Taj Umaid Bhawan Palace

Umaid Bhawan Palace is the sort of place where you want to bring friends and family who deserve to be wowed, because it’s just an astounding experience from start to finish, one of the very best I’ve ever had. After one dinner, a friend turned to me and said, “And I thought no one could top Aman for creating unique experiences.” The pictures of the palace make it clear why this is such a unique place—from sipping a welcome drink beneath the impossibly high rotunda, or swimming in the chilly subterranean, Art Deco-tiled pool (chilly out of necessity to preserve the historic wall murals), I kept thinking, “It’s hard to believe that this place is even real—that it exists, much less that it is a hotel and one of such incredibly high quality.”

One of the best meals in India was our dinner high up on the rooftop in the “Sunset Pavilion” restaurant. Ask in particular if you can reserve one of the tables that are situated within the cupolas, because they are especially atmospheric, bedecked with a multitude of candles. But nothing can compare to the dazzle of their “Baradari Dinner,” which is expensive, but is worth every rupee. When the time for your dinner arrives, you are guided onto the terrace overlooking the lawns and gardens, at which point fireworks are set off, and two Rajasthani dancing boys shimmy down the steps in front of you along a candle-lit pathway to the white marble dining pavilion, beautifully decorated with marigolds and candles. Throughout the dinner, there are exceptional performances by Rajasthani dancers and singers. You return to your room, blissed out, to find a framed photograph awaiting. It’s such a special evening.

We had booked Royal Suite #508, the “Viceroy Suite,” which was recommended by the GM as one of the suites with the most historic character. It consisted of an extremely large sitting room, with 25-foot ceilings and Edwardian wooden cabinetry—so large, though, that it felt slightly under-furnished. The bedroom area was much smaller, almost cramped, with a small bathroom that combined tub and shower awkwardly, such that water leaked everywhere. We asked to look at other suites, and were much more impressed with Royal Suite #204, which is actually the GM's favorite of all the Royal Suites. It has much more Art Deco character than the Edwardian Viceroy Suite, and while not as colossal or grand, it felt more comfortably designed and laid out, with a much nicer bathroom. Given the historic fabric of the building, there is a huge difference in rooms even within the same price category. (Incidentally, we asked how often the Maharani and Maharaja suites get booked. The Maharani Suite gets booked about once a month, and the Maharaja Suite slightly less frequently. We toured both of them, and were duly impressed by the historic character of their Art Deco interiors, and by the astounding amount of space that both comprise. But I preferred Royal Suite #204 to either of them, because it is so new and well designed.)

The treatments we had in the Jiva Grande Spa were superb—the best massage I had all year.

And there are so many places to soak up the redolence of past grandeur: the billiard room; the Risala restaurant, with its formal dcor; the gardens and lawns. There’s a good fitness center and yoga studio in an outlying building alongside the tennis courts.

If there’s one area where Taj underwhelms me, it’s their swimming pools. They’ve installed a swimming pool discretely in the back corner of the property, and the pool service is solid (even consisting of a pigeon wallah who walks back and forth, periodically, with a green flag emblazoned with a hawk that keeps the pigeons away). But there’s nothing especially pleasing about the aesthetics of the pool—it’s quite uninspired, although at least it doesn’t have the rubber matting that surrounded the Taj Lake Palace pool. (Looking at the photos of the pool at the new Taj Falaknuma Palace in Hyderabad, it appears similarly unimpressive.)

But this is nitpicking. Umaid Bhawan Palace is nothing short of astounding—an incredible building, beautifully maintained, and providing an experience that is absolutely its own, unique and profound. I really cannot wait to find an opportunity to go back. As a hint: you might want to time your visit to coincide with Diwali, the Festival of Lights, because the GM creates an incredible experience for his guests to celebrate.