The Umaid Bhawan Palace, one of the finest and largest private residences in the world, is the pride of Jodhpur city in the Indian deserted state of Rajasthan. Obtaining the name from The Late His Highness Maharaja Umaid Singh Ji, the grandfather of the current possessors, the great monument has been the chief abode of the royal family of Jodhpur since 1943. As the palace is located on Chittar Hill, it was also known as the Chittar Palace or Chittar Bungalow at the time of its construction.
A luxurious dream amidst 26 acres adorned with 347 rooms, rich lawns and courtyards, scenic ceilings, marble passages, valuable troves, chasing trophies of the past, fine imperial heirlooms, and much more, the splendid golden-yellow sandstone monument exhibits the fusion of eastern and western architectural styles. Undoubtedly, Rajasthan’s most excellent architectural quintessence of the 20th century, the Palace makes you travel in the realm of antiquity. If you just take a walk in the palace exterior and look at it, you will wonder at its perfect symmetry despite such a huge structure.
The visitors and residents in the palace encounter all the facets of royal living and so are rightly entitled as a 5 Star Deluxe property by the Government of India. After being transformed into a residential hotel in 1972, the palace opened its doors to welcome the public. Since 1978, the hotel was among India’s premier hotel chains-ITC Hotels and today, it has earned its fame in the Welcome Heritage Chain.
His Highness Gaj Singh, the Maharaja of Jodhpur who is the present owner, has split the huge epitome into three operational parts. These are a luxury Taj Palace Hotel owned by the safe hands of the Taj Group, the residence of the former royal family, and a public area holding a small museum of images, weapons, swords, antique clocks, priceless China vases, and other artworks of the city’s imperial heritage.
Apart from being the Royal Home and Heritage Hotel, this is the first monument to utilize air conditioning, electricity, and elevators. Further, this is the only site to hold the paintings from the Ramayana made by a Polish artist.
Construction
Maharaja Umaid Singh (1911-1947) laid the foundation for the construction of the building on 18th November 1929; which was fulfilled in 1943. Over this period of 14 years, more than 3000 artisans worked on it sincerely to create this magnificent edifice exhibiting Rajput tradition with a Renaissance background.
Designed by the famous Edwardian architect Henry V Lanchester, this impressive palace is an exemplary masterpiece of the Indo-colonial and art deco style of the thirties. The construction’s original purpose was to serve as a drought relief measure and offer employment to more than 3000 folks affected by the drought conditions. Considered the last structure of the royal architectural variety at the time of the British Raj, Umaid Singh reached London in 1925 for hunting an excellent architect and then delegated the proud task to the firm of Lanchester.
In 1930, the Royal Palace underwent changes for expansion for offering accommodation to Maharaj Kumar Bhim Singh and his wife. Ensuring that the new wing goes well with the old built-up, the designer, George Devon, led the expansion. It is this part of the palace that is now a private residence.
The bountiful stock of White Khimach and Pink Sandstone were reaped from the close by pits, while other things such as Italian marble were imported. While not having used mortar or cement to join stones, all its parts are sculpted stones connected by interconnecting positive and negative pieces. The huge stones were transported through a specially constructed rail track. A unique feature of this palace is that the temperature here is always approximately 23 degrees Celsius.
Visiting the Palace
Comprised of two vast wings divided by a double dome of 185 feet, everything in the palace is pink, black, chrome, and mirror. Rajmahal is the main entrance of the palace. This site offers many banquet halls, eight dining rooms, ballrooms for entertaining the guests, a billiard hall, and a striking Durbar Hall (investiture room).
Further, it also holds the conventional Rathore coat-of-arms with the holy kite considered as an incarnation of the family goddess all-pervading in the palace. As a symbol of reverence, kite hunting is abandoned in the city. Not only this, peculiar clock towers, Edwardian drawing rooms, libraries carved with teak, spherical reception halls, double staircases, and marble flooring are more attractions. In addition, some worth visiting attractions are weapons, antiques, distinct crockery, crystals, a huge banner presented by Queen Victoria, and a collection of books.
The two wings include courtyards, staff offices, zenanas (ladies’ rooms), a cinema hall, and lavish royal 39 suites.
Suites
The suites are categorized as the Royal, Regal, Deluxe, Maharaja, and Maharani. The Maharaja suite was the suite of Umaid Singh located across the crystal fountain courtyard. Therefore, now it is for males and contains the unique frescos of African leopards, tigers, and horses along with posh sofas. The Maharani suite was the private compartment of the Queen of Jodhpur. The suite has a private drawing room, dining room, and a little kitchen. Its royal interiors of purple color curtains behold a mural of Goddess Kali fixed on sparkling black glass. The suite’s big balcony soothes you with the view of the lush gardens and the magnificent Mehrangarh fort.
Each room and suite offers a fusion of style and spacious sophistication. Within a room, you are offered:
- Airy balcony
- Private dressing, drawing, and dining parts in certain suites
- Kitchenette
- Wardrobe
- Elegant and royal bath
- Dining
Facilities and Accommodations
Do not miss the view at sunset from the Pillars. Gardens in front and lawns at the rear create a serene and peaceful atmosphere, yet you feel the charm of being a royal. At the core of the palace under the primary plinth, is the Swimming Pool with tiles of Zodiac, which is a chill fresh asylum.
The Umaid Bhawan Palace is well equipped with all the requirements to accommodate all types of travelers ranging from simple visitors to executives. Other facilities or accommodations provided here are listed below.
Entertainment
Billiards, squash, jogging track tennis, badminton, carom, chess, golf, polo, horse riding, private auditorium, fitness club, home theatre, palmist, astrologer, internet, air-conditioned rooms with TVs and DVD players, and leisure walk-in 15 acres of the garden (All this can accommodate 6000 people.)
- Spa
- Jiva Spa and Taj Spa
Conferences
Four meeting rooms and six outdoor venues for the small and big congregations to host conferences, parties, and banquets.
Dining
Trophy bar serving spirits and beverages, Risala restaurant is full of Indian, Rajasthani, Marwari, and Continental delights, Marwar Hall, Pillars restaurant offering different coffees and amazing sunset view with snacks, and Kebab Corner.
Business
Business Centre; Laptops, pagers, mobiles, and computers on hire; library; multimedia computers; workstations; clerical services; and telephones with direct STD and ISD dialing.
Boutiques and Shopping Centre
The Jawaharat Boutique for cultural jewelry, clothing, and souvenirs, Shopping Arcade for books, antiques, and garments.
Others
24-hour room service, credit card acceptance, money exchange, doctor on the phone, laundry and dry cleaning, mini refrigerators, travel counter, travel tools, weather updates, distance calculator, and world time zone.
Reaching the Palace
By Air: The nearest airport is the Jodhpur domestic airport at a distance of 5 km.
By Rail: The nearest railway station is also Jodhpur with a distance of 6 km. Jodhpur is well connected by rail with other cities of Rajasthan and India.
By Road: From the city and bus stand, the palace is 3 km away. Jodhpur is well connected by road with other cities of Rajasthan and India.
0 Comments