Travel style
Palace stays
Sleep where the maharajas did
Many of India's royal families turned their palaces into hotels after 1971, when privy purses ended. The result is a set of hotels that cannot be built again: lake palaces, desert forts and city residences still owned, in several cases, by the families who built them.
We choose by room, not only by hotel. A palace may have a few lake-facing suites and many rooms facing a courtyard, and the difference matters. We also leave half-days free, because a palace is a place to stay in, not just to sleep.
Journeys
Routes in this style
Places
Where it fits best
A desert city of red forts, havelis and bhujia
The great fort of Mewar and its stories of siege
A hilltop palace, a mountain railway and rural Mewar
The pink city of forts, bazaars and royal hotels
A living golden fort at the edge of the Thar
The blue city below Mehrangarh Fort
A mountain fort, its great wall and the Ranakpur temple
A painted palace in the hills an hour from Jaipur
Painted merchant towns of the northern desert
Lakes, palaces and the slowest days in Rajasthan
The great Portuguese-era houses of south Goa's villages
The Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and the Mughal river bank
Shape your own journey Tell us your dates and what you hope to feel. We draw the route around you. Begin Not sure where to start? We match the land to your month, your pace and the people travelling with you. Begin Talk to a planner A first route and an indicative price within one working day. No payment to start. BeginStays
Rooms that suit it
The former home of the Maharajas of Jaipur, run by Taj, set in large Mughal-style gardens about 15 minutes from the old city. It is the …
A low-rise resort on the eastern edge of Jaipur, built as a Rajasthani fort-village with courtyards, pools, luxury tents and private villas. Quieter and more private …
A family-owned palace hotel in a village in the Aravalli hills, about 42 km northwest of Jaipur. Its painted Durbar Hall and mirrored Sheesh Mahal are …
An 18th-century white marble palace that covers its own island in Lake Pichola, reached only by boat. Built as a royal summer retreat and run by …
A palace-style resort on the eastern shore of Lake Pichola, with domed pavilions, courtyards, gardens and rooms opening onto shared or semi-private pools. It faces the …
A golden sandstone Art Deco palace on Chittar Hill above Jodhpur, completed in 1943 and still home to the royal family of Marwar in one wing. …
A boutique hotel inside the walled old city of Jodhpur, built around a restored 18th-century haveli directly below Mehrangarh Fort. Clean contemporary rooms, a courtyard pool …
A palace-style hotel built in golden Jaisalmer stone on the road to the Sam dunes, about 15 km west of the city. It is the most …
The closest luxury hotel to the Taj Mahal, about 600 m from the east gate, with views of the monument from every room. Its Mughal-style terraces, …
Shape your own journey Tell us your dates and what you hope to feel. We draw the route around you. Begin Not sure where to start? We match the land to your month, your pace and the people travelling with you. Begin Talk to a planner A first route and an indicative price within one working day. No payment to start. Begin