Yusuf Pathan

OT: Favourite hotel in the world?

Yusuf Pathan: The Rajputana Palace Sheraton Hotel in Jaipur. It is a beautiful hotel with a grand structure, lovely interiors — the aesthetics are very good and they have recreated the Rajasthani ambience very well. The design uses a lot of marble and ethnic Rajasthani artefacts. The ground floor is enormous and the lobby is very impressive. It felt like I was staying in a palace.

OT: Last visited?

Yusuf Pathan: I stayed there for nearly a month while I was playing for the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL Season One matches of 2008. The entire Rajasthan Royals team was there. While I was there, my parents and sister came by for a visit for 4-5 days and watched two matches, and they also stayed at the Rajputana Sheraton.

OT: The experience?

Yusuf Pathan: The hotel is in the heart of the city — very near the railway station in fact — and yet it is very peaceful and quiet inside. The ambience is very soothing. We would be rather busy the whole day and the weather was typically hot at that time of the year and it was always nice to come back to the serene atmosphere of the hotel. The staff are all very friendly and hospitable, and I can’t think of a single negative experience in my entire stay there. My room was spacious and beautiful and it overlooked the swimming pool.

OT: The food?

Yusuf Pathan: Excellent. They have a wide range of very good non-vegetarian dishes. I particularly enjoyed their biryani and mutton korma. The daal-baati was also superb. Actually, all the food was good. They have made the restaurant look like a typical Rajasthani village, but all very luxuriously done up. I used to enjoy the live ghazal performances during dinner.

OT: The hotel’s ‘USP’?

Yusuf Pathan: Its atmosphere — this is how royalty must have lived. It was amazing.

OT: Repeat visit?

Yusuf Pathan: Obviously, I will surely like to go back again. But I have only been able to think about it — the trip has not happened so far. There is never enough time.

The information

Location: Jaipur, Rajasthan

Accommodation: 218 rooms and suites

Tariff: Rs 5,225 onwards

Contact: 0141-5100100, www.starwoodhotels.com