A family house on the lane below the fort

Mamamia is run by the family that answers the phone and meets the trains. The rooms downstairs are cut into golden sandstone, the roof faces Jaisalmer Fort, and there is still a dormitory, because that is how it started.

Talk to the front desk
The Padharo sa mural on the sandstone wall by the stairs: a turbaned Rajasthani host with his hands folded in namaste, painted inside a pink medallion
Padharo sa, painted on the wall by the stairs. The emblem on this site is drawn from it.

How it started

The first review on our Google listing is from January 2018, and it calls the place Mama Mia hostel: bunk beds, a roof with the fort in front of it, and guests already writing about the camel safari and the free pickup.

Google lists it as a hotel now as well as a hostel. The rooms downstairs are cut into the same sandstone the whole town is built from, with an alcove to sit in and lamps in the niches, and the bunks are still here at ₹300 a bed, so the house still takes the traveller it started with.

It has been the family’s since year, to confirm. The name is Italian; why the family chose it, to confirm.

Best place mama mis hostel so much fun nice view fort best camel safari free pick up and drop

Google review, January 2018, the earliest on the listing
The hotel from the lane below, with the fort wall on the ridge directly behind it
Below the fort wall, on the lane that climbs to Amar Sagar Pol.

The house, from the roof down

Roof, rooms, the desk and the dorm, in the order you would walk down through them.

  1. The roof

    The terrace runs the width of the building and faces the fort head on. The kitchen up here serves breakfast, coffee, cold drinks and dinner, for guests and for anyone who walks up.

    In the last hour of the day the sandstone goes from yellow to orange to pink, then the floodlights come on along the wall and the string lights up here answer them.

    The terrace at dusk, a low daybed and tables under string lights, the fort along the ridge behind

  2. The rooms

    Down the stairs, the deluxe rooms are cut into golden sandstone: a carved jharokha alcove with cushions to sit in, lamps lit in small arched niches, a chequered marble floor and air conditioning. The arch around every photograph on this site is traced from that alcove.

    The AC room is whitewashed and plainer, and the family room has two beds. Every private room has its own bathroom and a TV.

    The double bed in a deluxe room, below two lamps lit in arched niches in the sandstone

  3. The desk

    Bookings arrive on WhatsApp and are answered by a person. The desk arranges station and airport pickups, and the jeep, camel and overnight safaris out to Sam Sand Dunes. Nothing is paid on this website.

    The number on the sign over the door is the same one that answers the phone.

    Two of the staff behind the carved sandstone reception desk, a doorway open behind them

  4. The dorm

    Steel bunks with bedding on every one, a locker-height shelf, a fan and a shared bathroom down the corridor. ₹300 a bed, and the reason the Google listing still says hostel as well as hotel.

    Steel bunk beds in the dormitory, made up with white sheets and pillows

What guests keep writing

Most reviews are a line: nice room, nice staff. A few say more about how the place is run than we could.

4.9163 Google reviews

Read them all on Google

Amazing service, the owner picked us up from the railway station and dropped us off. It was a great experience, we had a desert night stay in the open air, arranged by the owners.

Google review, November 2023

I Requested If I can Check-In Early because My Train Arrives Early Morning at 0500 Hours. The Reception Staff … was Totally Understanding Enough to Accommodate me even though the one that I Booked was fully Occupied.

Google review, March 2024

Very good service. Never expected this service at this price. Hostel is located with a good fort view. Watching movie in the terrace with fort view is lit

Google review, February 2023

Visited 4th time and everything was just perfect

Google review, February 2024

How we work

Anything not on this list, ask the front desk on WhatsApp.

Booking
Send your dates on WhatsApp, or call. The front desk replies to confirm. Nothing is paid on this website.
Rates
Per night, tax included. A dormitory bed is priced by the bed.
Check in and out
In from 12:00, out by 11:00. Reception takes arrivals until 23:00; for a later train, message ahead and someone will wait up.
Pickups
From the railway station or the airport, arranged when you book. Send the train or flight number.
Safaris
Jeep, camel and overnight camp at Sam Sand Dunes, arranged at the desk. Anyone can book one; guests get first call on the afternoon jeeps.
Breakfast
Not included. The rooftop kitchen serves it, charged separately.
Pets
Welcome. Say so when you book so you are put in the right room.
Parking
Free, on the lane outside. For anything large, the fort parking is a minute further up.

Come and see it

Rooms from ₹300 a bed. Message the front desk and someone will answer.

See the rooms

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