The lake Udai Singh built first
Water first: when Udai Singh II looked for a new capital in the hills, safe from the plains where Chittor stood exposed, water was the first thing he needed.
The 1560s: he dammed a river valley east of the present city to create Udai Sagar, a broad lake that stored the monsoon rains for the dry months.
Pichola, the same years: the older lake to the west was enlarged, and the City Palace rose on its shore.
- Opened
- 2 August 2021
- Brand
- Raffles, its first hotel in India
- Setting
- A 21-acre island in Udai Sagar
- The lake
- Dammed by Udai Singh II, 1560s
- Built as
- A new hotel, not a palace
- Good for
- Privacy, rest, repeat visitors
- A working lake: Udai Sagar fed fields and villages, rather than becoming a lake of palaces and hotels.
- Why it feels different: no old city, no ghats crowded with temples and guest houses, no line of palaces facing each other across the water.
- What you see instead: open water, low Aravalli hills, fields and the occasional village temple. The Mewar countryside rather than the Mewar court.
- 2 August 2021: Raffles opened on an island here, the first hotel in India for a brand whose name began with the Raffles Hotel in Singapore in the 1880s.
- Built new: the island is about 21 acres, and the hotel was built for the purpose. It is not a converted palace.
- What no Pichola hotel can offer: water on every side, and almost nobody else in sight. Our guide to luxury hotels in Udaipur compares it with the hotels in the city.
An island of gardens
A garden estate: manicured lawns, clipped hedges and ornamental fountains run between the buildings, with long views to the lake at the end of every path.
A country house feel: more like the grounds of a great country house than a Rajasthani palace, which is exactly the point.
- The Raffles mix: the brand has always blended the local and the colonial, the tropical and the formal. Here it does so on a lake in Mewar.
- An older layer: a small temple within the grounds, much older than the hotel, a reminder that the island had its own life long before.
- Visiting the shrine: ask the staff about it, and treat it as a living shrine: shoes off, voice low, camera down unless invited.
- The real luxury: the water. Udai Sagar is broad and open, and a clear evening's sunset across it is one of the finest in the region.
- Birds: herons, egrets, cormorants and kingfishers along the shore, and in winter migrant ducks on the open water. Our birding page covers the best places across Rajasthan.
Palladian columns and Rajput domes
Two traditions: classical Palladian style, with columns, porticoes and strict symmetry, blended with Rajput and Mughal forms: domed pavilions, cusped arches and carved stone.
A historical echo: it recalls the grand buildings Rajput princes put up in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when European classicism was the fashion.
- The same instinct elsewhere: the Durbar Hall in Fateh Prakash Palace and the great palaces of Jodhpur and Bikaner.
- Inside: calm and elegant, with pale colours and a sense of order. Public rooms are grand without being heavy.
- The views: rooms look out over the gardens or the lake.
- The Writers Bar: like every great Raffles hotel, it has one, a tradition that began in Singapore, where writers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries were said to gather.
- Restrained or right: if you love the riot of colour in Rajasthan's old palaces, you may find it restrained. After a week of forts and bazaars, its calm and order may be exactly right.
- Read more: our architecture guide explains how Rajput builders absorbed ideas from Persia, the Mughal court and Europe.
What staying on the island is like
Raffles is a hotel to stay in rather than a base to rush out from. Days take on a slow rhythm: breakfast by the water, a walk in the gardens, a swim, lunch, a long rest, and then the lake at sunset.
Service: the Raffles tradition of attentive, personal care.
- Never crowded: the island's size means it rarely feels busy.
- No room types or numbers: they change, and the right room depends on you.
- Tell us what matters: a lake view, a terrace, space for a family or a quiet corner of the island. We ask for the best match on your dates.
- Water-facing rooms: as everywhere in Udaipur, they are the first to go in winter.
- The trade-off is distance: Udai Sagar is east of the city, so the City Palace and old lanes take noticeably longer to reach than from the Pichola hotels.
- How we plan: the drive is easy and your chauffeur waits throughout, but it is no place to pop back to between sights. We plan one or two full days in the city instead.
