lainly
speaking, a hotel housed in a building more than seventy-five years old is a
heritage hotel. However, this is the only similarity the various heritage
hotels have among themselves.
No two-heritage hotels are anywhere
alike in ambience or character or in terms of the range of in-house
activities they offer. No two rooms are alike even. To stay in any such
place is like stepping back into history. The great old stories associated
with these buildings is the added charm. The hotel owners try best to
enhance the remnants of these stories through period decor and theme.
It
is definitely an unusual experience to stay in these edifices - sometimes
the bathrooms are bigger than the rooms, beds are so high that they need a
flight to steps to ascend or the same room opens at two different levels
into two strikingly different landscapes. Most often the inhabitant royal
family treats the guests and they even dine together.
Evenings are always lit up with local folk performances and traditional
cuisine. Almost every hotel has its own trademark special service such as
village safari, horse rides or some ritual enactment.
In a
nutshell, the guests at such hotels are treated like Maharajas!
The word of caution is that there is no standardization or gradation in
heritage hotels. A careful selection is a must or else one may land up
paying for something that is not worth much. A list of some very popular and
recommendable heritage hotels are given below:
FORMER
ROYAL PALACES such as The Rambagh Palace, Jaipur, The Lake Palace
and Shiv Niwas Palace, Udaipur, Ummaid Bhawan Palace, Jodhpur; and Lallgarh
Palace, Bikaner are considered as the ultimate. Those at Deogarh,
Dungarpur,Samode and Kota are great names.
FORTS AND CASTLES used to be most important for their
battle-worthiness. These forts are particularly interesting today due to
their visible strategic planning involving secret passages, multiple stairs
and maze of corridors. The Mandawa Castles, Neemrana Fort, Rohetgarh and
Khimsar are must-be-seen examples.
HUNTING LODGES are no less royal. The ones like
Shikarbadi, Ramgarh lodge, Sariska Palace, Sawai Madhopur lodge and Gajner
Palace are worth experiencing.
MANSIONS KNOWN AS HAVELIS often belonged to rich merchants
- a different architectural piece altogether. Bhanwar Niwas in Bikaner is
incomparable. The Others like the one at Bagar are quite appealing.
BUNGLOWS AND ORCHARDS acted as sylvan retreats for English
officers or for the Maharajas who were inspired by such living. The
Connaught House and Maharani Bagh Orchard Retreat are such examples.
;)
;)
It
is definitely an unusual experience to stay in these edifices - sometimes
the bathrooms are bigger than the rooms, beds are so high that they need a
flight to steps to ascend or the same room opens at two different levels
into two strikingly different landscapes. Most often the inhabitant royal
family treats the guests and they even dine together.;)
FORMER
ROYAL PALACES such as The Rambagh Palace, Jaipur, The Lake Palace
and Shiv Niwas Palace, Udaipur, Ummaid Bhawan Palace, Jodhpur; and Lallgarh
Palace, Bikaner are considered as the ultimate. Those at Deogarh,
Dungarpur,Samode and Kota are great names.;)
FORTS AND CASTLES used to be most important for their
battle-worthiness. These forts are particularly interesting today due to
their visible strategic planning involving secret passages, multiple stairs
and maze of corridors. The Mandawa Castles, Neemrana Fort, Rohetgarh and
Khimsar are must-be-seen examples.
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