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The Oberoi, Mumbai. Photograph: Kind Courtesy, Oberoi Hotels & Resorts
Travel+Leisure magazine has come up with the best 500 hotels in the world. The list features 12 hotels from India. Majority of them are based in Rajasthan or Delhi NCR.
Let’s take a look at them.
Photograph: Kind Courtesy, Oberoi Hotels & Resorts
The Oberoi Udaivilas
Rank: 12
Location: Udaipur, Rajasthan
The hotel is conceptualised as a traditional Indian palace. It is designed to showcase the rich tradition and heritage of Mewar region. Guests are greeting with ‘rambling courtyard, gentle rippling fountains, reflection pools and vergant gardens’, states the website.
Photograph: Kind Courtesy, Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces
Taj Lake Palace
Rank: 11
Location: Udaipur, Rajasthan
Maharana Jagat Singh II built this ‘pleasure palace’ after his father discovered the moonlight picnics he had with the ladies of the Zenana on the lake island palace of Jag Mandir.
Every ‘romantic’ room of this palace has a story of its own. The hotel has 66 rooms and 17 suites that offer stunning views and intricate décor to envelop guests in royal mystique, states the hotel’s website.
Photograph: Kind Courtesy, Oberoi Hotels & Resorts
The Oberoi
Rank: 10
Location: New Delhi
This hotel captures the spirit of new Delhi. It harmoniously blends tradition and contemporary sophistication.
Recognised as a pioneer and an icon amongst luxury hotels in India, The Oberoi, New Delhi was the first hotel to offer a 24 hour personal Butler service, claims the company website.
Photograph: Kind Courtesy, The Imperial India
The Imperial
Rank: 9
Location: New Delhi
Located on Janpath, the hotel was built in 1931 by Sir Edwin Lutyen’s associates named Blomfield. It is one of the landmark properties of the capital.
Photograph: Kind Courtesy, Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces
Taj Mahal Hotel
Rank: 8
Location: New Delhi
Central to The Taj Mahal Hotel's prominence is its old-world grace and charm, blended effortlessly with contemporary comforts and amenities, claims the luxury hotel chain.
Made with pink Dholpur sandstone, the hotel represents fine Mughal architecture. The property has 300 luxury rooms.
Photograph: Kind Courtesy, Oberoi Hotels & Resorts
The Oberoi
Rank: 7
Location: Gurgaon, Delhi NCR
The developer, Orbit Resorts, spent about Rs 4 billion to construct the hotel, according to Business Standard. Opened in 2011, the hotel managed to won many accolades including the ‘World's Leading Luxury Hotel for 2011’ at the annual 'World Travel Awards'.
Photograph: Kind Courtesy, Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces
Taj Mahal Palace
Rank: 6
Location: Mumbai, Maharashtra
The hotel is as iconic to Mumbai as Gateway of India and Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (Erstwhile Victoria Terminus).
Overlooking the Gateway of India with a panoramic view of the bay, it has 560 rooms including 44 suites.
Kind Courtesy, Oberoi Hotels & Resorts
Oberoi
Rank: 5
Location: Mumbai
The hotel is located in the city’s prime business district Nariman Point. This makes the hotel an ideal location for business meetings and conferences.
Photograph: Kind Courtesy, Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces
Umaid Bhawan Palace
Rank: 4
Location: Jodhpur, Rajasthan
This property is one of the world’s largest private residences and only a part of it is managed by Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces. It’s set amid 26-acre garden.
The Palace was built, between 1928 and 1943, for H.H. Maharaja Umaid Singh, who had commissioned a new palace in 1923 to replace Mehrangarh Fort as the symbol of a new Jodhpur and to give employment to the people of Marwar during the period's great droughts and famines, states the company’s website.
Photograph: Kind Courtesy, Oberoi Hotels & Resorts
The Oberoi Rajvilas
Rank: 3
Location: Jaipur, Rajasthan
The hotel is built in a traditional Rajasthani fort style and is situated on 32 acres of ‘lush gardens, flowering trees and cascading fountains’.
There’s a 280-year-old Shiva temple in the hotel premises and a Rajasthani haveli (mansion), too.
The hotel offers 54 premier rooms, 13 luxury tents, one royal tent, two luxury villas with private pools and the Kohinoor Villa with a private pool.
Photograph: Kind Courtesy, Taj Hotels Resorts and Places
Rambagh Palace
Rank: 2
Location: Jaipur, Rajasthan
The former residence of Maharaja of Jaipur, it’s now run by Taj Hotels Resorts and Places. This is a preferred accommodation for celebrities and sports stars around the globe.
RambaghPalace offers 79 rooms and suites, which were the chambers of the former Maharaja.
Photograph: Kind Courtesy, Oberoi Hotels & Resorts
The Oberoi Amarvilas
Rank: 1
Location: Agra, Uttar Pradesh
The Oberoi Amarvilas offers the best view of the Taj Mahal in Agra. The hotel is located 600 meters from the Taj Mahal and all rooms, suites, lobby, bar and lounge offer breathtaking views of the monument.
Built in a style inspired by Moorish and Mughal architecture, the resort is a splendid display of terraced lawns, fountains, reflection pools and pavilions with rich interiors that take you back to an era of Emperors and Princes, states the company’s website.