Hotel Taj Lake Palace Udaipur
Reviews and Rates
TripAdvisor Traveler Rating
Post Box No. 5, Lake Pichola Udaipur, Rajasthan, India, 313 001, 91-294-252-8800
Check Rates and Availability
mm/dd/yyyy
mm/dd/yyyy
Traveler Photos of Hotel Taj Lake Palace Udaipur
Travel Blogs by Travelers Who Stayed at the Hotel Taj Lake Palace Udaipur
Namaste, Shaken but not stirred we arrived in Udaipur to be met by Billu, a particularly friendly auto rickshaw driver, who has been with us ever since. We settled in at our guest house, The Panorama, which lives up to its name with spectacular bedroom views of Lake Pichola and Udaipur Old City clinging to its banks. We spent the remainder of our morning grabbing breakfast and walking around the aforementioned Old Town, haggling and bartering our way to a couple of successful purchases. Clair...
Udaipur, Rajasthan, India alfieandclaire
The 14 hour sleeper bus ride to Udaipur from Jaisalmer was pretty crazy. On the bus I had a grimy sleeping compartment with a sliding door and a single size mattress. Below my upper compartment were normal bus seats. The bus probably had 10 sleeping compartments. All the buses in India seem to have the same extremely loud, multi-tonal horn (kinda like the General Lee). The drivers blow the horn constantly to get cars, carts, people, and cows out of the way. As we careened down the dark, bumpy...
Udaipur, India bcc8
Namaste my family, friends and beautiful boy big hugs and kisses love to you all. Have visted Jodpur ( the blue city)named because of the whitewash used on the houses, it has a chemical reaction once applied then turns blue, it also acts as a preserver and protects against termites!from the fort( towering the city)the city is a mass of blue. From here visted Ranakpur (set in the deep forest/jungle in a huge valley) went on another camel in monsoon weather to the largest Jain temple in India, ...
Udaipur, India beckyglew
Decided to cash in a bunch of my hotel points from staying at Taj properties for a one night trip up to Udaipur with a friend in from the U.S. On Friday morning I got up at 4AM to catch my 6:30AM flight from Hyderabad to Delhi where I met up with Tanya (Dallas friend) and her family at their home in the Defence Colony. Tanya and I were leaving Delhi Saturday morning on a 5:30AM flight to Udaipur so the decision was made to stay up all night and not sleep...why do I do this to myself. Anyway.....
Udaipur, Rajasthan, India bwulz
We've had 3 great days in Udaipur, exploring the narrow winding streets, eating on rooftop restaurants with amazing views of the lake and palace, and doing lots of sightseeing! Udaipur is known as Rajasthan's most romantic city - not, I'm sure, due to the open sewers, mangy roaming cows, abundance of poo everywhere you try to walk and the odd incessant beggar - but because of the beautiful, palatial architecture and setting on Lake Pichola with the 'floating' Lake Palace Hotel in it's centre....
Udaipur, India lizandsteve
Well, we were all packed and ready to get on the overnight bus to Udaipur. That was before I got some funny rumblings in my tummy whilst waiting for it to arrive. As it turned out, we made it as far as Ajmer (about 30 min into the journey) when I suddenly felt the need to stop the bus and head for the bushes. Unfortunately there weren't any bushes, and I made it as far as someone's drive. Whovever lives there, I'm really sorry! When I later told Sarah of my embarrassment at the whole incident...
Udaipur, India marcusontheroad
we are here.... udaipur: a bit of an R & R session, Elie and Giles from home keeping us company. Staying in an old guesthouse right on the lake (our room has a porthole out onto the water). Did two things we haven't done much of during the trip.... shopping and drinking (well we haven't been drinking much in india..). Great shops with some really nice stuff, Udaipur attracts a bit of the package tourist market. A fairytale town (octopussy was shot here), the sparkling lake palace hotel in...
Udaipur, India mhaebich
So I greet you now at the end of my journey through the Jewel in the Crown... The last few days have been a total blur so I'll do my best to recap. When I left you last I was killing time in Shimla before my overnight bus to Delhi. Let me just say that I do not endorse overnight buses anymore...or at least coming from a hill station in India. The bus was the "Volvo/luxury" bus but it didn't' really matter. The winding roads and nutty driving made it pretty impossible to sleep. The bus even ar...
Bombay, India mjs81
Udaipur is supposed to be the most romantic city in India. It has the famous Lake palace hotel which is a hotel in the middle of a big lake. Apparently it has hasn't rained in Udaipur for the last 8 years and quess what on our way there it absolutly peed down. There are 3 main lakes here that have been empty for 8 years apparently the day before we arrived people were using the empty lakes as a walk way and people were playing cricket in it. The locals we saying how lucky we were to see all t...
Udaipur, India noosh20
So we've checked into the Lake Palace in Udaipur, one of the most famous hotels in the world, in one of the most beautiful cities in Asia, a rural area but one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country. However, I'm moving back a day to write a little more about Aurangabad and the trip to Ajanta. If Bombay is a city at home with it's Eastern and Western sides, and Udaipur is an eastern city perfect for western sensibilities, Aurangabad is about as foreign to our western way of l...
Udaipur, India ranetteHistorical Traveler Reviews of Hotel Taj Lake Palace Udaipur
Appaling
For a hotel with a history as impressive at this (Jackie Onassis and the Queen both stayed here), this sorely disappoints.
Worst part is that the staff are incredibly pushy and try to sell you everything from boat tours to dinners.
