A Royal WELCOME FOR 2026

India has a spectrum of beautiful palace-hotels. Ring in the New Year in royal style at a magnificent property for an unforgettable celebration.

- Text * Brinda Gill

Many palaces, old and new, were enormous, rambling structures, so much so that when HH Maharaja Rajendra Singhji of Idar first came to England, he was astonished by how small Buckingham Palace seemed. "I could point to ten, if not twenty, palaces in India, such as the palace of the Maharaja of Jodhpur or the palaces of the Maharaja of Mysore, before which the Queen's palace pales by comparison," a statement quoted by Charles Allen and Sharada Dwivedi in their book 'Lives of the Indian Princes'.

After India's independence in 1947, many of these grand residences were thoughtfully transformed into exquisite palace-hotels, inviting travellers to experience their beauty, history and heritage while on holiday, celebrating special occasions or ushering in the New Year.

India's Royal Heritage

Set in vast grounds filled with old trees, in lush gardens with fountains and peacocks, along riverbanks or overlooking scenic mountains, and even on islands in tranquil lakes, the locales of India's palace-hotels instantly evoke a sense of serenity.

India’s palace-hotels retain the traditional ethos of the country’s royal families, many of whom lived in these residences for generations.

Their settings are further elevated by the impressive architectural styles in which they are built, including Rajput, Greek-inspired, Indo-Saracenic and Art Deco among others. When a 21st-century traveller steps into a palace-hotel, they are ushered into an exclusive world that may feel suspended in the late 19th or early 20th century, or one that has been carefully refurbished to preserve the palace’s traditional ethos, or even one that blends heritage with a striking contemporary touch.