It’s no surprise that India’s land of kings is replete with historic and still-active royal residences, many of which open their doors to tourists looking for the ultimate luxury accommodations. The royal family in Jodhpur still lives in the Umaid Bhawan Palace, the city’s most opulent hotel with an enormous lawn and an imposing exterior perched on a hillside overlooking the city. In Jaipur, the Rambagh Palace was once a hunting lodge and later the residence of the Maharaja offering a more subtle, equally elegant stay with a world-class spa. The Taj Lake Palace, made famous after appearing in a James Bond movie, appears to float above Lake Pichola in Udaipur, originally built as a pleasure palace by Maharana Jagat Singh II in 1746.
