RAAS Devigarh

Great place to chill out. The Raas Devigarh offers luxury at its best. The staff is excellent and non-intrusive. The swimming pool, a small gym and a spa complement the living experience very well. While it doesn't offer a very wide menu at its restaurant yet the preparations are excellent. Overall a wonderful experience.

We decided to cancel our reservation in another hotel in Udaipur and stay at the RAAS in Devigarh instead. Best decision of the holiday. This is an incredible hotel. Ascetically it is stunning, set in a converted palace with beautiful views over a small town and rolling hills. The interiors are modern and stylish. The food is sublime and the service is impossible to fault. The staff are incredibly friendly and helpful. I would highly recommend this hotel to anyone travelling around Rajathan, it is a very welcome break from the madness of it all.

A unique hotel in a stunning setting, Raas Devigarh is a compelling place to stay whilst touring Rajasthan. The old palace is full of history and has been beautifully restored, and is complimented by the newly built gardens, pool and spa. The staff are charming and can't do enough to look after you, from taking you on a tour of the palace and explaining the history, to the shower of rose petals as you arrive. They bring you towels as you get out of the pool, make rangolis in your room, and generally can't do enough to anticipate your needs. The food is good - although we were initially disappointed to find the restaurant had closed (end of season, but we would have liked to know before we arrived) so there was just one "all day menu" to choose from, and dinner was served in the bar - but it turned out to be no big deal as the bar area is beautiful, overlooking the gardens, pool and village, and Chef is prepared to cook anything you want. The food is excellent and we had one of our best meals during our holiday at Devigarh. Breakfast is also worth a mention as it is waiter service, not the tired old breakfast buffet. The spa is nice, with excellent Bhutani therapists and it has an all-inclusive price tariff. The rooms are spectacular - the garden rooms are in the modern courtyard below the pool, and are spacious and beautifully appointed with a backlit marble headboard behind the bed - but the best rooms are in the old palace. We were given the choice of 2 suites which was a nice touch - suite 28 which is modern and has a stunning balcony overlooking the hillside, and suite 37 which is in the centre of the front facade of the palace and inside the "men's" royal courtyard. This is the one we chose: it has 4 balconies, bedroom, lounging area, dressing room and huge ensuite bath and shower room, with spectacular sunset views from the main balcony where we sat sipping gin and tonic watching the light soften and fade. The hotel is generally very well run although there is one niggle - having bottles of toiletries in the bathroom refilled when the labels are dog-earned and tatty from multiple use (and a card asking guests not to remove them - unlikely I think!) was a miss from Raas - either supply smaller bottles or if you want to go the refill route then please have dispensers that stay clean and fresh for every guest. Otherwise attention to detail is excellent, with fresh flowers everywhere, beautiful lighting at night and first class service. We highly recommend the guided Delwara walk with one of the local guides - you learn a lot about the village and get to visit the Sadhna, a handmade textile cooperative selling stunning silk scarves for under INR20,000. (Check out "From Stepwells to Self-Help: Delwara, the Other Face of Rajasthan" in National Geographic").

This was our next to last stay in India, and it was by chance that we came upon the Devigarh as we could not get two nights at the Taj Lake Palace. We certainly did not regret this night as it set the stage for a superbly luxurious stay in Udaipur, first at the Devigarh and then at the Taj Lake Palace. It's actually hard to find the words to honestly describe the splendor, the service, the food and the surroundings. It was an enchanting evening, night and morning and we left almost regretting we did not stay one more night., but we were curious about the next hotel. All marble, beautiful inner court room with own covered patio to enjoy the sunset, marble tub and shower, did I say marble? Absolutely gorgeous all round.

Raas Devigarh is less a hotel and more like a small town in the South of France. What I mean is that you can wonder its many "streets" up and down hill and find so many surprises and places to hide. The place is so big and the suites so few by comparison that it never feels crowded. Be sure that you are not allocated one of the internal suites. There are a couple of suites inside the walls that do not have an external view and only really overlook the walkways. Apart from the view being relatively disappointing it's also a bit like being in a gold fish bowl as others walk by and check out your bedroom. I was initially put in one but was moved after I complained of my disappointment. All in all though I would direct any of my friends there who wish to visit Udaipur.