A palace that fed a kingdom
Years of drought: in the 1920s the rains failed in Marwar year after year. Crops withered, cattle died and farmers walked into Jodhpur looking for any kind of work.
A king's answer: Maharaja Umaid Singh, who came to the throne as a teenager in 1918, chose a building project large enough to employ thousands of people for years.
Slow on purpose: the foundation stone was laid on Chittar Hill on 18 November 1929, and the work was deliberately unhurried, so that wages kept reaching the villages.
- Built
- 1929 to 1943
- Built for
- Maharaja Umaid Singh
- A hotel since
- 1971, now run by Taj
- Setting
- Chittar Hill, above the city
- Good for
- One grand royal stay
- Getting there
- Under half an hour from the airport
- The workforce: some two to three thousand masons, labourers and carvers worked on the palace, and it was not finished until 1943.
- A bare hill: the site was a rocky rise on the south-eastern side of the city, a long way from the old palace in Mehrangarh. That distance was the point.
- Why leave the fort: Mehrangarh had been the seat of the Rathore rulers since Rao Jodha founded the city in 1459, and it suited the life of a medieval court.
- A modern maharaja: Umaid Singh flew aircraft, played polo and entertained viceroys. He wanted electric light, lifts, a ballroom and room for guests, and the city gained its second great landmark.
- A short time at home: he lived in the finished palace for only a few years, and died in 1947, the year of Independence.
- Into the new India: his son Hanwant Singh saw Jodhpur join the Indian Union and then, in 1949, the new state of Rajasthan.
- A child maharaja: Hanwant Singh died in an air crash in 1952, and the title passed to his four-year-old son, Gaj Singh II, whom Jodhpur affectionately calls Bapji.
- Why it is so well kept: his long stewardship. Our pieces on the Jodhpur royal family and on Maharaja Gaj Singh tell the public story in more detail.
How a royal home became a hotel
Privy purses: after Independence the princely families gave up their states in return for annual allowances called privy purses.
The blow of 1971: the government abolished those too, and many families were left with enormous buildings and no income to keep them standing.
Across Rajasthan: palaces were sold, shut up or simply allowed to crumble.
- Opened to guests
- 1971
- Run by
- Taj
- The family
- Still lives in one wing
- The museum
- A separate wing, own entrance
- The hotel
- The rest of the palace
- Jodhpur's choice: the young maharaja chose another way. In 1971 part of Umaid Bhawan was opened to paying guests, and the income began to pay for the upkeep of the whole building.
- One house, three parts: the family kept one wing as their residence, a museum took another, and the hotel took the rest. That division still holds.
- What it means for you: you are not in a converted palace that lost its owners. You are in a working royal household, with the family's private rooms just across the courtyard.
- Generations of service: palace staff have served here for generations, and great family occasions are still held in the house.
- Run by Taj: the Indian group that also runs palace hotels in Jaipur and Udaipur, and the service has the polish you would expect of it.
- What Taj did not change: the building. The grand rooms, the Art Deco detail and the gardens are as the family made them.
- The museum side: a separate visit with its own entrance. Our guide to the Umaid Bhawan Palace Museum covers it.
- Other houses, other answers: our journal piece on the royal families today explains how other Rajput houses balance home and hotel.
Indo-Deco, from the inside
The architect: Henry Vaughan Lanchester, a British architect and town planner who had worked across India. His firm drew a vast symmetrical palace around a central dome.
Two languages at once: the plan, the axis and the dome belong to the great public buildings of Europe. The skyline is pure Rajput.
The chhatris: small domed chhatris, open pavilions on slender pillars, stand at the corners and along the wings, just as on the forts and cenotaphs of Marwar.
- Architect
- Henry Vaughan Lanchester
- Style
- Indo-Deco
- Stone
- Golden sandstone, quarried nearby
- Also used
- Makrana marble, Burmese teak
- Interiors
- Stefan Norblin
- Indo-Deco: architects call the blend Indo-Deco, and this is its finest example.
