A house built for the Maharanas' guests
Three hundred years of building: by the late nineteenth century the City Palace had grown court by court along the ridge above Lake Pichola.
A stream of visitors: Mewar was a princely state in treaty with the British, and its rulers received viceroys, princes and fellow rulers.
Maharana Sajjan Singh: ruling from 1874 to 1884, he began a new wing at the southern end of the complex. He died young.
- Begun
- Under Maharana Sajjan Singh, 1874-1884
- Completed
- Early 20th century, by Fateh Singh
- Built as
- A royal guest house
- A hotel since
- 1982
- Run by
- HRH Group of Hotels
- Setting
- Inside the City Palace complex
- Maharana Fateh Singh: his successor completed it at the start of the twentieth century as a royal guest house.
- A great builder: Fateh Singh ruled from 1884 to 1930. In his time Fateh Sagar was rebuilt, the Monsoon Palace finished, and the Durbar Hall of Fateh Prakash raised next door.
- Royal visitors: the palace's history records visits including that of the future King George V, then Prince of Wales, in 1905.
- Craftsmen sent abroad: the family's history tells of Mewar craftsmen who learned glass mosaic and fresco overseas and came home to decorate the palace.
- The result: coloured glass, painted walls and inlaid surfaces that mix Rajput forms with a late-Victorian taste for richness.
- The whole complex: our City Palace guide tells its story court by court.
How a royal guest house became a hotel
1949: Mewar joined the Indian union. Over the following decades the rulers lost their kingdoms, then their privy purses and privileges, and great houses became burdens.
Maharana Bhagwat Singh: head of the house from 1955, he decided the family's palaces should earn their keep.
The first: the island palace of Jag Niwas opened as a hotel in the early 1960s, and is now the Taj Lake Palace.
- 1982: after a conversion of several years, Shiv Niwas opened as a hotel, with the neighbouring Fateh Prakash.
- An extra floor: during the work an upper floor was added above the original rooms, where some of the suites with terraces now sit.
- 1983: the palace appeared in the James Bond film Octopussy, shot all over Udaipur.
- Who runs it: the HRH Group of Hotels, the former royal family's own hotel company, which also looks after other heritage properties in and around Udaipur.
- The rest of the complex: a museum run by a charitable foundation set up by the family, and part of it remains a family home.
- The headship: disputed between branches of the family since 2024, and we leave that matter to them. Our piece on the Mewar royal family tells the wider public history.
A crescent around a marble pool
The shape: three levels rising along a semicircular arc around an inner courtyard, with a marble swimming pool at its centre.
Galleries on every floor: arched galleries and balconies run along each level, so guests look down into the courtyard and out beyond it.
- Plan
- Three levels in a semicircular arc
- At the centre
- A marble swimming pool
- Views south
- Gardens below the Pichola dam
- Views west
- Jag Mandir and the Lake Palace
- The views: south over the gardens below the wall of the Pichola dam, and west across the water to Jag Mandir and the island Lake Palace.
- Rajput language, Raj symmetry: cusped arches, projecting balconies, carved brackets and small domed chhatris along the roofline, with the regularity of a building from the age of the Raj.
- For entertaining: a palace for guests rather than for defence.
- The heart of the hotel: the pool, which must have astonished its first guests.
- The details: coloured glass in the windows, painted and inlaid surfaces, family portraits, old photographs and period furniture, much of it from the palace's own collections.
- Learn the words: our guide to reading Rajasthani architecture explains the arches, jalis and jharokhas around you.
Living inside the City Palace
You can walk out of your room into the palace grounds in the early morning, before the museum opens, and see the courtyards in soft light with almost nobody about. In the evening, when the visitors have gone, you come home through quiet gates.
All on foot: the museum, the Crystal Gallery in Fateh Prakash Palace, the boat jetty and the lanes of the old city.
- A living institution: old ceremonies are still kept here.
- Holika Dahan: on the evening before Holi, the royal bonfire is lit in the Manak Chowk, the great courtyard of the complex.
- Gangaur: in spring the women of the city carry the goddess Gauri to the lake at Gangaur Ghat, a short walk away.
- Festival dates: Shiv Niwas puts you within minutes of the heart of them. Our pages on Holi and the Mewar Festival explain what happens.
