How we chose
Real history first: most of our list are houses built by royal or noble families. We say clearly when a hotel is a new palace built for guests.
People over polish: a bearer who knows when to bring the second cup of tea matters more to us than a chandelier.
- Royal palace
- Built by a ruling house, often with a durbar hall
- Noble house
- A garh, rawla or mahal of a thikana family
- New palace
- Built since the late 1990s in palace style
- Our advice
- Mix an old palace with a new one
- The setting: a lake, a garden, a view of a fort. In a palace, what you see from the window is half the stay.
- Honesty about trade-offs: thick walls mean weak Wi-Fi, old rooms can have small bathrooms, and some palaces have long walks to breakfast.
- No paid placements: nobody pays to be on this list. We compare every palace in more depth on our palace hotels page.
How a maharaja's house became a hotel
1947 to 1949: the princely states of Rajputana were merged, one by one, into the new state of Rajasthan. Rulers kept their palaces but lost the revenue of a kingdom.
1957: Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II opened Rambagh Palace, his own home, as a hotel. It was the first of its kind in Rajasthan.
- The 1960s and 1971: Udaipur's island palace of Jag Niwas became a hotel, managed by Taj from 1971. Part of Umaid Bhawan in Jodhpur took guests from the same year.
- 1971: a constitutional amendment abolished the privy purses, the rulers' government allowances. Many more families opened their doors.
- Since then: some families leased palaces to hotel groups. Others restored a wing at a time and cooked for guests from the family kitchen. That is why no two feel alike.
Jaipur and the Kachwaha country
Rambagh Palace, the grand one
The story: a garden house of 1835 that grew into the home of Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II and Maharani Gayatri Devi. A hotel since 1957, run by Taj since 1972.
- Why we love it: peacocks on the lawns, long verandahs and the sense of royal Jaipur in its purest form.
- Who it suits: first-timers, history lovers and anyone who wants the most famous address in the city. Ask for a room facing the gardens.
Jai Mahal Palace, the calm one
The story: dated to 1745 by the Taj group's account, once home to the prime ministers of Jaipur state.
- Why we love it: about eighteen acres of Mughal-style gardens, smaller in scale and quieter than Rambagh.
- Who it suits: repeat visitors and couples. It is an easy drive to Amer before dawn.
Samode Palace, the painted one
The story: a sixteenth-century fort made a palace in the nineteenth century by the Rawals of Samode, a hotel since 1987 and still run by the family.
- Why we love it: a painted Durbar Hall and a mirrored Sheesh Mahal as rich as anything in the city, at the head of a village in the Aravallis.
- Who it suits: a last night after Jaipur, or the first on the road to Shekhawati. About an hour from the city.
Alila Fort Bishangarh, the fort
The story: an eighteenth-century warrior fort on a granite hill north of Jaipur, restored as a contemporary hotel.
- Why we love it: rooms set into walls of enormous thickness, and the countryside spread below every window.
- Who it suits: couples and anyone who wants rest at the start or end of a journey.
Udaipur and Mewar, palaces on the water
Taj Lake Palace, the island
The story: Jag Niwas, built between 1743 and 1746 as a summer palace for Maharana Jagat Singh II. A hotel since the early 1960s, managed by Taj since 1971.
- Why we love it: you arrive by the hotel's own boat, and after the last crossing in the evening the palace falls completely quiet.
- Who it suits: couples above all. Rooms differ a great deal, so ask us for one facing the lake.
Shiv Niwas and Fateh Prakash, inside the City Palace
The story: Shiv Niwas was completed in the early twentieth century as a guest house for the visitors of the House of Mewar, and became a hotel in 1982.
- Fateh Prakash: holds the old Durbar Hall and, above it, the Crystal Gallery. Its lake terrace is one of Udaipur's loveliest places for tea.
- Who they suit: history lovers who want to walk out into the old city.
RAAS Devigarh, the design palace
The story: an eighteenth-century hill palace at Delwara, about 30 kilometres north of Udaipur, opened as a hotel in 1999.
