Do you want to buy a Fort or Palace in India? Last Part

Do you want to buy a Fort or Palace?

In the last three years, it has spent Rs 65 crore (Rs 650 million) on restoring the Jal Mahal monument alone and the lake in which it is situated. The capacity of the lake has been increased and a drainage line and treatment plant set up.

What was once a stinking nullah is now a pristine water body that leads to a revitalised Jal Mahal which will open to public for the first time in history in the next few days.

It's not a seller's market. Last year, Rajasthan had wanted to lease out Badnor Fort for Rs 50 lakh a year. But converting it into a hotel would need at least Rs 30 crore (Rs 300 million).

'But many such properties are under litigation from the various claimants,' says Raghuveer Singh Solanki of real estate firm Proud India Heritage.

Often deals fall through if even one of the many owners objects. A mutually acceptable deal is also not easy. 'When the owner himself converts the property into a heritage hotel, it is more viable,' says Randhir Vikram Singh, owner of Hotel Castle Mandawa in Rajasthan's Shekhawati area.

'We started with six rooms in 1980. Now we have 82 rooms and a staff of 120.' Singh is also the general secretary of Heritage Hotels Association and a ninth-generation descendant of the family that built the castle.

Maintenance is high and never-ending. 'In some places the walls are 10 ft thick. Stopping seepage alone can cost a fortune,' he adds.

Unlike a modern hotel, where 60 per cent of the revenue is from room rent and the rest from food, 'in a heritage hotel like mine, most of the revenue comes from room rent [Rs 5,000-8,300],' says Vikramjeet Singh of Kuchesar Mud Fort.

For Nalagarh Fort, it's 50:50. 'We grow vegetables on over 40 acres. Banquets and conferences are often held at the fort, which is close to Chandigarh and on the Delhi-Manali route,' says owner Vijayendra Singh. Room occupancy throughout the year is 50 per cent. 'We break even at 20 per cent,' he claims.

The loan he took to convert the fort into a heritage hotel was settled in about seven years and now it's a debt-free run for him.

But then, Kuchesar Mud Fort, Nalagarh Fort and Castle Mandawa have always been inhabited, unlike the many forts scattered across Rajasthan waiting for someone to restore them to their lost glory.

Concluded.