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Wednesday, December 26, 2012

A Journey To The Palace Hotels Of India



 
Executive Summary about Palace Hote Of India and Heritage Hotels of India by Mark Patrick and Ram Gupta . Edit By Abdul Halim. 

May be I was just too fascinated by the lifestyles of the Indian Maharaja's and wanted to see and experience for myself their lives and their palaces.

My interest inIndian palaces and forts developed by reading books like 'India Style' by 'Monisha Bharadwaj', 'The Indian Princes and their States' by 'Barbara N. Ramusack', 'The Indian Subcontinent' by 'Alison Arnold' and 'Indian temples and palaces' by Michael Edwardes.

The palaces of the Indian Maharajas

With the passage of time most of these palaces were destroyed by invading troops; the remnants are today converted into hotels by the government of India and some others by private organizations.

Exotic Indian palaces that are converted to hotels

One of my major objectives of visiting India was to stay in one of the many palace hotels and experience the life of the maharajas (kings). The Lalitha Mahal Palace in Mysore

The most famous palace hotel in Mysore is the 'Lalitha Mahal Palace'. All rooms of this palace over look the beautiful Chamundi hills and give the visitor a breathtaking view of Mysore city.

The palace offers all facilities that one can expect from a five star hotel that include swimming pools, golf grounds, health club, lounges and a shopping arcade.

Fern Hill Palace in Ooty

Ooty located in southern India is India's well known tourist destination. When in Ooty I decided to stay in the Fern Hill palace hotel that has a history dating back to 1840. This palace hotel has more than 50 rooms that also include hotel rooms and cottages. This exotic palace coupled with the chilly atmosphere of the hill station gave me something that I could cherish for life.

Bolghatty Palace in Cochin

When in Cochin I decided to stay in Bolghatty Palace which was used as a British governor's residence when India was colonized by the British. The palace has five spacious rooms and six cottages. Lake Palace in Udaipur

The Lake Palace in Udaipur is one of the most exotic hotels that I ever stayed. Built way back in 1754 by Maharana Jagat singh, the palace is today maintained by the Taj group of hotels and offers the prefect ambiance for a romantic stay. The palace has 85 beautiful rooms along with special suites and fascinates everyone with its lustrous marble pillars, ancient paintings and unbelievable works of arts including glasswork. Udaipur also has many other palace hotels but none can be compared to the Lake Palace. Bikaner house (Bharatpur House) In Mount Abu

Mount Abu has a host of palace hotels as this was a favorite hill station for the Maharajas. This palace built in 1893 was used as a summer residence for the ancient kings.

The palace is well maintained and has spacious rooms that have ancient paintings and art work. One more palace hotel which fascinated me in Mount Abu was the Sunrise palace which is situated in one its highest points. This palace hotel was built somewhere in the year 1920, and is quite popular with couples looking for aromantic getaway.

Nilambagh Palace in Bhavnagar

My objective of visiting Bhavnagar, a relatively lesser known tourist destination in western India was to stay in the famous Nilambagh Palace. Built by Maharaja Bhavsinghji in the year 1723 this palace looks like a piece of architecture in itself. The palace is surrounded by lush gardens and has 18 AC rooms and 5 cottages. The rooms are spacious and offer an extremely luxurious stay.

The palace on Wheels

The palace on Wheels is not a hotel or palace but a maharaja style train that is run by the government of India for tourism purposes. . This train was designed for the purpose of giving its voyagers a taste of ancient India. The interiors of the train look no less than a five star palace hotel. http://www.bizbrim.com is an information portal that offers quality information on topics like outsourcing, mortgage, education, email marketing, affiliate marketing, hotels and travel.

Heritage Hotels of India - Umaid Bhavan Palace Hotel, Jodhpur


The building looked as if one was experiencing a dream, tall ceilings, imposing stone clad central dome, and the immaculately polished marble floors. 25 years later, I had the chance to visit the palace again. 

The palace was operating as a heritage hotel by the same company that I was working for.
I could now understand the real beauty of the palace. It was known as the Umaid Bhavan Palace Hotel. Large, luxuriously furnished rooms and suites, Italian furniture, antiquated art effects and rich drapes and fabric. 

The palace is a statement of the lavish life style of ex rulers of Indian states. Today all this is available to the travelling public as a luxury heritage hotel.The palace was built as a drought relief measure by the then maharaja to create employment to its subjects. 

Henry Lanchester designed the palace with the help of his Indian counterpart Budhmal Rai and the interiors and fit outs were done by one Stefan Norblin of Poland. Today the palace is divided into three areas, a luxury heritage hotel operated by the Taj Group, the private residence of the erst while maharaja and a museum. 

The hotel offers a rich experience of the royal lifestyle of Maharajas in the same ambiance and atmosphere. The Palace also has an all day dining restaurant with a stunning view of the Fort, the city and the gardens of the palace. There are enough banqueting and meeting facilities in the palace. To experience the royal life of yester years. Heritage hotels offer truly an amazing experience.


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