Two days on the island, the way we plan them
Day one, the city
Early: leave the island after breakfast and reach the City Palace as it opens.
The palace: climb to the Badi Mahal while the light is soft on Pichola, then come down through the Mor Chowk and walk to Jagdish Temple.
- The hot hours: lunch in the old city, then a miniature painter's studio or a cool haveli.
- The last hour of light: a private boat on Pichola past Jag Mandir and the Lake Palace.
- Dinner: on a rooftop facing the lit palace, before the drive home under the stars.
Day two, the island
Sleep late: then walk the gardens while the dew is still on the lawns.
- The day: swim, read and take a long lunch by the water, with a treatment booked for mid-afternoon.
- Sunset: sit by the lake and watch the light change over Udai Sagar and the hills beyond. There is nothing else to do, and that is the point.
With a third day
- East to Chittorgarh: Chittorgarh for its great fort and the stories of Rana Kumbha, Padmini and Meera Bai, back in time for sunset.
- North to the temples: Eklingji, Nagda and Nathdwara for a morning among Mewar's temples.
Eating on the island
Where to eat: several places to eat and drink, including Rajasthani dining and the Writers Bar.
Menus change: with chefs and seasons, so we point you to the dishes of the region.
Dal baati churma: baked wheat balls with lentils and sweet crumbled bread, loved by every Rajasthani family.
- Laal maas: the fiery red mutton curry of the Rajputs.
- Ker sangri: the dried berries and beans of the desert.
- In winter: maize breads with white butter and jaggery, the food of the Mewar hill villages.
- Vegetarian and Jain: vegetarians eat superbly in Mewar, and the kitchens cook without onion and garlic. Tell us in advance and we brief the hotel.
- One evening in town: a boat on Pichola at sunset, then dinner on Jag Mandir or a rooftop above the ghats.
- Read more: our food of Udaipur guide has the story of the region's cooking.
Spa, pools and the art of rest
The spa: treatments drawing on Indian traditions of massage and oils alongside international therapies.
Between treatments: the island's gardens and pools make the hours easy.
- When to book: the middle of the afternoon, when the light is harsh and the lake glitters.
- Ayurvedic massage: warm oils and long rhythmic strokes. Deeply restful, though a tradition rather than a medical cure.
- A place to rest: if rest is the main purpose of your trip, Raffles is one of the best places in Rajasthan for it. Tell us, and we keep sightseeing to a minimum.
- Read more: our spas and Ayurveda page explains the treatments, and our wellness journey builds whole trips around rest.
- The simplest pleasures: a dawn walk in the gardens, an hour by the water with a book, and the light on the lake at day's end. They cost nothing extra.
When to come to Udai Sagar
October to March: warm, clear days, cool evenings and the lake usually full after the monsoon.
Birds and gardens: migrant birds arrive on the open water and the gardens are at their best.
- Classic season
- October to March
- Chilly mornings
- December and January
- Monsoon
- July to September, quietest
- Hot season
- April to June
- Our favourite weeks
- Late September and October
- December and January: chilly mornings, so bring a shawl for early walks.
- Book well ahead: it is the busiest time across Udaipur. Our guide to the best time to visit Udaipur goes month by month.
- July to September: the monsoon turns the hills green and fills the lake week by week. Rain comes in bursts, the air is soft and the island is at its quietest.
- April to June: hot. A short stay, with early mornings and long, shaded afternoons.
Seeing Udaipur and Mewar from Udai Sagar
For more ideas, see our guide to things to do in Udaipur and our Chittorgarh day guide.
- Chittorgarh
- About two hours east
- Ahar cenotaphs
- Between the lake and the old town
- Nathdwara
- About an hour from Udaipur
- City Palace
- The far, western side of the city
The City Palace and the old city
- A full day: the City Palace at opening time, Jagdish Temple and the lanes in the late morning, and a long lunch.
- To finish: a private boat on Pichola at sunset before driving back to the island.
