The JW Marriott Ranthambore resort, Marriott’s 10,000th hotel, opens its first safari season in India

Opened in June 2026 as Marriott’s 10,000th property, JW Marriott Ranthambore Resort & Spa is beginning its first full season, following the reopening of the core zones of Ranthambore National Park on 1 October 2026. India’s eleventh JW Marriott, the resort offers 127 keys, including 14 tented suites, a short distance from the park in Rajasthan.

☰Contents

1. Ranthambore reopens its core zones
2. Marriott’s 10,000th hotel, open since June
3. 127 keys, from tent to presidential suite
4. Skyloft, a table perched 18 metres up
5. A six-room spa guided by Ayurveda
6. What to do between two safaris?
7. Three hours from Jaipur airport

Ranthambore reopens its core zones

The core zones of Ranthambore National Park reopened on 1 October 2026. For the resort, open for almost four months, this is its first full season, the season of safaris in the park. Its general manager, Vivek Gomes Pereira, says the moment carries “a special significance” for the group’s 10,000th hotel.

Marriott’s 10,000th hotel, open since June

On 11 June 2026, from Bethesda, Maryland, Marriott International announced the opening of the resort, its 10,000th property across 146 countries and territories. Chairman David Marriott and Rajeev Menon, president for Asia Pacific excluding China, celebrated the milestone with the owner, Nilesh Gadhiya, and his family. Group CEO Anthony Capuano recalled that Marriott was born 99 years ago from a nine-seat root beer stand, and that JW Marriott bears the name of co-founder J. Willard Marriott. We covered this milestone in Marriott passes the 10,000-hotel mark worldwide.

The resort is also the 11th JW Marriott in India. The brand now counts more than 130 hotels worldwide, within a luxury portfolio of nearly 700 addresses in 74 countries and territories, spread across seven brands.

127 keys, from tent to presidential suite

The 14 tented suites set the tone: four have a private pool, temperature-controlled. Each of the 10 family villas has its own pool, and the presidential suite brings together three bedrooms, a living room with dining area, a terrace and a private pool. Completing the line-up are lake-view Executive rooms, junior suites with access to a private garden, and Deluxe rooms.

The aesthetic language and interior architecture are the work of Ashton Design, a Singapore-based studio: earthy tones, natural materials and open courtyards.

Skyloft, a table perched 18 metres up

The signature restaurant and bar, Skyloft takes its cue from the machan, the raised lookout tower from which the forest was once watched. It rises to about 18 metres, with 360-degree views, and reinterprets recipes from the royal kitchens of Mewar and Marwar; the cocktails pair classic technique with a local outlook. It is open daily from 6pm to 11pm.

Roar serves international cuisine from 7am to 11pm, with organic and plant-based dishes and zero-waste botanical cocktails. By the pool, Elan offers wines, cocktails, artisanal gelatos and snacks, while JW Market doubles as a café and a shop for Indian brands. JW Garden, the estate’s kitchen garden, supplies fruit and vegetables for the kitchens and the cocktails, and a Culinary School runs private classes with the chef.

A six-room spa guided by Ayurveda

The Spa by JW has six treatment rooms, a steam room, a sauna and a jacuzzi; its Ayurveda-inspired treatments are tailored to each guest’s dosha, daily from 9am to 9pm. The outdoor pool has a children’s pool and a temperature-controlled pool, and the gym is open 24 hours a day. For Kiran Andicot, senior vice president South Asia at Marriott International, luxury travellers want to slow down and reconnect: wellbeing is becoming essential to travel.

What to do between two safaris?

The resort organises guided nature walks, pottery and bracelet-making workshops with local artisans, camel cart rides and walks with Ranthambore artists. There is also gentle archery, a bowling alley, stargazing and a pickleball court, billed as “one of the first”.

For children, the free Family by JW programme draws on the Eureka indoor kids’ club and Replay, an arcade and games zone with mini golf, a remote-control car track and speed cricket. For events, the press release mentions 2,767 sq m of space, including a ballroom and lawns.

Three hours from Jaipur airport

The resort is not inside the national park: it sits a short distance from Ranthambore, where the Aravalli and Vindhya ranges meet, on Jamool Khera Road in Sawai Madhopur. Allow about 3 hours from Jaipur International Airport, 5 hours from Indira Gandhi Airport in New Delhi and 30 minutes from Sawai Madhopur station, on the Delhi-Mumbai railway line. As for heritage, the UNESCO-listed Ranthambore Fort and the Trinetra Ganesh temple are close by.

The grounds are planted with kaner (oleander), jamun, mango and mulberry trees; birdlife includes the Purple Sunbird, the Indian Paradise Flycatcher, the White-throated Kingfisher, the Rufous Treepie and the Rose-ringed Parakeet. For comparison, see the Oberoi lodges reopening the safari season, including Vanyavilas at Ranthambore, and the Taj Tadoba resort, on the edge of another tiger reserve.