The Leela Palace Udaipur

The boat from The Leela Palace Udaipur leaves from the hotel's own jetty and crosses Lake Pichola in a few minutes, with the Lake Palace to one side and the City Palace rising ahead. The hotel stands on the lake's eastern shore, outside the old walled city, and the crossing is the way most guests arrive at the monuments. In the evening the same water carries the reflection of both palaces to the hotel's terraces.

History

The Leela group, founded by Captain C. P. Krishnan Nair in Mumbai, opened its Udaipur palace in 2009, its first in Rajasthan. The group had built its name on large city hotels in Mumbai, Bangalore and Goa; Udaipur was a smaller house, 80 keys, conceived as a palace rather than a resort. It arrived seven years after The Oberoi Udaivilas across the lake and set out to compete with it on service and on the view. The Leela brand passed to Brookfield Asset Management in 2019, and the hotel has been refurbished since.

Architecture and design

The building is new but built in the manner of a Rajput palace: a cream and sandstone facade with jharokha balconies, chhatris on the roofline, a domed entrance and a central courtyard with a pool. Inside, the lobby is finished in marble with painted ceilings, and the corridors carry frescoes in the Mewar style. Most of the public rooms face the water; the garden runs down to the shore, and the swimming pool sits at the edge of the lake with the Lake Palace in view.

Rooms and suites

There are 80 rooms and suites. The Grand Heritage Lake View Rooms are the ones to book, with a window seat or balcony on the lake; the Royal Suites have a separate sitting room and lake-facing terrace. The Maharaja and Maharani Suites are the largest, with private terraces and their own plunge pools, and the Maharana Suite, named for the rulers of Mewar, has a private pool and dining room. Finishes are marble floors, silk and hand-painted panels, with bathrooms of white marble and a separate tub.

Dining

Sheesh Mahal is the outdoor restaurant at the water's edge, open in the cooler months, where north Indian dishes are served by lantern light with the Lake Palace in front; it is one of the best-known dinner tables in Udaipur. The Dining Room is the all-day restaurant with Indian and Western menus, and The Library Bar serves cocktails and single malts. Private dinners are laid on the jetty, the lawn and the suite terraces.

Wellness

The spa was opened with ESPA and has treatment rooms, a hammam and a yoga area, with Ayurvedic and European treatments. The lakeside pool is heated in winter and there is a fitness centre. The hotel arranges boat trips on the lake and visits to the City Palace and Jag Mandir.

Weddings and events

The Leela Palace Udaipur is a wedding hotel first and a business hotel second. Ceremonies take place on the lakeside lawn with the Lake Palace as backdrop, in the courtyard and on the jetty, and the hotel hosts the pre-wedding sangeet and mehndi in its gardens. Full buyouts are common for Indian weddings and for the international couples who come to Udaipur for the lake. For meetings there is a boardroom and a function room for small conferences.

Location

The hotel is on Lake Pichola Road, on the east shore of the lake and about ten minutes by car from the City Palace gate; the hotel boat crosses in less time. The old city, with its ghats, bazaars and Jagdish Temple, is within walking distance of the far jetty. Maharana Pratap Airport is about 22 kilometres east of Udaipur, roughly 40 minutes by road, and Udaipur City railway station is 15 minutes away. Among the luxury hotels of Udaipur it is the one closest to the old town while still on the water.