- Why we love it: pale marble and clean lines inside the old walls, the most contemporary of Rajasthan's true palaces.
- Who it suits: design lovers, and travellers heading to Nathdwara or Kumbhalgarh.
Deogarh Mahal, the noble house
The story: built in 1670 by the Rawats of Deogarh, one of the great noble houses of Mewar, and still run by the family.
- Why we love it: rooms full of murals, mirror work and old furniture, in a town with its own school of miniature painting.
- Who it suits: repeat visitors and anyone driving between Jaipur and Udaipur.
Jodhpur and Marwar, the desert palaces
Umaid Bhawan Palace, the royal home
The story: built from 1929 to 1943 for Maharaja Umaid Singh, partly as famine relief, by the architect Henry Vaughan Lanchester. A hotel since 1971, now run by Taj.
- Why we love it: Art Deco with Indian domes, and the royal family still lives in another wing.
- Who it suits: families, history lovers and several generations together. Ask about rooms facing Mehrangarh.
Bal Samand Lake Palace, the garden
- The story: a red sandstone summer palace above a lake first made as a reservoir for Mandore, with orchards running down to the water.
- Who it suits: families who want space and quiet within a short drive of town.
Ajit Bhawan, the informal one
- The story: built for Maharaj Ajit Singh, a younger brother of Maharaja Umaid Singh, and one of the pioneers of heritage hotels in Rajasthan.
- Who it suits: travellers who want gardens, a pool and conversation at dinner rather than gravitas.
Khimsar Fort, on the road north
- The story: built in 1523 by Rao Karamsji, a son of Jodhpur's founder Rao Jodha, and still partly the family home.
- Who it suits: a night between Jodhpur and Bikaner, with a dune village a short drive away.
Bikaner and Shekhawati
Laxmi Niwas Palace, Bikaner
The story: the oldest wing of Lalgarh Palace, designed for Maharaja Ganga Singh by Samuel Swinton Jacob and completed in 1902.
- Why we love it: red sandstone carved into screens and arcades, and a courtyard lit at night for dinner.
- Who it suits: history lovers. Rooms vary a great deal, so tell us what matters.
Narendra Bhawan, Bikaner
- The story: the last home of Maharaja Narendra Singh of Bikaner, reimagined as a boutique hotel around the passions of his life.
- Who it suits: travellers who have stayed in several grand palaces and want wit and design.
Castle Mandawa, Shekhawati
- The story: built in 1755 by Thakur Nawal Singh to guard a caravan town, and one of the first heritage hotels in Rajasthan.
- Who it suits: anyone who wants to walk straight out of the gate into the frescoed lanes of Mandawa.
Smaller royal houses almost nobody else books
Udai Bilas Palace, Dungarpur: a mid-nineteenth-century palace on Gaib Sagar, where the former royal family still lives. Its Ek Thambiya Mahal, the palace of a single pillar, is extraordinary stonework.
Castle Bijaipur: a sixteenth-century castle of a Mewar noble family, about 40 kilometres from Chittorgarh, simple and colourful rather than polished.
- Neemrana Fort-Palace: a hillside fort of 1464, restored and opened as a hotel in 1991. A lovely way to break the drive from Delhi.
- Gajner Palace, near Bikaner: a royal lakeside lodge expanded by Maharaja Ganga Singh, where viceroys once came for the winter shoots.
- The catch: standards vary more than in the big names and service can be slow. We only book the ones we have seen recently.
The new palaces, and why we still book them
What they give you: level floors, large bathrooms, lifts, quiet air-conditioning and spas built for the purpose.
Who they suit: families with small children, guests with limited mobility, light sleepers and anyone who wants to retreat completely between outings.
- The Oberoi Rajvilas
- Late 1990s, about 32 acres east of Jaipur
- The Oberoi Udaivilas
- 2002, on the shore of Lake Pichola
- The Leela Palace Udaipur
- Beside Udaivilas on Pichola
- Raffles Udaipur
- 2021, a private island in Udai Sagar
- The craft is real: carved stone, inlaid marble and painted ceilings by craftsmen trained in the old ways. Only the history is borrowed.