- The stone: a pale golden sandstone quarried near the site. The maharaja had a railway line built to carry it.
- No mortar: the blocks were cut to interlock, so the walls could rise without mortar. Run your eye along the outer joints to see how tightly they meet.
- Marble and teak: inside, Makrana marble and Burmese teak were used alongside the sandstone.
- Built for the heat: thick walls and high ceilings were designed to hold the cool of the night through a desert afternoon.
- Lost at sea: furnishings ordered from London went down when their ship was sunk during the Second World War.
- Stefan Norblin: a Polish painter and designer who had fled the war in Europe took over the interiors. He designed furniture and painted murals, including in the throne room.
- His hand is everywhere: stylised Indian gods and heroes drawn with European lines, lacquered panels, chrome, glass and stepped geometric forms.
- A 1930s house, intact: the public rooms are the closest thing in India to a grand house of the 1930s that never lost its contents.
- The indoor pool: below the main floors, an Art Deco room of tiles and soft light, built for a maharaja who loved modern comforts.
- Look up: in the central hall beneath the dome.
- Step out the back: on the terraces the formality of the house gives way to lawns and the long view across Jodhpur.
- Three chapters of one city: our architecture guide places Umaid Bhawan beside Mehrangarh and Jaswant Thada.
What staying here is actually like
Arrival is a ceremony, and the palace does it well. Cars climb the drive through the grounds, the facade grows larger and larger, and the welcome at the door has a formality that suits the building. After that, the pace is yours.
Built for lingering: long corridors to wander, terraces for tea, gardens for a walk at dusk, and public rooms where you can sit for an hour with a book and feel the house is yours.
Rooms differ a great deal: in a building of this age and size, no two feel quite alike.
- Period rooms: some keep the original Art Deco furniture and fittings of the 1930s and 1940s. These are the ones we suggest for an anniversary or a once-in-a-lifetime stay.
- Contemporary rooms: others are more modern in feel, comfortable and calm, but with less of the period about them.
- How rooms are given: the palace allocates them, so we don't promise a particular one. Tell us what matters, whether history, a garden outlook or space for children, and we ask on your behalf.
- Mornings in the city: at the fort when it opens, then the lanes of the old town.
- Midday at the palace: come back for lunch and the heat of the day.
- Late afternoon for the house: walk the terraces as the stone turns from pale gold to honey, then spend the evening on the lawns.
- Don't rush it: guests who treat Umaid Bhawan as a place to sleep between sights miss most of what they are paying for.
- A word on scale: this is a very large palace, and the walk from your room to breakfast can be long.
- Wedding dates: the palace is a popular venue for grand weddings and family celebrations, and on those dates the gardens and public rooms can be busy. If quiet matters, tell us early and we check your dates.
Dining under the dome
Risala: the main restaurant, a formal room hung with portraits from the family's military and royal past, serving Indian and international dishes.
Pillars: a veranda cafe along the colonnade, the place for breakfast, a slow lunch or tea looking out over the gardens.
The Trophy Bar: named for the hunting trophies of the princely era on its walls, and where guests gather before dinner.
- Risala
- The main restaurant
- Pillars
- Veranda cafe on the colonnade
- Trophy Bar
- Drinks before dinner
- Private dinners
- Terraces or lawns
- Order
- The food of Marwar
- Things change: menus and formats change, so we confirm what is open on your dates.
- Laal maas: the royal kitchens of Jodhpur are known for this mutton cooked fiery red with chillies from Mathania, a village just outside the city.
- Safed maas: its gentle white cousin, made with cream and ground nuts.
- For vegetarians: ker sangri, the desert's dish of dried berries and beans, gatte, gram-flour dumplings in a yoghurt curry, and bajra rotis with white butter.
- The stories behind the dishes: our food of Jodhpur guide explains them.
- A private dinner: on the terraces or lawns, with the fort lit up on the horizon. We arrange them for anniversaries, proposals and family celebrations, as our page on private palace dinners explains.
