Jagat Niwas Palace

POSITIVES: 1) Design: The hotel really is as beautiful as it looks in the pictures. Every corner is photo-worthy. It is very peaceful and a beautiful place to stay. 2) Location: The location on the water is stunning and views from all levels out on the water were amazing. It's close to the centre of the old town (5 min walk to the city palace) but peaceful at the same time. Just a heads up though - the streets in the old town are very narrow so you can only get a Tuk Tuk to the hotel, not a taxi. 3) Food: Food at breakfast and the restaurant was delicious. Really good evening menu, great cocktails and the ice is safe for westerners to drink. 4) Communal spaces: The hotel has a lot of great communal spaces, including some beautiful window seats with views right on the water. The perfect place to read and watch the world go by. 5) Comfort: Room was a good size with good furniture, storage, and a nice and large bathroom. The toiletries provided were extensive and high quality. NEGATIVES: 1) Light in room: There was a little window high in our room which didn’t have a blind and meant morning and night our room was very bright. 2) Noise: Our room was on the ground floor right on the courtyard and it was quite noisy, both in the morning but also at nighttime. 3) Business: Due to the incredible location/views the hotel was constantly full of people posing for photos which was slightly irritating. I’m not sure if anyone can wander in but I got the impression that some of them weren’t guests at the hotel or dining either. 4) Hot water: Hot water in the shower isn’t unlimited so you can’t have 2 medium length showers back to back without the water running cold. 5) Onconsistent restaurant service: We ate in the restaurant both nights. One night we had good service but the other we had terrible service. We were unnecessarily sat in the back corner with no light, the table wasn’t laid properly so we had to ask for cutlery when our food came, we were only given one menu (for 2 people), and our order wasn’t taken for a long time. Not what you expect for a fairly expensive restaurant… The next night though, the service was great? 6) Breakfast service: Service at breakfast was also mixed: our first morning we weren’t greeted so just took a table and found our own way around, and weren’t offered / didnt know we could order coffees/teas/freshly cooked items but the second morning we were offered a menu for these, so I assume that’s how the service was meant to be. The inconsistent service was disappointing. OVERALL: Udaipur is stunning and this is a very beautiful hotel in a great location. I’m nitpicking because for the price we were expecting a slightly better experience, but I would recommend booking here as it’s worth the experience.