Shahpura Bagh is not a palace hotel in the Rajasthan sense. It is a working family estate of forty-five acres between two lakes, with nine suites in late-nineteenth-century buildings of chandeliers, gothic windows and arcaded verandahs, and the family who have held the place for eighteen generations still living in it.
The estate was founded in the 1630s by a younger brother of the Maharana of Udaipur and served as a summer retreat for Rajas and visiting Viceroys. It opened to guests in 2006, and the scale has not changed since: nine suites, no lobby, no queue at breakfast.
Why We Place Guests Here
- Nine suites means the estate belongs to whoever is staying in it — our guests routinely have the lakes, the terraces and the family's attention to themselves.
- Dhikola Fort, four and a half centuries old and still the family's own, stands on the estate and can be visited and dined at.
- It sits squarely on the Jaipur–Udaipur road, which turns the dullest transfer day in Rajasthan into the one guests ask to extend.
The Table
- Poolside and open-air dining through the winter
- Indoor dining in the warmer months
- Breakfast on the lawns above the water
The Elevated India Signature
Sundowners taken out to Dhikola Fort, the family's own, with the lakes going copper below.
Questions, Answered
Is Shahpura Bagh worth stopping at between Jaipur and Udaipur?
It is the reason we route guests this way. The estate lies on the Jaipur–Udaipur road with Bhilwara railhead about 50 km off, and two nights there turns a transfer into a rest.
How many rooms does Shahpura Bagh have?
Nine suites in total — two Luxury Villa Suites, four Royal Suites and three Suites. The owning family is resident, which is the point of the place.
Journeys That Take You There
Photography: Photograph courtesy Shahpura Bagh