A new palace on old hunting grounds
Where peacocks now walk the lawns, the Maharanas of Mewar once rode out to hunt. The land on Pichola's western shore stayed wild long after the city across the water filled up.
The far side of the lake: for most of Udaipur's history the western shore was scrub, hills and royal hunting grounds rather than houses. The city grew on the eastern bank, around the City Palace and the ghats.
2002: The Oberoi Udaivilas opened on land that had been part of the Maharanas' hunting preserves.
At a glance
- Opened
- 2002
- Built by
- The Oberoi group, as a new resort
- Setting
- Western shore of Lake Pichola
- The land
- Once royal hunting grounds
- Wildlife
- Spotted deer and wild boar
- Good for
- Honeymoons, families, rest
- Still partly wild: the hotel describes a sanctuary within its land where spotted deer and wild boar live. Early-morning walkers sometimes meet them.
- A family of resorts: built by the Oberoi group around the turn of the century in northern India's most famous places.
- Its siblings: The Oberoi Rajvilas in Jaipur, built like a Rajput fort with gardens, The Oberoi Amarvilas facing the Taj Mahal, and The Oberoi Vanyavilas at the edge of Ranthambore's tiger forest.
- The language of its place: in Udaipur, that is the lake palace: domes, courtyards, water and long views.
- Not a royal residence: a new building made by people who studied the old ones closely, and nobody pretends otherwise.
- Why that suits many: the beauty of a Mewar palace, with comfort, space and consistency a two-hundred-year-old building can rarely offer. Our piece on heritage hotels explained sets out the difference.
The view back across the lake
From the western shore you see Udaipur the way the old court painters saw it: the long white palace on its ridge, the island palaces in the water and the hills folding away behind.
Straight ahead: the City Palace, its facade of balconies and towers running along the ridge for more than two hundred metres.
In the water: the Taj Lake Palace on its island, and Jag Mandir to the south.
At dusk: the City Palace turns from cream to gold, and after dark it is lit along its whole length.
Facts to know
- Faces
- East, to the City Palace
- In the lake
- Taj Lake Palace and Jag Mandir
- Behind
- The Aravallis and Sajjangarh, 1884
- Neighbours
- The Leela Palace and the Trident
- The image people take home: many guests tell us it is this view, from a terrace with a drink in hand.
- Behind the hotel: the Aravalli hills, and on one western summit the Monsoon Palace, Sajjangarh, which Maharana Sajjan Singh commissioned in 1884.
- In the monsoon: the hills that shelter the shore turn a deep, startling green.
- The neighbours: The Leela Palace Udaipur and the Trident, which belongs to the same group as Udaivilas and is simpler and gentler on the budget.
- The practical consequence: you are across the lake from the old city, so no strolling out of the gate into a bazaar. The City Palace is a short drive around the lake or a boat across it.
- Arm's length: most guests are delighted to have the city close enough to visit and far enough to forget.
Domes, courtyards and running water
Walk through Udaivilas slowly and you start to notice that almost every path leads you towards water, a fountain, a channel or the lake itself. That is not an accident.
Borrowed from Mewar: low buildings spread out in wings, joined by arcades of cusped arches and linked by courtyards, so the place feels quiet even when full.
The outline: domes and the small domed chhatris of Rajput architecture give the hotel its silhouette from the lake.
The central courtyard: colonnades surround a still pool.
- The gardens: long water channels run between lawns in the manner of the Mughal formal garden, a style the Mewar court adopted in the seventeenth century.
- The details: gilded or painted domes, patterned ceilings, and stone carved into brackets, screens and balustrades.
- Rajasthani hands: craftsmen from Rajasthan worked on much of the decoration, so it feels like an old palace looked after perfectly rather than a theme.
- Learn the words: our architecture guide explains arches, jalis and jharokhas. You will then see the same motifs on the real palaces across the lake.
- Generous scale: you walk some distance between room, restaurants and spa, along shaded arcades and garden paths. Most guests come to love these walks, especially in the dewy early morning.
- Limited mobility: tell us before you arrive, and we will ask for a room close to the main buildings.
Rooms that open onto water
Udaipur hotels are judged by one question: what do you see when you open the curtains? At Udaivilas the answer is nearly always water or garden.
Where the rooms are: across the low wings, many looking over the lake, others over gardens and courtyards.
Pools on the waterfront: some rooms have semi-private pools running along the shore, so you step from your terrace into the water and look across to the City Palace.
- The honeymoon rooms: these are the ones honeymooners ask about first, and they are as lovely as their reputation.
- The feel: generous and modern, with the decoration of a palace and the comfort of a fine contemporary hotel.
