Hotels
We stayed in a mixture of “ordinary” hotels & Heritage ones. The ordinary, Western-style hotels were OK – but very forgettable. However the Heritage places were tremendous.
In 1971 Indira Gandhi abolished the privileges and privy purses of Rajasthan’s Maharajahs. Faced with a lack of income, quite a few had to turn their homes & palaces into Heritage hotels, just to make ends meet. They vary enormously in the standards of facilities offered, but without exception, all the ones we stayed in had their own distinctive character which we loved.
Jagat Niwas Palace – Udaipur
The white lakeside building was our hotel. Behind it is part of the City Palace.
We stayed in a 17th Century Haveli overlooking the lake. Our bedroom had dreamy window seats. The views over Lake Pichola were spectacular.
The Udaipur Palace hotel was in fact two very old haveli joined together. Below is an internal view & a musician celebrating at the hotel shrine, in its courtyard.
Rohetgarh Fort – Rohet
This fort was the best place we stayed in. According to The Lonely Planet Guide “Rohetgarh is a heritage hotel with lots of character and relaxing gardens. Bruce Chatwin wrote The Songlines here and William Dalrymple began City of Djinns in the same room (No. 15). It’s surprising that they were so diligent, as there’s a gorgeous colonnaded pool and the rooms are lovely.” In hindsight, we would have loved to have stayed longer here.
We were in the old Courthouse block. The widest bed we have ever slept in. Our bedroom suite was very large with an upper as well as lower spaces to explore. Decorated with taste. In the upper area were some very traditional murals.
The view from our balcony. Tea on the lawn anyone? Peacocks look good, but they can be noisy outside your room.
We ate by the pool. During dinner, the Maharajah came to speak to all his guests at each table. He was most charming and very urbane. Being a Hindu festival, the Maharajah invited us to another courtyard to see the locals dancing. The Maharani and other royal women lounged on large sofas, while the male members of the Royal Family sat on chairs. A magical evening. All the local village girls were trying to out-do each other dancing. I have a video of the Dancing
Ratan Villas – Jodhpur
We stayed in the Ratan Villas, a delightful old guest house – straight out of “Jewel in the Crown”. The Maharajah proudly showed off the various photos of himself playing Polo in Windsor. There was also one photo showing his father and the Duke of Edinburgh after a match. The rooms had a style from a bygone era. The food was great – I would well recommend staying here rather than a “normal” hotel. Much more character. When I asked for a lemonade, I was given a tall glass with freshly squeezed lemon juice along with a bottle of soda water. I can’t remember when I last got a lemonade like that.
Shahpura House Jaipur
Another old Rajput residence converted into a Heritage hotel. We had a great room with a dreamy four-poster bed. This is an early 19th Century Palace of Shahpura royal family.
