Rajasthan, India really has an awful lot of very good hotels. You can choose a new one such as Jaipur’s Oberoi Rajvilas or one of the classics such as the Taj Lake Palace Hotel, in Lake Pichola, Udaipur.

Taj Lake Palace Hotel

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Taj Lake Palace is the hotel in the lake a short gondola ride from the centre of town. Although original this hotel as all the mod cons: complete with a swimming pool in the central courtyard. Although most guests rave about it, remember this is still India: you wouldn’t want to swim in Lake Pochola, and the lake center location can mean that mosquitoes are a problem. The opposite problems occurs too: during the dry season the lake sometimes drys up which means the gondola ride is replaced with a much more prosaic jeep trip!

Shiv Niwas within the City Palace, in the center of town, although still an operating royal residence, the City Palace also features a museum, well worth a look, and not one but two luxurious hotel. The Shiv Niwas has hosted such as Queen Elizabeth and the Kennedys but these days the standards have slipped a bit and you will find better options in town.

Saving the best to last is the Oberoi Udaivilas. A similar level of luxury to its sister hotel, Oberoi’s Rajvilas in Jaipur this new hotel is on the site of the maharajah’s former hunting grounds and therefore enjoys an expansive 12ha estate. Although a new property the Oberoi Udaivilas are constructed in traditional style featuring shiny white marble complete with domes and colonnades. All rooms drip more white marble and gold embellishments. In the style of a golden-domed Rajasthani palaces many rooms give uninterrupted views over the Lake Pichola to the dramatic City Palace. A number of the suites also include a private dining pavilion and a semi-private infinity edge swimming pool. The landscaped gardens include two large swimming pools or you can enjoy soothing aromatherapies at the spa overlooking the lake.

Udaipur is definitely one of the most charming cities in the whole of India. Make sure you make the effort to check out the town’s colorful bazaar and the 300-year-old Jagdish Temple, the largest Hindu temple in India. Not to mention the Palaces that you aren’t staying at!