deogarh: rajasthan

Around 2.5 hours north of Udaipur, where the terrain begins to change as the Aravali mountain range starts to pita out,  you will find the small town of Deogarh and the Palace that dominates it from the hilltop.

Belonging to the oldest family on the planet (Guinness Book of Records) at over 340 years old, the palace really is one of the finest surviving examples of its kind today, especially considering its size, which is staggering. Having entered through the initial archway to what would have been stables and staff quarters, another grand archway brings you into the gigantic courtyard and you are presented with the amazing façade of the main building.

Converted as a hotel in 1996, the palace runs in a complete rectangle and you can walk around the ramparts 360 degrees through small courtyards, rooftop terraces and narrow steep stairways.  Within its walls, there are 16 tiny temples and one is inside one of the rooms. It’s utterly unique and enchanting.

Rooms:-

The 59 rooms and suites are ALL different. As such, the hotel’s website contains shots of every single room with its number / name.  The key points of interest are as follows:-

They have preserved whatever they can from frescoes to murals, mirror tiles and artefacts. The result is a fascinating history of a place that has maintained many original features and somewhere you will fail to find anywhere else in the world.

The jewel in the crown of this regal building is the Maharaja Suite on the top floor. Boasting its very own room of mirrors and a huge sitting area where you can imagine VIP’S visiting in times gone by entertaining, the additional décor and photos of family members and visitors really gives you a bite of how things were centuries ago. The bedroom itself is fairly modest compared to the other rooms, but the piece de resistance is still to come as you enter through doubles doors to the bathroom. This is without doubt the most opulent and unusual bathroom you will ever have set foot in. The focal point is the huge Jacuzzi bath which you could quite easily fit 10 people in. The tap that feeds it is a copper snake’s head which actually used to be the sound bite for a bonnet fixed car horn ! There is a separate room for the shower and toilet and at the far end, double vanity basins which again have very unusual taps. Another unusual touch is the windows in one section, which open and disappear down into the wall. These were taken by the current owners father from a 1920’s British Rail carriage to satisfy his love of the British train network.

Dining:-

There are 2 eating options in the hotel (aside to numerous private dining spots on the parapets). Firstly, the a la carte restaurant where aside to the menu, particularly in low season, the chef can prepare dishes to your liking/ order. The quality of fresh ingredients is second to none, all locally sourced, and the delicate flavours so often missed in UK Indian restaurants, is perfectly demonstrated here . A chicken tikka marsala really hit the spot, as did lightly battered okra with a chilli paste.

The larger dining room is mainly for used for breakfast which is a combination of buffet with the usual array of fruit, bread and cereal, coupled with various hot dishes made to order. Buffet dinner is also served in high season (Oct-Mar).

Other:-

Spa – Indian Ayurvedic and Western treatments

Local 20 km train ride from Kambalgarh to Phulad or return through the forest.

Swimming Pool

Car hire

Vintage car hire/ transfers

Horse riding

Camel riding

Jeep safaris

Walking tours

Trekking

Picinics

Rajput evening at sister property Fort Seeng Sagar

Star gazing through the rooftop telescope