Recently awarded the world’s best hotel by tripadvisor, Jodhpur Umaid Bhawan Palace is one of the last pieces remaining of Rajasthan’s heritage. It is located on Chittar Hill, the highest point in Jodhpur and is just 10-minute drive from the domestic airport. Home to the Jodhpur royal family and currently the world’s sixth-largest private residence, this Palace leaves you in awe from the moment you enter the premises.
The mansion palace was named after Maharaja Umaid Singh, who was the grandfather of the current king Gaj Singh.
Accommodation: It houses 22 rooms and 42 suites. We were upgraded to a historic suite and I was unaware until the last day. I kept wondering if the room looked that good how would the suite be :)..lol! These suites are an eclectic mix art deco and neo-classical themes with panoramic views of the Palace grounds.
There are no lifts here you have to make your way through long empty corridors which really look spooky in the night. I think it kind of adds the old world charm to the place. After all, it is indeed a real palace.
- Jiva Grande Spa
- fitness centre
- Yoga facilities
- Billiards & pool tables
- Croquet facilities
- Cemented tennis courts
- Marble squash courts Golf, polo & horse riding on request
- Kids@Taj programmes & baby-sitting services for young guests
The Jiva Spa is common in all Taj across India and I have experienced it in various Taj properties. This time I did not get the time to review it as we were there on a very short visit. You can read about my last Jiva Spa experience here.
Large indoor and outdoor & kiddie pools
The Palace Museum and Vintage Cars;
This is amongst the top list of things to do in Jodhpur and it lies within the premises of the hotel. The King loved his cars and they are well maintained and the collection showcased beautifully on the Palace grounds.
Service: While the property is managed by Taj and Taj is always know for its hospitality, this hotel surpassed all my expectations when it came to service. A garland and tika welcome along with sparkling wine and non-alcoholic options like Aam Panna to a small welcome note in my hubby’s name along with the title ‘Hukum Saheb’, which my usually social media shy hubby promptly shared on facebook. These are the small things that make this hotel stand out. After all, we are far from royalty but escapes like these made us feel like them once in a while. welcome Right from the time we entered the hotel.
When you come to your room in the evening, apart from a clean room you will be delighted to find Indian sweets, beautifully decorated cookies for your kids and a note along with some body lotion to enhance your sleep quality.
When you lounge by the poolside, you are welcomed by a tray full of goodies and a picnic basket and juices/mocktails on the house. When you sit down for your meal, not only the servers are attentive, the hotel chef makes sure he goes to each table and checks on if the food is suitable to your palette. I never thought I will say this, but when it comes to service, I have nothing but five stars for this hotel.
I usually get treated very well, when I am reviewing a place as the hotel will make sure to be attentive which is why to be fair, I have stopped informing the hotel I stay in that I am a blogger or will be reviewing them. So this place came as a pleasant surprise.
A quick video tour for you to get a feel of the place;
My Verdict: Majestic rooms, outstanding service, and good food. Most hotels in the world can take a tip or two from here on how they can function. No wonder they are rated as the world’s best hotel.
p.s. This is not a sponsored review. I paid for my own stay and the opinions in this post are my own.
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Let me compliment you on your professional conduct as a blogger and your nice article. Early on when I started posting reviews on Zomato and my website, I read about a fellow blogger who always pays for his meals and never lets anyone know that he is reviewing the restaurant.
Unfortunately, Google wants us to declare that reviews dont have paid links. There is no way google will know it was a paid review or not, but they wont care when dishing out penalties.
Lets hope for the best.
Thanks :),this is probably the best compliment that I have received in my blogging career.
Oh how joyfully I have trundled through this post. I had the golden opportunity to work on the renovations of this palace for the Taj group – I have loved the pics of the rooms – just the way we did them up. This blog post has gladdened the cockles of my heart – I am in joy over it. Thank you so much for writing such a beautiful post about this grand majestic and awesome piece of architecture and history! Cheers
Aww, thanks dear :). We loved our stay there, it is a lovely place and we can’t get over the hospitality we received.
it seems that umaid bhawan palace is a great hotel of jodhpur
Great to see this blog about Umaid Bhavan Palace, Stayed there for a night in the presidential suite in June, 2010. It was my first experience of spending the night in a palace. Pretty amazing! Lived in Kota for two years. Someday me and my girlfriend will go there!
Lovely 🙂