Taj Lake Palace
Watch as the Vintage coupé glides to a stop at the lake’s edge. It’s hard to believe that the vision in marble floating in the waters beyond is for real. Once aboard your taxi, drifting ever closer, a luminous palace emerges from the mist. Reality doesn't disappoint.
With the Aravalli Mountains and city palaces as a backdrop, one gets an impending sense of enchantment. What may have begun as a creation born of a prince’s rebellious gesture was turned into one of the most romantic hotels in the world by Maharana Bhagwat Singhji in 1963. Then in 1971, with its legacy of hospitality, Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces was the perfect choice to carry on the royal tradition of the luxurious Lake Palace, Udaipur. The palace’s decadent reputation was cemented when the James Bond film Octopussy was filmed on the premises: Taj Lake Palace was the secluded lair of the film’s eponymous Bond girl.
Accommodation at Taj Lake Palace, a member of the Great Small Hotel collection, is as delightful as the exterior. Every one of its 65 romantic rooms and 18 suites have stunning views of the lake and hold a story; among the most compelling is The Chandra Prakash Suite, meaning Lustre of the Moon. The decorative gilt mouldings, sculpted marble columns, and fine fretwork screens impressed even the Maharaja who held court in this very room in the 1930s.
There are countless unique experiences to be had. Sail into a purple sunset on a 150-year old Gangaur complete with candlelight and resplendently dressed oarsmen. Join a guided heritage walk around the palace, and on your return enjoy a glass of sparkling wine at the bar or sail off on the spa boat with two treatment beds and your own jacuzzi. Soak in the sounds and sights of the city as your royal ‘butler’ accompanies you on a shopping trip. In this royal dream, anything is possible.
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