‘Slumdog Millionaire’ almost put me off going to India. All those back-alley shops, dirty cesspools and crowded trains? Hell, no. Not for me. But it’s amazing what a woman’s charms will do, and before I could say, “I don’t want any bloody dhal makhani” we were touching down at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport. Destination? Udaipur.
The city of Udai. Jewel of Rajasthan. Venice of the East. Whatever you choose to call it, Udaipur is pretty damn impressive. Unlike so many Indian cities, it’s not a random sprawl of tumble down buildings with a sprinkle of chaos thrown in for local colour. In Udaipur the city revolves around the lake. Lake Pichola, to be precise. One of five that lie lazily in front of the Aravalli Hills, their placid waters at odds with the chaos of streets that bicker behind the lakefront havelis.
Once home to Udaipur’s aristocracy, these lavish waterfront homes were the Clifton bungalows of 16th century Rajasthan. Everyone wanted one, hardly anybody could afford it, and gawking visitors would peek in the windows as they thumped down the steps to the water. Most have now been converted into hotels, but why bother with aristocracy when royalty will do just as nicely?
You’ll probably only go to Udaipur once, and if you’re travelling in style there is simply only one address. Except this hotel doesn’t have an address. It doesn’t need one. It’s a place where the post – and everything else, for that matter – arrives by boat, and a healthy stretch of water separates the chaos of India from the blissfully calm courtyards of what is, quite simply, the most romantic hotel on the planet.
A handsome Rajasthani doorman sweeps down the red-carpeted staircase as our boat glides up to the landing deck. A brocaded velvet umbrella shields my wife from the spring sunshine and an elbow is offered to escort her up the stairs. Seamlessly, the umbrella disappears and a rain of rose petals marks our entrance. The doorman beams from under his bushy moustache: “You are welcome at the Taj Lake Palace!”
The name says it all really. This gleaming white hotel is built on a small island in the middle of Lake Pichola; an island so small that the hotel is the island. And it used to be a Palace. A pleasure palace, in fact, built in 1746 by Maharana Jagat Singh II. The 62nd successor to the royal dynasty of Mewar would use the manicured courtyards and rooftop terraces for summer shindigs for his royal court.
The royal family have since packed their bags for the City Palace on the mainland, but regal touches abound throughout the hotel. Marble corridors lead to our opulent Palace Suite, where lake views flow in from almost every direction. The City Palace peeks in the bathroom window, and from our small balcony I look out to Jagmandir Island; another pleasure palace where the gardens still host Udaipur’s most glamorous parties. Marble, velvet and crisp linen abound, but like a new maharajah I’m hungry to soak up the pleasures of my palace. Well, mine for a night or two, at least. And pleasure is something the Taj Lake Palace offers in spades.
The therapists at the Jiva spa greet me with a beatific namaste, and ask if I’ll be having my massage on land or water. As if the hotel isn’t enough of an escape, the ‘spa boat’ allows couples to set sail into Lake Pichola for treatments and a little time alone.
The pool-loungers beckon, but the sun is dipping behind the hills and I have a date with a gondola. Mercifully free of gondoliers murdering Italian love songs, all we hear is the gentle murmur of the water under our keel as we slowly circle the hotel, admiring the sunset and sipping our glass of Bollinger.
Back at the hotel, a quandary awaits: dinner at the rooftop Bhairo for outstanding city views and a menu of contemporary European cuisine, or back onto the water. Ah hell, when in Rome… so we opt for a romantic pontoon dinner, perhaps the most unique dining experience in Asia.
Moored on the calm lake waters, the pontoon is a floating restaurant for two. We order the tasting menu from Neel Khamal, the hotel’s Indian fine-dining restaurant, with a bottle of New Zealand merlot and sit back to soak up the lights of Udaipur. Our waiter hops in his boat and motors off to fetch our starters. Soup follows, then mains and a spread of desserts, all the while Udaipur glints back at us across the water. Fireworks from a local wedding light up the sky and boom out across the city, declaring new love to all and sundry.
Behind us the Lake Palace shimmers in the moonlight, a white marble jewel giving the Taj Mahal a run for its money in the romance stakes. Shah Jahan may have built his Taj as a monument to love, but what’s so sexy about a mausoleum? When it comes to romance in Rajasthan, the Rajput kings of Udaipur certainly knew how to woo their women. A pleasure palace, indeed.
Taj Lake Palace Hotel, Udaipur, India. Visit www.tajhotels.com or call 00 800 4 588 1 825 (toll-free).
First published in Private Edition; Autumn 2010
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Or just a sign of commercialism heading south? Refuse to shop at Melissa's nowadays: overpriced and average