- Dietary needs: tell us in advance, including Jain food, which avoids root vegetables, and the kitchens will plan around you.
Spa, pool and slow afternoons
Jiva spa: Taj's own spa concept, drawing on Indian traditions of massage, oils and Ayurvedic ideas alongside familiar Western treatments.
When to book: the hottest hours of an afternoon, after a morning at the fort.
- Menus change: we check what is offered when you book.
- Palace spa or retreat: our page on spas and Ayurveda in Rajasthan explains what to expect from a palace spa and how it differs from a dedicated Ayurveda retreat.
- Space and time: beyond the spa, wellness here is mostly about these.
- Gardens at dawn: walk them early, when peacocks cross the lawns.
- The indoor pool: a cool swim in the Art Deco room below the house.
- Gentle exercise: the corridors are long enough to count.
The view back to the fort
The high ground: Chittar Hill is the highest point on this side of Jodhpur, and the palace was set so that its terraces look back across the city to the old fort.
What to pick out: the line of the city wall, the blue houses of Brahmpuri at the foot of the cliff and, on a clear winter morning, the clock tower rising out of Sardar Market.
- At sunrise
- The fort turns rose
- After sunset
- Floodlit fort, deep blue sky
- You can see
- City wall, Brahmpuri, clock tower
- Clearest
- Winter mornings
- A living map: it is the best place we know to explain the geography of Jodhpur, and we often bring a map out to the terrace for exactly that.
- At sunrise: the fort catches the first sun and turns rose, while the palace is still cool and grey.
- After sunset: in the half hour after, the floodlights come on at Mehrangarh while the sky is still deep blue, and the fort seems to float above the city.
- More good light: our photography tips cover the rest of Jodhpur's best hours.
What to do from the palace
- Use a car: Umaid Bhawan sits outside the walled city, so most outings are by car. Our chauffeurs know the gates and the lanes, and they wait while you walk.
- More ideas: our list of things to do in Jodhpur has plenty, and our Jodhpur itinerary shows how we would shape two or three days.
Mehrangarh at opening time
Why go: the fort is the reason Jodhpur exists.
- When: arrive as the gates open and walk the ramps before the crowds.
- Allow: a full morning for the palace rooms and the museum galleries.
- The payoff: from the ramparts you see Umaid Bhawan on its hill, and the geography of your stay suddenly makes sense.
The old city on foot
The walk: after the fort, go down through the blue lanes of Brahmpuri to Toorji ka Jhalra, the restored stepwell.
- Then the bazaar: on to the clock tower and Sardar Market.
- The snack stop: a mirchi bada, a stuffed chilli fried in gram-flour batter, and a lassi before the drive back.
Jaswant Thada in the late afternoon
What it is: the white marble cenotaph of Maharaja Jaswant Singh II, standing below the fort.
- When: late afternoon, when it glows in the low sun.
- Why: it is quiet and close to the old city, a calm hour before you return to the palace for the evening.
Mandore and Bal Samand
Mandore: north of the city, the gardens and royal cenotaphs of the old Rathore capital before Jodhpur.
- Bal Samand: the lakeside summer palace of Bal Samand.
- Allow: together they make a gentle half day.
The museum and the cars
Same building: the museum wing is part of the palace, with its own entrance.
- The cars: the family's classic cars stand outside it.
- More princely cars: our page on vintage cars explains where else in Rajasthan the collections can be seen.
Who will love it, and who won't
The real thing: you will love Umaid Bhawan if you want one grand royal stay on your journey, and you want it to be genuine.
Honeymooners and anniversaries: couples love the scale and the ceremony. Our honeymoon journeys often include it.
Families: children love the space, the gardens and the sense of exploring a giant house. Our family journeys often include it too.
- Design lovers: the Art Deco interiors are among the finest anywhere in Asia.
- Twentieth-century history: the story of a royal family that found a way to keep its home.
- Not for street life: the old city is a drive away. If your time in Jodhpur is short, we would put you under the fort at RAAS Jodhpur instead.