- The honest caveat: you hear the city, especially by day, when visitors fill the outer courts and the lanes beyond the gates are busy.
- For complete silence: the island Lake Palace or a resort on the far shore will suit you better. Most guests love the life of the place.
The palace around you
Where it began: Maharana Udai Singh II began the City Palace in 1559, when he founded Udaipur on the shore of Pichola.
Built by generations: each Maharana added courts, towers and gardens along the ridge, so from the lake it reads as one long facade.
- City Palace begun
- 1559, by Udai Singh II
- Jagdish Temple
- 1651
- Lake Palace
- 1743 to 1746
- Crystal ordered
- 1877, from Birmingham
- Durbar Hall
- Foundation stone laid 1909
- The largest in Rajasthan: the complex is the state's largest palace, its balconies and towers running along the ridge for more than two hundred metres.
- The Durbar Hall next door: in Fateh Prakash. The Viceroy, Lord Minto, laid its foundation stone in 1909, and it was first called Minto Hall.
- The Crystal Gallery: above the Durbar Hall, the crystal furniture Maharana Sajjan Singh ordered from F and C Osler of Birmingham in 1877, including a bed and a fountain.
- Jagdish Temple: just outside the Badi Pol, built in 1651 under Maharana Jagat Singh I.
- The Lake Palace below: Jag Niwas, built between 1743 and 1746 for Maharana Jagat Singh II, sits in the water you see from the terraces.
- Jag Mandir: to the south, begun around 1620. The Mughal prince Khurram, the future Shah Jahan, is said to have sheltered there in 1623.
Rooms, suites and the art of asking
The original suites: the finest rooms, full of period furniture, coloured glass, old photographs and paintings.
Their outlooks: some over the lake, some over the courtyard pool, some over the gardens below the dam.
- The upper floor: added during the conversion, it holds rooms with terraces.
- Where the character lives: above all in the suites, which is why our planners nearly always suggest one here.
- The quirks of age: rooms vary in size, light and outlook, with uneven floors, steps between rooms and bathrooms fitted into old walls. We tell you before you book.
- In exchange: you sleep in rooms that kings and their guests used.
- No room categories or numbers: they change, and the right room depends on you. Tell us whether a lake view, a terrace or a quiet corner matters, and we ask for the best match.
A day at Shiv Niwas
Early morning, the empty courtyards
- Before the museum opens: walk the outer courts as the light comes up over the hills.
- At opening: enter the museum and climb straight to the hilltop garden of the Badi Mahal, before the tour groups.
Late morning, the old city
- The walk: out of the Badi Pol gate to Jagdish Temple, through the painters' lanes and down to Gangaur Ghat.
- A pause: chai on a rooftop above the water, then back for lunch by the pool.
Afternoon, rest
- Shade and sleep: swim in the courtyard pool or read in your room.
- Or: visit the Crystal Gallery next door, which is quieter in the afternoon.
Evening, the water
- The last hour of light: a private boat on Pichola from the palace jetty, past Jag Mandir and the Lake Palace.
- Then: the evening folk dance at Bagore ki Haveli, and home through the quiet palace.
Eating in the palace
The signature: breakfast by the courtyard pool.
Dinner under the arches: with the lit towers of the palace above, an old-world grace the newer hotels cannot quite match.
Menus change: with the seasons and the chefs, so we tell guests what to ask for.
- Safed maas: mutton in cream and ground nuts.
- Maas ke soole: smoked skewers from the old hunting kitchens.
- Also try: gatte ki sabzi and dal baati churma, and in winter maize breads with ghee and jaggery.
- Vegetarian and Jain: vegetarians eat superbly in Mewar, and the kitchens cook without onion and garlic. Tell us in advance, and we tell the hotel.
- Eating out: we book rooftops above the lake, private dinners on Jag Mandir, and meals with families in the old city.
- Read more: our food of Udaipur guide and the best rooftop restaurants in Udaipur.
Slow hours by the pool
The courtyard pool: where guests spend the hot middle of the day, as the palace walls throw shade across the water.
Rest, the old way: a swim, a book, a pot of tea and the swallows wheeling over the towers.