Don't bother unless you're just going for a drink. Shame.
Highlight hotel of our holiday
I confess I was a little nervous having booked 2 nights at The Lake Palace as part of a 3 week tour in India and finding the reviews before we left Australia were variable but generally bad.
Our experience was the exact opposite....We arrived at dusk and the atmosphere was romantic and almost magical. The Lake was completely full due to rcent monsoonal rain (and we were told likely to stay that way for at least 3 years), so the views of the hotel are postcard perfect!
The garden is lush, beautifully tended and heavy with the scent of tropical flowers (and no mosquitos that we noticed). The service was faultless and the staff were friendly and helpful. The restaurant food was delicious and with plenty of choices. Basically I can't imagine how this property could be reviewed so badly so recently.
I too wondered if I should have booked Udaivillas before I left but was so glad I didn't. The Lake Palace was the highlight hotel of our trip and we stayed at a number of very nice 5-star hotels in the 3 week period!
Room for improvement...
Ferry rides to-and-fro were also timely and frequent - staff was generally nice. Only on the last day we got charged for Vodkas/Gin we never used from mini-bar - but I'd no time to argue over few hundred Rs!
Total disappointment... Go stay at Udaivillas instead!
I can't tell you how much I regretted staying here after we went over the Udaivillas for dinner one night. Udaivillas was simply gorgeous. I don't care if it's not a forner Maharaja palace! It was extremely nice. I can only imagine how nice the rooms are.
At least I can check off the Lake Palace off my list, but it was one of the biggest disappointments during our Rajasthan trip! (I'll be posting reviews for Taj Mahal Delhi, Rambagh Palace, Amarvillas, too...)
The glory days are over
Great disappointment
This is a touristy tacky place that is no fun to stay in. Huge tour parties of camera twiddling Japanese tourists throng the grounds and I am sure that many are only there for the day. The pool is of a very poor standard and the rooms are no more than ok.
I remember this hotel twenty years ago when it was much better and was indeed wonderfully set on a lake. The thrill of the boat journey over and of the quality that has now been eroded as the more tacky tourists of the world take the easy option and book into a hotel that has lost almost all its glamour.
Sorry but I feel as if I have been generous giving it a rating of 2.
Dont be tempted by its long lost reputation I bet few visitors will return.
Fantastic stay - pity about the lake
Its just a tiny bit kitsch - parts of Octopussy was shot there - but none the worse for that. We had dinner in the Neel Kamal restaurant adn it was teh best Indian food I've had for some time.
It was a bit cold but we were provided with a heater when we asked.
We also loved Udaipur generally and can't wait to go back, probably a bit later in teh year when its a bit warmer.
Still no water in the Lake!
The most...
This spectacular hotel is so unique that words dont describe it. There is a pool that over looks the city, rooms are small but perfectly formed. Service is impeccable. Everything is just right, they have thought of their guests every need. The only way that this hotel could be any better is if the view from the room was of the Lake Palace hotel itslef!
We were going to stay at the Udaivilas (oberoi) as this is our favourite chain of hotels. However this time we made the right choice by staying at the Lake Palace. The Udaivilas - a stunning and beautiful property - just feels unreal (fake) for some reason.
My advice, for what its worth, is: Stay at the Lake Palace, Its perfect.
Picture perfect with service to match!
When we first arrived on the shores of Lake Pichola we were mildly disappointed to see that the palace was not entirely surrounded by water - in fact, inadequate rains in the 'right' places over the past 6 years has left the west side of the Lake completely dry; however, we were informed by our guide that, as the president was due to visit The Lake Palace at the end of November 04, water was being redirected from two other nearby lakes to restore Pichola's levels to their normal height. So, if you really want to see the Lake Palace in all its glory, surrounded by water, it maybe worth checking with the hotel first to see if this is the case.
That said, any disappointment we initially felt was short-lived as the hotel itself was simply breathtaking! After taking the water taxi over the east side of the Lake, we were greeted by the warmest of welcomes. The lobby is extremely luxurious with stunning marble, enamelling and glasswork; a feature of which is mirrored throughout the hotel.
Our room was a deluxe/standard room but we were lucky enough to get one of the few with a large enclosed balcony on the east side, which has stunning views across Lake Pichola to The City Palace; this is beautifully lit up at night and picture perfect at sunrise! The room itself was beautifully furnished with tastefully inlaid wooden furniture, expensive fabrics, and the bed was undoubtedly the comfiest hotel bed that I've ever slept in. The bathroom was also suitably luxurious with a good shower.
The hotel's public spaces are quite stunning and it is a pleasure to just stroll around the hotel and enjoy your surroundings - a guide will take you round if you wish. The sense of opulence when dining amidst the famous lily pond is ever apparent and there is a good standard of cuisine at the Lake Palace's restaurants.
The service at the hotel is of the highest quality and the staff are very attentive and go out of their way to be courteous and helpful at all times; my only slight gripe on this account, was that it could take a while to get served drinks at the bar around dinner but I then you can't have everything.
I can recommend this hotel without reservation - if you don't manage to get a room, make sure that you visit and/or make a reservation for dinner.
Check Rates and Availability
mm/dd/yyyy
mm/dd/yyyy
Location of the Hotel
Africa | Asia | Australasia | Europe | Middle East | North America | South America | Central America | Caribbean
Copyright © 1997 - 2009 TravelPod.com, a proud founder of travel blogs on the web. All Rights Reserved.