textile museum next door. The hotel itself was once the private mansion of Mangaldas Girdhardas, one of the city’s wealthiest textile industrialists, and it still bears the elegance of its past; from the ceremonial hall-turned-yoga shala to the calm, shaded plunge pool and its new wellness offerings.

The rooftop restaurant Agashiye (meaning ‘on the terrace’ in Gujarati) serves up an unforgettable vegetarian thali under a starlit sky and against the backdrop of the old city rooftops, where you’ll be served dozens of little dishes, each one punchy with spice and flavour. For lighter bites, the airier Green House Café in the courtyard below is a favourite with locals too.

Importantly, Gujarat is a dry state, which means alcohol is not served at The House of MG (or anywhere else in the city without a permit). But this abstinence fits the tone; this is not a hotel chasing trends or indulgences. What it lacks in polish, it more than makes up for in personality. Don’t expect high-speed Wi-Fi or robotic service, expect something real, rooted and resonant. 

The House of MG is best suited to the culturally curious; couples looking for something storied and soulful, solo travellers wanting a base full of beauty and purpose, architects, designers and writers with notebooks to fill. It has long been a favourite of in-the-know aesthetes, featured in publications like The New York Times, Condé Nast Traveller India and The Guardian, all of which have praised its rare blend of heritage, charm and democratic pricing.

In a world full of over-designed, underwhelming stays, The House of MG is a rare thing; a hotel that doesn’t pretend. It simply invites you in, and shows you a truer side of India.

My favourite thing is to go where I've never been.
Diane Arbus