- No lists of room types: they change, and the right room depends on you.
- What we ask you: is the lake view to the City Palace essential, or would you prefer a quiet garden? Do you want to swim from your terrace? Do children need a connecting room or space to play?
- What we do next: ask the hotel for the best match on your dates and tell you honestly what we have been offered.
Local tip
If the view across Pichola matters to you, say so clearly and early. In the peak winter months lake-facing rooms go first, and we would rather secure one months ahead than apologise later.
The shape of a day at Udaivilas
The best days in Udaipur have a rhythm: out early, home for the heat, out again for the light. Udaivilas is built for exactly that.
Dawn in the gardens
- The walk: the lawns and lake edge as the light comes up over the City Palace, with peacocks calling from the roofs and the far shore pink and grey.
- For birders: bring binoculars. The lake edge draws herons, egrets, cormorants and kingfishers. Our birding page covers the best places across Rajasthan.
A morning in the city
- Opening time: cross the lake to reach the City Palace as it opens, then walk to Jagdish Temple and through the old lanes before the heat builds.
- Your guide: meets you at the palace gate and brings you back for lunch.
The long afternoon
- The plan: lunch by the water, a swim, a spa treatment and a sleep.
- Why: this is when Udaipur itself slows down, and the hotel is at its most peaceful.
Sunset and the evening
- Sunset: a private boat on Pichola, or a terrace to watch the City Palace light up.
- Dinner: in the hotel, or at a table we have booked elsewhere, perhaps on Jag Mandir or a rooftop above the ghats.
Eating at Udaivilas
In the old Mewar kitchens, a royal dinner meant game from the hunt and dishes slow-cooked for hours. The hunting has long gone. The slow cooking has not.
Suryamahal: the restaurant that serves through the day.
Udaimahal: the Indian restaurant, for lunch and dinner. Menus change, so we point you to the dishes of the region.
Laal maas: the fiery red mutton curry of the Rajputs.
- Safed maas: its gentle white cousin, made with cream and nuts.
- Ker sangri: the dried desert berries and beans every Rajasthani grandmother cooks a little differently.
- Something sweet: malpua, or in the monsoon season of Teej, ghevar, the honeycomb sweet that appears only in the rains.
- Vegetarian and Jain: guests eat superbly here, as everywhere in Mewar, and the kitchens cook without onion and garlic. Tell us in advance and we brief the hotel before you land.
- Learn the dishes: we arrange a cooking class in a haveli in the old city, with a family who cook these recipes every day.
- Eat out one night: on a boat in the middle of the lake, on Jag Mandir, or on rooftops above the ghats facing the lit palace.
- Read more: our food of Udaipur guide runs from the maize breads of the hill villages to the royal kitchens.
The spa, and the art of rest
Some guests come to Udaipur for the palaces. A surprising number come back for the spa at Udaivilas.
Its reputation: The Oberoi Spa at Udaivilas is one of the best regarded in India.
The menu: Ayurveda, India's traditional system of health, with warm oils and long, rhythmic massage, alongside aromatherapy and familiar international treatments.
Facts to know
- The spa
- The Oberoi Spa, highly regarded
- Draws on
- Ayurveda, aromatherapy, international
- Couples
- Can be treated together
- Best hour
- The hottest part of the afternoon
- When to book: the hottest part of the afternoon, when the city is least comfortable and the gardens are silent.
- Not a cure: Ayurvedic massage is not a medical treatment, and a short stay is not a cure. Think of it as a deeply restful tradition rather than a prescription.
- A longer programme: with yoga, simple food and daily treatments. Tell us, and we build your days around it.
- Read more: our spas and Ayurveda page explains the treatments, and our wellness journey and yoga and Ayurveda journey build whole trips around rest.
- Early hours: the long garden paths make a fine morning walk, and the pools are quietest in the first hours of the day.
- The simplest wellness: an hour by the water with nothing to do.
Udaipur from the western shore
From Udaivilas the city is a short crossing away. These are the outings we plan most often for its guests.
For more ideas, see our guide to things to do in Udaipur and our Udaipur itinerary.
The City Palace and the old city
- What it is: Rajasthan's largest palace complex, built by generation after generation of Maharanas.
- How: go at opening time, then walk down to Jagdish Temple and the painters' lanes.
Saheliyon ki Bari and Fateh Sagar
- The garden: the eighteenth-century garden of the court's women, with lotus pools and fountains.
- The lake beside it: Fateh Sagar, where Udaipur's own families walk in the evening.
The Monsoon Palace
- Close by: Sajjangarh stands on a forested hill above the city, near the western shore.