Chittorgarh
On the way: the old capital of Mewar lies about two hours east, and Udai Sagar is on the road.
- Why go: its great fort, towers and palaces tell the story that led Udai Singh to build here in the first place.
- The tower in the photograph: the Vijay Stambha, the victory tower raised by Rana Kumbha in the fifteenth century.
The cenotaphs at Ahar
- Where: east of the city, between Udai Sagar and the old town.
- What: the white domed cenotaphs of Mewar's rulers, standing in a walled ground. Go in the late afternoon light.
Eklingji and Nathdwara
- North of the city: the temple of Mewar's ruling deity at Kailashpuri and the carved Sas-Bahu temples at Nagda.
- Nathdwara: the pilgrim town of Shrinathji, about an hour from Udaipur.
The Monsoon Palace
- Further from here: Sajjangarh is on the opposite side of the city, a longer drive from Raffles.
- How we do it: pair it with a full day in Udaipur and stay on for sunset.
Quiet celebrations on the water
The smaller occasion: an anniversary dinner by the lake or a proposal in the gardens at dusk.
Vow renewals: a vow renewal with marigolds and a priest.
- Genuinely your own: because the island is private, these moments feel it.
- Larger weddings: our destination weddings team advises on venues across Udaipur.
- More ideas: our journal on proposal ideas in Udaipur gathers our favourite settings.
Who will love Raffles, and who may not
Privacy first: you will love it if privacy is your first wish, or if you want your hotel to be a retreat rather than a base.
Couples: honeymooners and anniversary couples love the island's calm.
- Best for
- Privacy, honeymoons, anniversaries
- Also good for
- Repeat visitors, the Chittorgarh road
- Think twice
- A short first visit to Udaipur
- With four nights
- Two on Pichola, two here
- Repeat visitors: those who have already spent their days in the lanes and on Pichola find a fresh way to see the region.
- On the Chittorgarh road: travellers coming from Chittorgarh, or heading there next, find its eastern position convenient.
- A short first visit: with only two nights for the City Palace, the ghats and the old city, the distance will cost you time.
- Stay on Pichola instead: perhaps at Shiv Niwas Palace inside the City Palace or the Taj Lake Palace on its island, and save Raffles for a return.
- Centuries of history: Raffles, being new, cannot give you that.
- A split stay: with four nights or more, two on Pichola for the city, then two at Raffles for rest.
How Raffles fits our journeys
For couples: on our Udaipur romance journey and honeymoon journeys, it is the hotel we suggest for complete privacy.
- A calm final stop: on longer routes such as Royal Rajputana, before a flight home from Udaipur.
- Paired with Chittorgarh: because Udai Sagar lies east of the city. On our Mewar lakes and temples journey, guests arrive from Castle Bijaipur near Chittorgarh and rest on the island before seeing Udaipur.
Getting to Raffles Udaipur
From the airport: Maharana Pratap Airport at Dabok lies east of Udaipur, on the same side as Udai Sagar, so the transfer is usually short and simple.
- Nearest airport
- Maharana Pratap Airport, Dabok
- Transfer
- Usually short, same side of the city
- Last stretch
- A short crossing of the lake
- From Chittorgarh
- About two hours
- From Jaipur
- About six hours, or an hour by air
- The crossing: the hotel stands on its own island, so the last part is a short boat ride. Tell us your flight times and we coordinate the car and the crossing.
- To the old city: the City Palace is on the far, western side of Udaipur, a longer drive than from the Pichola hotels. Plan full days rather than short trips.
- By road and air: Chittorgarh is about two hours east. Jaipur is about six hours by road, or an hour by air. Our airports and flights guide explains the connections.
What we tell friends before Raffles
Give it two nights at least: one night on an island is spent mostly arriving and leaving.
One long day in the city: with a sunset boat on Pichola and dinner in town before you drive back.
- Ask for a lake-facing room: every direction has water, but some views are wider and quieter than others.
- Book ahead: spa treatments and special dinners in the winter season.
- The monsoon and after: from August to October, the lake is at its fullest and the hills are green.