Narain Niwas was built in 1928 by General Amar Singh, Thakur of Kanota & Commander of the erstwhile Jaipur State Force and a confidant of Maharaja Sawai Man Singh. General Amar Singh was the grandson of Thakur Zorawar Singh, founder of the Kanota family. Thakur Sivnath Singh, General Amar Singhji's brother, supervised the actual construction. The new mansion was named after their father, Thakur Narain Singh, who had been Chief of Police in the erstwhile Jaipur State as well as a minister at the neighboring princely state of Alwar.

Narain Niwas was a country residence in which Thakur Amar Singh could withdraw when he wanted a change from his busy administrative and court life, and from the cares of the Kanota family's Haveli within the walled city. Like other noblemen of old Jaipur State, he built his "garden house" in the vicinity of Rambagh - the pleasure garden and palace built by Maharaja Ram Singh (1835-1880). Until world war II, Narain Niwas was surrounded by forest where Amar Singh could go to shoot game birds and for hunting wild boar, black buck & the occasional panther.

Thakur Amar Singh's reputation as a soldier, administrator and a sports man is exceeded by his reputation as a diarist. His diary, kept in English for 44 years from 1898 to 1942, in 89 folio volumes, 800 pages per volume, provides an unparalleled ethnographic account of Rajput life in princely India in the late Victorian and Edwardian eras.

Visitors can now enjoy traditional Rajput hospitality at Hotel Narain Niwas Palace - a property which is being run as a heritage hotel by the Kanota Family. Care has been taken to maintain the traditional furniture and decoration so as to provide visitors an unforgettable experience of the princely Rajput & Rajasthani culture. Rooms & Suites provide all amenities that modern day travelers are accustomed to.