In my excitement of staying at the Maharani Suite, I completely neglected my stay at the Royal Suite at Umaid Bhawan Palace. It is time to rectify that mistake and to reminisce my stay at hotel in general.
The Welcome
The welcome at the Umaid Bhawan Palace is grand. They line up horses, they greet you with phool mala at the entrance, they throw rose petals on your path, they do a welcome dance in the main lobby and hand you champagne! Even though I had read about it on Tripadvisor before going, I was still completely floored.
The Royal Suite at Umaid Bhawan Palace
The Royal Suite is actually a cozy room! It has a living area, the bedroom, a balcony, a wardrobe area and a lavish bathroom. While it is tempting to try and compare it with the Maharani Suite, I will resist it. In the season a Royal Suite at Umaid Bhawan Palace goes at about 1.25 lakhs (1825 dollars, no typo) per day. The bottle of wine is complimentary.
The Swimming Pools at the Umaid Bhawan Palace
The palace has an fabulous indoor swimming pool from the time the palace was built. It is heated. I was lucky to have it for a morning all to myself. The staff on duty was quite worried initially as the pool is deep, but after a few laps they realized I would do fine!
I didn’t have time to go for a swim in the outdoor swimming pool. The the view of the Mehrangarh Fort from the pool is fabulous. Do go with a tripod if you wish to take an evening shot. I realized it too late, when I was almost about to leave.
The Breakfasts
The most surprising part of the breakfast was the champagne with orange juice! It was a first for me, but then I was staying at a palace! So it was alright to drink champagne at breakfast.
I tried both Indian and continental breakfast (on different days) and they were good!
The Jiva, Spa
I went for an aromatherapy full body massage and it was one hour of pure bliss. I had a spa in the Maharani Suite but it didn’t occur to me to get it done in the suite itself! I went to the main spa, which is on the same floor as the indoor swimming pool.
The Old Lift
After eating all the food and wine, I kept to the stairs strictly and I went to the lift only to click a picture. The lifts at retain the old look even though the lever mechanism is no longer in use.
Of Lobbies and Mirrors
The view from the stairs that led to the Maharani Suite was grand. This lobby is closer to the entrance but the main lobby with its high dome is grander still!
There are a lot of mirrors in the corridors and within the suites. Even without trying I would catch a glimpse of myself every few minutes. Now at home there is just one full length mirror! I wonder if I had more mirrors at home, would I care about my appearance more?
It has been a little more than a month since I visited Umaid Bhawan Palace, Jodhpur but the memories still bring a smile to my face. The whole trip has this unreal feel to it!
PS. I was invited on this trip by Tripadvisor and the Taj Hotels, Resorts and Palaces.
Great Post @Mridula Thanks For Share.
Thank you Lalit.
Really coooool. You are lucky, Mridula 🙂
Thank you Ravish, yes fate has been kind to me, so have been my readers.
Great setup. A dream destination for me.
It feels like a dream to me too Indrani.
Awesome place, It is just like a dream
Yes Sadhvi, it was a dream like trip. 😀
whoaaa…. this is outstanding 🙂
It was indeed amazing Archana.
Very nice shots and the collage you have made is fabulous. the place is sooooooo beautiful .
Thank you Jyotirmay.
No wonder it was rated #1 hotel in the world by TripAdvisor members.
Yes Atul 😀
Mridula,
I am posting a message on your blog after a very long lull. I have been following your blog since 2007. I was planning a visit to Ladakh in the summer of 2008. My Google search on “Travel to Ladakh” steered me to your blog. I still remember you had an ad banner of ixigo.com on your blog; and I used it to find and book my Delhi-Leh-Delhi flights. Every time I visited your blog, I thought of documenting and sharing my own travel experiences with everyone. Unfortunately, I could never overpower the initial inertia of WRITING and decided to continue with my photo-blog instead. In past 8-9 years my photo-blog has experienced many reincarnations (untimely demise of hosting sites, my laziness and various other reasons). Last month I started my photo-blog site from the scratch and completed it last week. Here is the link: http://tinyurl.com/attush (maximize your browser screen).
I showed your blog to my wife and it encouraged her to start a blog of our travel adventures/ experiences. She started working on it 2-3 weeks back and has completed detailed write-up of our African Safari trip: https://vwerehere.wordpress.com.
Keep posting as it encourages others to share their travel experiences; and provides people like us with travel ideas.
Atul.
Thank you Atul, your comment made my day.
Beautiful pictures and that indoor swimming pool… want to take a dip right away
Wow! The palace looks like a dream. Beautiful pictures 🙂
Thank you Purba.
Beautiful palace.
Yes Arun the palace is truly grand!
Mind blowing!
Now that is the correct word to describe the experience! 😀
Fabulous post..
Thank you so much.
That’s a beautiful place but I would consider this a bit stiff for people like me.
It is a warm place actually 😀
I have been to the parts of the palace open to visitors and was left spellbound. Staying there seems to be like a dream! Loved the post!
Yes Akanksha the visit had a dreamlike quality!
Awesome and must visit place . I planned to go there in this winter but could not make it .
Hope you will go soon Yogi!
Luxury all the way…Once in my lifetime, I want to experience this.
Ami I too want it again, even a different palace will do. 😀
The Indoor swimming pool is so dream like! Hope I make it here someday.
Yes Arun and to have it all to myself, was fabulous!
Magnificent, I do need a holiday since my son’s exam is getting over in next ten days.
Have a wonderful holiday Chaitali.
OMG !! Champagne with Orange juice, that in breakfast..Hope to enjoy this luxury someday 🙂
Great pictures
Ha ha it was a first for me too Kavita 😀
Amazing, Awesome photos.
Thank you Rupam.
Majestic!!! I am in love with the gorgeous mirror and the beautiful lift door … Wonderful photographs…
Thank you so much Sindhu.