- Our favourites: The Oberoi Rajvilas for calm, The Oberoi Udaivilas for service, The Leela Palace Udaipur for a sense of occasion and Raffles Udaipur for privacy.
- Our advice: two nights in a new palace and two in an old one. You will understand both.
Which palace suits which traveller
Honeymooners: Taj Lake Palace for the boat crossing, Devigarh for quiet design, Raffles for privacy. Our Rajasthan for Two journey is built around them.
Families with children: the new palaces, Umaid Bhawan with its museum and vintage cars, Bal Samand's orchards and Khimsar's dunes. See family journeys.
- History lovers: palaces where the family still lives or the past is on the walls: Umaid Bhawan, Shiv Niwas, Laxmi Niwas, Deogarh and Samode.
- Several generations together: large palaces with lifts and gardens, such as Rambagh and Umaid Bhawan. See our multi-generation journeys.
- Repeat visitors: the noble houses of Deogarh, Bijaipur, Dungarpur and Marwar, where Rajasthan still feels like a set of small kingdoms.
- Meeting the families: some houses can arrange an evening with a member of the family. Our royal families page explains how.
The right room matters more than the right palace
Why rooms vary: palaces were built for a court. The ruler's apartments and state guest suites were the best rooms, and no money can give a back corridor a lake view.
Old wing or new: rooms in the original building often have more character and less light. Newer wings are brighter and easier to live in.
- Tell us what matters: a view, a bathtub, a ground floor, a quiet corner or a room near the pool for the children.
- Watch for weddings: a palace taken over by a wedding of several hundred guests is wonderful to watch and hard to sleep through. We check the calendar first.
- Ask for the terrace: on a warm evening, a table outside rather than in the dining room. Better still, a private palace dinner in a courtyard or on a rooftop.
What staying in a palace is really like
Long walks: high ceilings, heavy doors and corridors hung with portraits and old photographs of polo teams. Breakfast can be a stroll away.
Day visitors: Rambagh, Umaid Bhawan and Udaipur's City Palace are also monuments. Hotel areas are kept separate, but early and late are the quiet hours.
- Service: many staff come from families who served the households for generations. A khamma ghani, the respectful Rajasthani greeting, returned with a smile goes a long way.
- Dress for dinner: at least smart casual in the grander houses. The dining rooms were built for durbar evenings.
- What a palace won't give you: large bathrooms in every historic room, or strong Wi-Fi behind walls a metre thick.
- Slow down: our families used to say that a guest who rushes through a house insults the host. Give each palace two nights.
When to go, and when to book
Winter: warm days, cool nights and full palaces. The most famous can be full months ahead for the holiday weeks.
February and early March: lovely weather, the rush eased and the gardens at their best.
- Palace season
- October to March
- Busiest
- December and January
- Our favourite
- February and early March
- Book ahead
- Six to nine months for the festive weeks
- Monsoon
- July to September, best in Udaipur
- Diwali: in October or November, the old cities are lit end to end. Magical, and busy, so we plan it early. See Diwali in Rajasthan.
- Summer: April to June is very hot in the desert palaces, with calmer houses and gentler rates.
- Month by month: our guide to the best time to visit Rajasthan explains each month.
Building a journey of palaces
The classic three: one great royal house in each of Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur, with a noble family's fort between them so the drives stay short.
The fullest version: our Royal Rajputana, over fifteen nights.
- The noble houses first: our forts and palaces grand tour puts Deogarh, Bijaipur and the Marwar forts at its heart.
- With tigers: Palaces and Tigers pairs royal hotels with a lodge in Ranthambore.
- Change the rhythm: a haveli in an old city lane or a luxury desert camp between palaces makes each one feel new again.
- How we quote: we don't publish prices, because every journey is different. After one conversation we draw a route and quote it room by room.