- Massage and Ayurveda: ask us. We tell you what the hotel can arrange on your dates.
- A spa afternoon elsewhere: several resort spas on the western shore welcome non-resident guests when they have space, and we book them.
- Read more: our spas and Ayurveda page explains the treatments on menus across Rajasthan.
- A full wellness stay: we pair a couple of nights here with a few at The Oberoi Udaivilas, whose spa is one of the finest in India.
On your doorstep
For a dawn walk through the old city with one of our guides, see our heritage walks page, and for the whole city, our guide to things to do in Udaipur.
The City Palace museum
- What to see: the Mor Chowk with its glass peacocks, the hilltop garden of the Badi Mahal, and the zenana and its painting galleries.
- When: go as it opens.
Jagdish Temple
- Where: just outside the Badi Pol gate, up a steep stair.
- What: a seventeenth-century temple to Vishnu, its walls carved with elephants, musicians and dancers. Come for the morning prayers.
Gangaur Ghat and Bagore ki Haveli
- The ghat: down through the lanes to its triple-arched gate.
- The haveli: the painted mansion of a Mewar prime minister, with its evening folk dance.
A boat on Pichola
- Close by: the palace jetty.
- When: we book private boats for the last hour of light, past Jag Mandir and the Lake Palace as the City Palace turns gold.
Painters and silversmiths
- The lanes around Jagdish Temple: miniature painters' studios and silver workshops.
- Where we go: working studios where nobody pays our guides a commission.
Who will love Shiv Niwas, and who may not
History lovers: who want to walk out into the old city, prefer character to polish, and enjoy a great house rather than a resort.
A first visit: our first suggestion for two or three nights, with the City Palace, the temple, the ghats and the boats all on foot.
- Best for
- History lovers, a first visit
- Ideal stay
- Two or three nights
- Also good for
- Holi and Gangaur
- Think twice
- Limited mobility, total silence
- Festival travellers: timing a visit for Holi or Gangaur, close to the ceremonies.
- Modern space and a full spa: the resorts of the western shore will serve you better.
- Limited mobility: talk to us first. Steps, uneven floors and long walks. Our accessible travel guide explains how we plan around them.
- Silence day and night: the island Taj Lake Palace is quieter.
- Both worlds: two nights here for the city, and two at a resort or a hill palace for rest.
How Shiv Niwas fits our journeys
A working palace in each city: on our Royal Rajputana and Forts and palaces grand tour journeys: Rambagh Palace in Jaipur, Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur and Shiv Niwas in Udaipur.
- Different chapters: each was built by a ruling family, and each tells a different part of the story.
- Shorter routes: on Delhi, Jaipur and Udaipur, it makes the most of two or three nights, because so much of Udaipur is on foot from the door.
- Onwards: our Mewar lakes and temples journey continues to Kumbhalgarh, Ranakpur and the noble houses of the countryside.
Getting to Shiv Niwas Palace
By air: Maharana Pratap Airport at Dabok, about 22 kilometres east of the city, has direct flights to Delhi, Mumbai and other major cities.
- Nearest airport
- Maharana Pratap Airport, Dabok
- Airport distance
- About 22 km east of the city
- From Jaipur
- About six hours
- From Jodhpur
- About five, via Ranakpur
- From Chittorgarh
- About two hours
- Arriving: through the City Palace complex. Your chauffeur drives you in, and your luggage is carried to your room.
- By road: Jaipur about six hours, Jodhpur about five via Ranakpur, and Chittorgarh about two. Our getting around guide explains how we time the drives.
- Getting about: in the old city most of what you want is on foot. For the Monsoon Palace, Saheliyon ki Bari and day trips, your chauffeur waits outside the palace gates.
What we tell friends before Shiv Niwas
Ask for a suite: at Shiv Niwas the suites hold most of the character, and we always suggest them.
Book well ahead: for October to March, and earlier for Holi, Gangaur, Christmas and New Year.
- Wear shoes with grip: palace floors are polished stone and stairs are steep.
- Dress for temples: at Jagdish, shoulders and knees covered, and shoes left at the top of the stairs.
- Learn khamma ghani: the Rajasthani greeting. The palace staff, many of whom have worked here for years, will reply in kind.