bhrubin

No idea on the chef's name....but the quality of Indian food and the few Western dishes is not in dispute. As I stated, it was the limited options on the menus that was my issue. For the Indian menu, there was not a single shrimp dish and was only a single fish dish; there was a shocking lack of diversity to the proteins compared with menus at all of our other luxury hotels in India (including the much smaller Taj Nadesar Palace). For the Western menu, there was a shocking lack of any interesting options at all, and again in stark contrast to the variety offered at all of our other luxury hotels in India. And the gnocchi dish was incredibly bland IMO. These issues were as true for lunch as they were for dinner.

KI-NRT

The head chef's name is Ram. I remember because he took us on the organic garden and kitchen tour. He's a super nice person and extremely enthusiastic.

...... and I agree with bhrubin's criticisms of the F&B at Amanbagh.

Ram told us that the original head chef passed away a few years ago, and that he was elevated to the exec. chef role after the tragedy. Perhaps that has something to do with with the current issues (particularly with respect to the lack of variety)?

blueline7

My experience there was a lot different as the chef made sure that we had whatever we wanted, from chutneys made out of the hot peppers and coriander that we saw hanging from a roof on the cow dust tour, to arranging for the special delivery of a lamb from Jaipur to make a particular favourite dish for us. Nothing was too much trouble for him and it is one of the reasons that I intend to return. Thus my question about who the chef was.

But of course tastes and opinions differ greatly, so I appreciate you sharing yours. That is what makes this whole exercise so interesting.

Likewise I think I am one of those people that found Amanbagh sublime, whereas you felt that it was "not as tremendous" as some on here suggested. I do however wholeheartedly share your sentiments on these aspects of India:


(5) Though I did get a little sick (probably from weather not food), food/beverage turns out to be much safer than rumored, especially at the 5 star hotels.

(6) Traffic and driving in general while in India are simply insane...and an adventure not to be missed. But we won't miss it!

(7) The poverty--though prevalent--wasn't nearly as awful to see as people made us expect. People, though very poor, looked generally well fed and pretty happy, actually. But boy could it be dirty!

bhrubin

^^^

We both very much enjoyed Amanbagh...but I think the high level of luxury at so many of the other Indian 5 star hotels made Amanbagh seem less "sublime" to us and more "comparable" than to others (and to you).

The fact that Amanbagh had the weakest F&B diversity of options on its menus relative to all the other luxury hotels was our biggest issue. We enjoyed Amanbagh...but its F&B options were worse IMO than at our most recent stays/visits at Aman Venice, Amangiri, Amansara, and Amangani.

I also think we explored more of rural/small town India elsewhere more than most who visit Amanbagh. That made Amanbagh not quite stand out in the same way for us as it may for the overwhelming majority who stay on the more routine India luxury itinerary that largely covers the major urban areas. That is why I think we were so impressed with the Raas Devigarh property, as well.

The Amanbagh cowdust tour was even a little underwhelming for us...and I think that's because we experienced much of the same as we got out and walked around some of the cute little villages outside Udaipur and around Devigarh, on our drive from Jodhpur to Udaipur, and outside Varanasi. Our cowdust tour also included no temple stops, no stop at the fort, and therefore just seemed more of what we'd enjoyed elsewhere throughout India.

blueline7

Your explanation above, makes perfect sense on two fronts. I know that underwhelming F&B can depreciate the entire experience, as I found at Amanpulo (although after struggling to get over it for the last four years, I think I am ready to brave it once again...lol). Also, I agree that part of the allure and experience of Amanbagh is the Rajastani country experience, so if you get that elsewhere beforehand, I can certainly see that it would take some of the important magic away.

I also gather that when compared with the intensity of the Varanasi experience, the Taj Mahal may not be considered the most memorable to you, but for goshsakes, it is pretty impressive LOL! - must have been better than some of those forts at least

I am going to look into the Taj Umaid Bhawan Palace hotel which you recommended, as I had not heard of it. Thanks so much for recommending it.

bhrubin

I think you put it better than I did.

To be honest, we preferred both the Pratapgarh Fort excursion from Amanbagh and the outskirts around Udaipur to the Taj Mahal--to our utter surprise--as well as preferring Varanasi over everything! That being said, we were very happy to see the impressive Taj Mahal, of course--but it just didn't blow us away as we'd expected. The Great Wall, Borobudur, the Potala Palace, Macchu Pichu, Petra, etc all impressed us far more....to our surprise. I think the crowds were a major negative factor for us.

That hotel is amazing, probably our favorite hotel of all in India--but Jodhpur itself left us wanting more. The Fort there and nearby temple just didn't measure up for us as much as so many other sights in India. That being said, the Jain Temple 2.5 hrs away (on the way to Udaipur) was incredible.

chinmoylad

The royal family still lives there - only a small part of the palace is a hotel, and it's one of the largest existing residences in the world.

Also, curiously, it was scheduled to be an Aman before talks between Aman and the family broke down and Taj took over. Not sure if Aman actually ever ran it themselves?

vuittonsofstyle

Yes, Amanresorts did manage Umaid Bhawan for a while, with François Richli as GM. The Maharaja said that Aman wanted him do a lot of modernisations, to better fit in with the Aman style, but he was none too keen, and I think he was right.

bhrubin

^^^

We also found the Umaid Bhawan to be a near-perfect blend of authentic, traditional, and yet with modern convenience. Their air con worked wonders in our suite, too. And the service was extraordinary. The Maharaja made the right call.

GUWonder

He probably didn't have the money for it or see the money in doing so, even if the styles were to be in alignment. I expect more of this property to eventually end up being used as a hotel or L/FBE purposes.

vuittonsofstyle

Oh no, he did have the money for it, but he didn't have the heart to Amanize what is his family's home. The refurbishments are well done, but have kept within the era of the property. He made the right decision, I think.

Kagehitokiri

if Tuttle a factor, could be why Gathy did aman venice. (or are aman venice bathrooms an example?) although Gathy had just done sveti stefan and summer palace. and Tuttle was also working on amanzoe/residences.

aman deal with umaid was mid/early 2003

GUWonder

I can tell you the family was in pretty substantial need of money several years earlier at least when it came to trying to find money for subtantial improvements. And I have serious doubts that their liquidity position improved tremendously in more recent years without something else having changed greatly, but I could be off about that.

There are very few former princely/royal families in India that have a lot of free cash in hand or that can even easily access the credit market on extremely generous terms when it comes to the need for a big chunk of money relative to their cash on hand.

I don't doubt that the family made the decision they thought was right for them at the time, but I'm not taking that by itself as a sign that their financial position at the time was not in need of further strengthening before being able to move forward with major improvements.

chinmoylad

I'll do a proper review of all the hotels soon, but I stayed at Aman-i-Khas, Amanbagh and The Lodhi during my recent India stay.

For reference for everyone, here's a walkthrough of the tent at Aman-i-Khas, pool pavilion (we stayed at 29, but I did a walkthrough of 19) at Amanbagh, and the Lodhi Deluxe Room at Lodhi

Aman-i-Khas

Amanbagh

The Lodhi

bhrubin

Just posted our review for the Raas Devigarh...so take a look! I can't wait to hear your review/thoughts after you actually stay there. As you can see, we were extremely impressed.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/luxur...l#post27956811