- Timing: go up an hour before sunset for the widest view of the lakes.
Eklingji, Nagda and Nathdwara
- North of the city: the temple of Mewar's ruling deity at Kailashpuri, the carved Sas-Bahu temples at Nagda and the pilgrim town of Shrinathji.
- Allow: a long, rewarding morning.
Further afield
- Kumbhalgarh: its great wall is about two and a half hours north.
- Chittorgarh: about two hours east. Both work as long day trips, though we prefer them as overnights.
Proposals, anniversaries and quiet celebrations
Udaipur is a city where people come to mark something. Udaivilas sees more quiet celebrations than almost any hotel we know.
Proposals: our planners are asked for them here more often than anywhere else in Rajasthan, and the setting does most of the work.
The moments: a ring offered on a terrace as the City Palace lights up, or on a boat in the middle of Pichola at dusk.
- What we add: the timing, the boatman who knows when to stop rowing, the photographer who stays out of sight and the table booked for afterwards.
- More ideas: our journal on proposal ideas in Udaipur has our favourite moments.
- Anniversaries and vow renewals: a simple ceremony with a priest, marigolds and music, or something far grander.
- Larger celebrations: need long planning, because Udaipur's best venues are booked a year or more ahead in winter.
- Weddings: our destination weddings team can tell you what is possible on your dates, and what is not.
Who will love Udaivilas, and who may not
We recommend Udaivilas more often than any other hotel in the city. We also know exactly when not to.
Retreat between outings: you will love it if you want to withdraw completely between sights, or if service matters as much as history.
Honeymooners: they love the rooms by the water.
Good for
- Best for
- Honeymoons and special occasions
- Also good for
- Families who want space
- Think twice
- If you want to sleep inside history
- Our usual plan
- Split with the island or the hills
- Families: the gardens and space, and older children enjoy the peacocks, boats and pools. See travelling with children and our family journey.
- If you want to live inside history: Udaivilas is beautiful, but new. To sleep where a Maharana slept, choose the Taj Lake Palace or Shiv Niwas Palace inside the City Palace.
- If you explore on foot: the old city is across the lake, so you cannot simply step out and wander.
- Split your stay: two nights here for space and service, then a night or two on the island or in the hills at RAAS Devigarh. The change of scene makes each part feel new.
How Udaivilas fits our journeys
Udaipur is often the gentle last chapter of a Rajasthan journey. A few nights here after the desert feel like a long exhale.
Romance and honeymoons: on our Udaipur romance journey and honeymoon journeys, it is one of the hotels we suggest most often.
- A restful end: on the Golden Triangle and Udaipur or Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur, with a short flight back to Delhi or Mumbai.
- The Oberoi circuit: it pairs naturally with Rajvilas in Jaipur, Amarvilas in Agra and Vanyavilas in Ranthambore, for a consistent standard of service throughout.
- Mixing styles: our palace hotels page explains how we mix modern palace resorts with true heritage hotels on the same trip.
Getting to The Oberoi Udaivilas
Udaipur is one of the easiest cities in Rajasthan to reach, and the drive from the airport is part of the arrival.
By air: Maharana Pratap Airport at Dabok, about 22 kilometres east, has direct flights to Delhi, Mumbai and other cities. The drive round to the western shore usually takes under an hour.
Getting there
- Nearest airport
- Maharana Pratap Airport, Dabok
- Airport distance
- About 22 km east of the city
- From the airport
- Usually under an hour
- From Jaipur
- About six hours by road
- From Ahmedabad
- Four to five hours
- By road: Jaipur about six hours, Jodhpur about five via the Ranakpur temple, and Ahmedabad four to five. Our road distances guide gives the main routes.
- To the old city: a car around the lake or a boat across it, depending on the hour and the water level.
- Day trips north: the western shore is a convenient start for Eklingji, Nathdwara and Kumbhalgarh, with quick access to the roads out of the city.
What we tell friends before Udaivilas
A few small requests make a great stay even better.
Ask for the view: across the lake to the City Palace, if that is the picture in your mind. Lake-facing rooms go first in winter.
Book months ahead: for October to March, and earlier for Christmas, New Year and festival dates.
- Ask about weddings: Udaipur is a wedding city, and we always check for guests who want calm.
- Book the spa early: when you book the room, especially in peak season.
- Consider the monsoon: from July to September the hills are green, the rates are kinder and the hotel is at its quietest.
Local tip
Walk the gardens at dawn. It is the quietest hour, and the best time to see the peacocks, the birds of the lake edge and perhaps a spotted deer.