Staying With A Maharaja?

[jnorth88]

I was wondering if there are any Maharajas who rent rooms or lodging to visitors? I am willing to pay for the cultural experience, and would love the opportunity such a chance would present. In France, I had a lovely time staying with a Baroness who had turned her home into the most wonderful bed and breakfast. I am curious if such places exist in India.

 

[Chanterelle]

That sounds like a great idea, but I am not sure such an opportunity exists. There may be hotels which are owned or operated by Maharajas, but I don't know how much contact you would have with them. I'd love to be wrong on this though so maybe someone else will chip in with some leads for you.

 

[M.Nayak]

In India,Rajasthan is the land of the Maharaja's.There are many palaces of the Maharaja's are converted to the different category of the hotels...To enjoy the best of it is in Jodhpur, you can have dinner with his highness,(have to ask for it well in advance).Or Jaisalmer also is a good & small place to relax and feel like Maharaja..In Udaipur also there are few hotels within the palace complex..You can PM me for any kind of information,may be I can find someone who could arrange it for you.

 

[briannagodess]

Hello there!

There are lots of palaces in India that were turned into heritage hotels. You'd have to pay quite a huge sum of money to stay in most of them though. Plus, the chances of actually talking to a Maharaja are quite low. But you might be able to spot a former Maharaja or a descendant of a Maharaja walking around in the palace premises, if you're lucky.

Some of the palaces are leased out to hotel groups, like the Taj Group or the Neemrana Group, but only a part of it. In some palaces, the royal family still lives in another part of the palace.

Anyway, here are some palaces/heritage hotels I know of that still has a descendant or descendants of the Maharajas living there:

• Raj Palace Hotel - It was Thakur Mohan Singh Ji who built the Raj Palace. It was the first palace in Jaipur, built in the year of 1727. It was first opened as a heritage hotel in August 1997. It has undergone quite many restorations before though to make it more modern in a sense. But they have also managed to retain much of its classical appeal. Now, the 16th generation descendant and current owner of the palace hotel is Princess Jayendra Kumari. She still lives there and if you're lucky, you might see her.

• Umaid Bhawan Palace - This is one of the world's largest residences and can be found in Udaipur. Maharaja Gaj Singh, a descendant of Maharaja Umaid Singh, still resides in a part of the palace. However, due to tragic events in the family, he had decided to lease a part of it to the Taj Group of Hotels. It has three parts: the Royal Family Residence, the Taj Palace Hotel and a Museum.

• Ahilya Fort or Ahilya Wada - This can be found in Madhya Pradesh. The fort itself is about 250 years old already. It was Maharani Ahilya Bai Holkar who built the fort and the Ahilya Wada. Now, it's managed by Prince Richard Holkar, the last Maharaja of Indore. He lives there with his wife and has turned the fort into a guest residence.

• Jhalamand Ghar - This can be found in Jodhpur. It was built by the Sisodia Clan of Mewar region, who are descendants of Maharana Pratap. Now, this is a heritage hotel managed by the Jhalamand Royal Family.

• Laxmi Vilas Palace - This is a palace complex in Vadodara in Gujarat. This is regarded as the largest private residence in the world and about four times the size of Buckingham Palace. It was Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad II who built this palace. Now though, the Royal Family of Baroda still resides here but some parts of the palace are open for visitors. Staying here for the night though isn't permitted.

There you go. I hope this helps.