Rajasthan and its palaces
Two cities an hour apart by air hold the palaces of the state, on the lakes of Udaipur and beyond the walls of Jaipur. In Udaipur a marble summer palace floats on Lake Pichola, a Mewari palace built in our time faces it from the shore and a private island in the next lake east receives its guests by boat; in Jaipur the modern palaces rise outside the old walls at Kukas, near the Amber Fort — one in pink and shadowed stone, all suites, the other on a wide estate on the Delhi road. October to March is the season; the monsoon turns the Aravalli hills green.
Luxury hotels in Rajasthan: Jaipur & Udaipur
5 hotels
“Because it floats on the calm surface of Lake Pichola, built as a summer retreat to catch the lake breezes and now standard postcard and film material: rooms around the courtyard and its lily pond, better ones facing outward, suites with private balconies over the water, and, for all the old-fashioned opulence, a world-class hotel in an unconventional and wonderfully secluded place.”
From our editors · Taj Lake Palace
The neighborhoods
The Oberoi Udaivilas · Udaipur & the Lakes — tommy · CC BY-SA 2.0Udaipur & the Lakes
The city of lakes, with the palaces on and beside Pichola and the City Palace above the water. It holds Jag Mandir's island gardens, boat rides at dusk and Udai Sagar, the lake to the east with its private island.
Jaipur & Amer
The Pink City and its forts, and Kukas, where the new palaces sit on their estates near the Amber Fort. It holds Amber on its hill, the City Palace and the Hawa Mahal, the observatory and the bazaars of the old walls; Kukas lies on the Delhi road.
Good to know
Which are the five-star hotels in Rajasthan: Jaipur & Udaipur?
One. The five-star house we list in Rajasthan: Jaipur & Udaipur is Taj Lake Palace, the white marble summer palace of the 1740s that floats on Lake Pichola and is reached by launch. Four more houses hold four-star standing: The Oberoi Udaivilas, the Mewari palace built in our time on the lake's shore; Raffles Udaipur, on a private island in Udai Sagar Lake east of the city; Raffles Jaipur, the all-suite palace in pink stone beyond Jaipur's walls at Kukas; and The Leela Palace Jaipur, the palace-style estate on the Delhi road.
Where should I stay — Udaipur or Jaipur?
Udaipur for the lakes: the palaces on and beside Pichola, the City Palace above the water, boat rides at dusk and a slower, romantic city; Jaipur for the great forts and bazaars — Amber, the City Palace, the Hawa Mahal, the jewelers of Johri Bazaar — and palaces on estates outside the walls at Kukas, near the Amber Fort. The two cities are six to seven hours apart by road and an hour by air; many itineraries take both.
When is the best time for Rajasthan?
October to March: dry days, cool nights, Diwali in the autumn, the Pushkar fair in November and the Jaipur Literature Festival in January — the season, with the highest rates. April to June is very hot and the palaces drop their prices; July to September is the monsoon, when the Aravalli hills turn green and the lakes fill. Udaipur's Mewar festival falls in March or April.
How do I get to Udaipur and Jaipur?
Both cities have airports with flights from Delhi and Mumbai — Udaipur's is about forty minutes from Lake Pichola, Jaipur's about forty from Kukas; between the two, an hour's flight or six to seven hours by road across the Aravallis. The hotels collect their guests; the Lake Palace and Raffles Udaipur are reached by boat from their own jetties.
How do I reserve a stay?
Search your dates on the hotel's page to see reference rates, then send the concierge a request. The concierge confirms exact rates and availability with you before anything is booked, and any payment and its timing are set out before you confirm.
