Rambagh Palace Hotel, Jaipur

Our trip started of in Jaipur, where we stayed 2 days at the Rambagh Palace Hotel.

This hotel from the Taj group -untill quite recently- was one of the palaces of the Maharajah's and it still has it's royal grandeur. It aims to treat it's guests accordingly and succeeds pretty well in that;-).

First a bit of history about Rajasthan and it's Maharajah's:

Also called 'Land of Kings' Rajasthan is filled with forts and palaces that belonged (and partly still belong) to the Raiput rulers. 

Although known for their bravery, due to weakening squabbles between clans, the Mughals (see my previous posts about Delhi and about Agra) managed to conquer the Raiputs.

They gradually succeeded to regain their powers, but then the British took over India. The Raiputs decided to ally with the British in exchange for keeping their positions, economic powers and possessions. They even got sort of subsidized!

So under the British reign, the Raiputs no longer needed to protect themselves from enemies, which permitted them to lead their lives in peace and luxury. Indulging themselves in travels and sports like polo.

It also meant that they no longer had to live in forts high up in the hills, but that they could move to palaces in lower areas, near lakes, etc.

After Independence however, Mahatma Ghandi at one point decided to stop the priviliges and sponsoring of the Maharajah's, which made many of them turn (a part of) their palaces into luxury hotels in order to be able to afford their lifestyle.

This brings us to the Rambagh Palace as hotel nowadays.

Let me show you around:

The hotel pick up from the airport was perfect; fast, comfortable and stylish.

There it is: Rambagh Palace Hotel. Originally built as a house for the Maharajah's wet nurse. After her death turned into a hunting pavilion. Now a hotel.

At dawn.

At night.

Entrance carport where we received a royal welcome with flower garlands and a shower of rose petals over our heads.

Elephants at pond at carport entrance.

Frits in front of entrance to the lobby.

The lobby is gorgeous and spacious.

There are portraits of the former Maharajah's  from this palace.

The last Maharajah here was an adopted child. He became famous and successful at a very young age and also became one of India's greatest polo players. And he married a beautiful lady.

The lobby leads to a beautiful, serene, large inner court yard.

In the middle of this symmetrical garden is a waterbassin.

Pigeons keep trying to land there all the time.

That's where this man comes in. He is armed with a cane and a stick-with-cloth. His job is to flap the cloth and to beat with the cane onto the cloth, thus making hard noises to scare the pigeons away. What a job, to do that all day long!

The courtyard is surrounded by galleries that look out on the garden.

The walls of the galleries are filled with historic paintings and pictures, like this one.

If you start looking at the details you encounter strange things sometimes.

There are gold-plattered ornamentations.

Every imaginable celebrity has been here in the Maharajah's time, from the Queen of England to Jackie O.

Looks like a carriage for children to be pulled around by servants...just fantasizing here;-).

And around the corner of that elephant  is the door to our room!

Living room

Welcome drink, welcome bindi and welcome flower garland.

Look into the bedroom

Trying out the bed;-)

What a work, to make these flower necklaces!

View from our patio. The grounds are filled with birds, hence the fence.

There are so many peacocks here, and I had no idea that they can fly so high!!! Amazing.

The hotel has several restaurants with different cuisines. We did not have a chance to try them all, but the food and drinks we had were excellent! As was the service.

You can eat or have a drink outside, on the Veranda....

...or inside in this beautiful restaurant.

Portrait from the last lady of the house. A very pretty woman!

Lunch.

This train is converted into a restaurant!

Dinner and drinks on the Veranda, al fresco.

Bubbles!!!!

Dance and music show.

It was a pretty little show, but hard to take good photographs.

To finish this post about the Rambagh Palace Hotel, here are some pictures of the hotels indoor and outdoor pool, and from our little ride in their vintage car.

Signalling a right turn;-)

The roomrates are unfortunately very high, but we had a great stay here! If you are able and willing to pay the price, we definitely recommend this palace-hotel.