- Prefer a small house: guests who like the owners at dinner may be happier at Ajit Bhawan or a village fort such as Rohet Garh.
- Not for uniformity: if you want everything new, level and identical from room to room, know that this is a historic building, with all the variety that brings.
- Two nights, or dinner: with two nights it is one of the experiences of a lifetime. With one night, arriving late and leaving early, you may do better to stay elsewhere and come for dinner on the terrace.
- Compare the palaces: our palace hotels guide sets it beside the other great royal stays of Rajasthan.
How it fits our journeys
After the tigers: in our Royal Rajputana journey, Jodhpur comes between Ranthambore and the dunes of Jaisalmer, and a palace stay is a welcome change of pace after the jungle.
The royal centre: in the Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur journey, Umaid Bhawan sits between the Rambagh in Jaipur and the lake palaces of Udaipur.
- The reward: in Mewar and Marwar, it waits at the end of a road through Kumbhalgarh and Ranakpur.
- Pair it with something smaller: two nights here, then a night or two at Rohet Garh or Mihir Garh, gives you the grandest house in Marwar and then the quiet of its villages.
- Heading west: a night at the Manvar desert camp breaks the road to Jaisalmer.
- The contrast: that is what guests remember.
- All the options: our guide to luxury hotels in Jodhpur sets them side by side.
When to stay
October to March: the season. Days are warm and bright, mornings are cool for the fort, and December and January nights are cold enough for a shawl on the terrace.
Book well ahead: this is also when the palace is busiest.
- Best months
- October to March
- Coldest nights
- December and January
- Hot season
- April to June
- Monsoon
- July to September
- Book early for
- Folk festival, Diwali, New Year
- The folk festival: in October the Rajasthan International Folk Festival fills Mehrangarh with musicians from across the desert, and Jodhpur's hotels fill with it.
- Peak weeks: Diwali and the Christmas and New Year weeks are also in high demand.
- April to June: the heat is severe and the palace becomes a refuge, with early mornings in the city, long afternoons indoors and evenings on the lawns once the sun has gone.
- The monsoon: July to September brings occasional storms, a brief green flush to Chittar Hill and dramatic skies over the dome.
- The quiet months: lovely for travellers who don't mind the heat, and the palace is calmer.
- Month by month: our Jodhpur month-by-month guide goes into detail.
Getting there
By air: Jodhpur Airport (JDH) is a short drive from the palace, usually well under half an hour. We meet you at arrivals and drive you up the hill.
By train: the railway station is a similar distance, and overnight and daytime trains link the city with Delhi, Jaipur and other cities.
- Nearest airport
- Jodhpur (JDH), under half an hour
- By rail
- Jodhpur station, a similar distance
- From Jaipur
- About five to six hours
- From Udaipur
- About five hours via Ranakpur
- From Jaisalmer
- About five hours
- To the old city
- Ten to fifteen minutes
- By road: Jaipur is about five to six hours away, Udaipur about five hours via Ranakpur, and Jaisalmer about five hours to the west.
- Into the old city: Mehrangarh and the lanes are a ten- to fifteen-minute drive, depending on traffic. Your chauffeur drops you at the gates and waits.
- Planning the drives: our guide to getting around Rajasthan explains how we plan them around the best hours of light.
What we tell friends before they stay
Stay two nights: one night leaves no time for the palace itself, and the palace is the point.
Give the house an afternoon: spend one late afternoon on the terraces and in the gardens, and be on the lawn when the fort lights come on.
- Book early: months ahead for October to March, and as early as possible for the folk festival, Diwali and New Year.
- Say what matters in a room: period character, a garden view or space for children. We will ask on your behalf.
- Respect the family's side: the residence is private, and staff will guide you away from it.
- Dress for dinner, simply: nothing formal is required, but the rooms reward a little effort.
- Not staying: ask us to book dinner or tea on the terrace. It is the best way to see the palace from inside.