Palatial Hotels!

[amelia88]

I subscribe to the Trip Advisor newsletter via email, and love getting travel inspiration from them.

In today's email, they sent out information about hotels that are palaces - and there were two Indian entries on the list!

Those hotels were the Taj Falaknuma Palace in Hyderabad, and The Oberoi Rajvilas in Jaipur.

Had you ever thought about staying at one of these places? I'm yet to check out the cost...I think it would be outside my budget well and truly, but maybe one day, right?

 

[amelia88]

Here's a couple of pictures, too!

The Taj Falaknuma

Oberoi Rajvilas Jaipur Rajasthan

 

[Ashwin Mahesh]

I am surprised that there were only two entries in the list of palatial hotels from India, there are indeed quite a lot of them. In Mysuru itself, in the southern state of Karnataka many palaces which were once owned by the ruling kings lesser than a 100 years ago have been converted to hotels. I have only listed a few below and they have pretty decent ratings on TripAdvisor.
1. Lalit Mahal Palace Hotel
2. Hotel Maurya Palace
3. Fortune JP Palace

 

[amelia88]

I am surprised that there were only two entries in the list of palatial hotels from India, there are indeed quite a lot of them. In Mysuru itself, in the southern state of Karnataka many palaces which were once owned by the ruling kings lesser than a 100 years ago have been converted to hotels. I have only listed a few below and they have pretty decent ratings on TripAdvisor.
1. Lalit Mahal Palace Hotel
2. Hotel Maurya Palace
3. Fortune JP Palace

The list on Trip Advisor was a mix of things from all around the world and not just India so that could be why there were just the two entries on the list - but it's great to know there's definitely more! I don't have a huge travel budget but I think I might have to splurge and stay in a palace for at least one night of my trip. It would be pretty unforgettable I imagine!

 

[Delirium]

That looks just like what I could afford if I were to sell my kidney!

Is it weird that I get uneasy just by looking at the pictures of the hotels? It looks extremely expensive and I haven't really stayed in a 'hotel' like that before.. the most luxurious hotel that I've ever stayed in was probably The Venetian Macao in Macau.. that, or Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. And even those hotels already burnt a huge hole in my pockets. I don't think I'd be able to stay in these 'hotels' for more than two nights without going bankrupt

 

[mochaisis]

That looks just like what I could afford if I were to sell my kidney!

Is it weird that I get uneasy just by looking at the pictures of the hotels? It looks extremely expensive and I haven't really stayed in a 'hotel' like that before.. the most luxurious hotel that I've ever stayed in was probably The Venetian Macao in Macau.. that, or Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. And even those hotels already burnt a huge hole in my pockets. I don't think I'd be able to stay in these 'hotels' for more than two nights without going bankrupt

I understand exactly how you feel. I've stayed in a few nice hotels in my life, like The Plaza, and the Waldorf, but those stays were always paid for by my parents. Now that I'm an adult, I couldn't imaging staying in a hotel that was more than $300 a night.

 

[pwarbi]

While it's good to know there are hotels like this in India, and its good to see them on the forum. Because with my budget this is about as close as I'm ever going to get to any of them, unless I win the lottery!

As for $300 a night, that's my budget for the week, nevermind the night, haha!

 

[amelia88]

That looks just like what I could afford if I were to sell my kidney!

Is it weird that I get uneasy just by looking at the pictures of the hotels? It looks extremely expensive and I haven't really stayed in a 'hotel' like that before.. the most luxurious hotel that I've ever stayed in was probably The Venetian Macao in Macau.. that, or Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. And even those hotels already burnt a huge hole in my pockets. I don't think I'd be able to stay in these 'hotels' for more than two nights without going bankrupt

Haha I've stayed in a 5 star place once, and once only. And it was a birthday gift, and I felt weird staying there in a way because it's so out of what I could normally afford. I have a backpackers budget - I prefer to spend my money on sights at the place I am visiting rather than just a place to lay my head!

I just love the look of the palaces, though. It's a dream...and I am trying to tell myself that it would be a justifiable expense for one night since it's cultural too, right?!

 

[MichelleVL]

Hi Amelia, although the thought of staying in palatial hotels has crossed my mind, they are WAY out of my budget. For the price of staying in both
Taj Falaknuma Palace in Hyderabad, and The Oberoi Rajvilas in Jaipur, one night, I can purchase a small car. The Taj Falaknuma comes out to US$1000 to US$1500 the night, and The Oberoi from US$700 to US$800 per night. I think I'll be able to stay in one of them someday(after I win the lottery LOL)!

 

[amelia88]

Hi Amelia, although the thought of staying in palatial hotels has crossed my mind, they are WAY out of my budget. For the price of staying in both
Taj Falaknuma Palace in Hyderabad, and The Oberoi Rajvilas in Jaipur, one night, I can purchase a small car. The Taj Falaknuma comes out to US$1000 to US$1500 the night, and The Oberoi from US$700 to US$800 per night. I think I'll be able to stay in one of them someday(after I win the lottery LOL)!

Oh my gosh! I figured they would be expensive but I didn't realize just HOW expensive they would be! That's way out of my budget! In fact one night at one of those places is basically the equivalent of my airfare from USA to India! Crazy when you think about it like that.

It's nice to dream, but I don't think I'll get to fulfil that dream anytime soon! Like you said - maybe if I win the lottery!

 

[pwarbi]

Maybe its just me, but even if I won the lottery I still wouldn't pay those kind of prices just to stay in an hotel. While I'm sure they are very nice, I'd get the feeling that I was being taken advantage of as a tourist, and I don't think any hotel is worth that amount of money.

 

[amelia88]

I think there are a lot of quality hotels that aren't anywhere near that pricey, so I totally get where you're coming from...even though it would be a neat experience it's one of those things where you could pay far less to get interesting cultural experiences elsewhere!

 

[pwarbi]

Well for those sort of prices, with your lottery winnings it would probably be cheaper to buy your own villa to be honest!

I do understand why people will pay that if they can afford it, but I've never been in that position and I know that I never will be!

 

[Steve Dawson]

Its a different World for the rich and no mistake, the pictures really show these beautiful buildings to great effect, and I have no doubt that the service to customers there will be equally impressive, but I could never justify spending that much money on one night in a hotel. I'd end up calculating how much 1 hour was costing me and then get annoyed at myself for spending that much. Its a nice thought but I don't think I'll ever stay anywhere like that.

 

[Tanmaya]

I cannot afford such hotels and even if I could one day, I would feel so out of place. I stayed at a five star hotel when my company booked a room for me for three nights at Mumbai and I only had my food once at the hotel I was staying as it felt weird. I am not used to the posh settings so I used to get a taxi to a near by restaurant where food was cheaper then what I paid for the one way taxi ride. I was not trying to save money by going to an affordable restaurant. I some times just had food at some road side food stall The world famous vada pao which is not though about very highly by locals.

 

[MichelleVL]

Oh my gosh! I figured they would be expensive but I didn't realize just HOW expensive they would be! That's way out of my budget! In fact one night at one of those places is basically the equivalent of my airfare from USA to India! Crazy when you think about it like that.

It's nice to dream, but I don't think I'll get to fulfil that dream anytime soon! Like you said - maybe if I win the lottery!

I know right! LOL I don't think I've ever even been any where over US$500 and let me point out, I was not paying. If I win the lottery I'll let you know so we can bring plus ones and go together, since it was your idea after all.