We spent just over two weeks in India and Sri Lanka from 25 Feb.

We flew BA F LHR to BOM. Hmmmmm. Seat OK and we had a decent night's sleep, but otherwise hardly any feeling of luxury at all. The food was average, the staff gave the impression that they could not really be bothered and at times were borderline rude. Example - I got up to ask for my bed to be made up (the crew were nowhere to be seen). At that moment the seatbelt sign came on 'No, you need to sit down'. OK....
The Concorde Room at LHR is also looking shabby these days.

Spent 2 hours in BOM airport where the newish T2 means you at least don't have to change terminals. At lunchtime the terminal and security checks were just about OK. We then took a short hop to Udaipur on Air India, which was timed better than Jet for our connection. Decent vegetarian lunch in business class, but the plane was not particularly new or clean.

We stayed 6 nights at the Devi Garh about 45 minutes outside of Udaipur. Overall we loved it. The palace has been restored in a fairly contemporary style and the majority of rooms have panoramic views over the beautiful countryside. Other than breakfast, which was fairly pedestrian, the food was exceptional. Really delicious Indian dishes in particular. We took lots of excursions to nearby temples and walked through villages and the countryside. The excursions were all very reasonably priced and the guides were good. I think you really need to stay in one of the palace suites to benefit from the feel of the palace. The garden suites are more simple, but would be better for people who aren't able to cope with lots of stairs. All the suites in the palace are different, so you need to be specific when booking as to your requirements. Service was generally friendly and attentive. At times the concierge needed some prompting, but overall it was a very restful and relaxing stay.

We made comparisons to our previous stay at Amanbagh as the experiences are similar in some respects. The countryside feels more remote and undiscovered around Amanbagh and the suites are better. Amanbagh also feels quieter, whereas at Devi Garh you always see other guests at the pool or at meal times. The food at Devi Garh is much better, as is the wine list, and prices overall are much more reasonable. The views at Devi Garh are better and the overall feel of Amanbagh is more luxurious. I would go back to both.

On the last day we left in the morning to spend a full day in Udaipur. Unfortunately we were disappointed by the city. It felt very touristy indeed and our visit to the City Palace was hot, crowded and uninspiring. In my view the luxury properties around the lake feel very fake and Disney and I was unable to find any magic at either the Lake Palace, the Leela or the Udaivilas, all of which we visited by boat. The Leela in particular is gaudy and, I thought, tacky. The Udaivilas seemed to be mostly dominated by weddings at that time of year and our lunch was average at best.

The weather in late Feb is perfect. Warm enough to dine outside at night and around 30C in the daytime with sunshine and low humidity.