The Oberoi Rajvilas

The Oberoi Rajvilas is, quite perfectly, the India of our imagination, with all her beauties distilled and dusted down, plus the conveniences and the luxuries that only a modern mind could dream of. Fortress walls gleam white in the moonlight, surrounding an 18th-century Hindu temple rising out of a lotus-strewn pond. Carved elephants rear at entrances, and fountains glitter lavishly with hand-painted blue tiles. Dancers perform by candlelight, as you dine off of handmade tablecloths. Men stalk the grounds in uniform, shooing the birds away. The beauty is almost unreal—not the ravaged beauty of history, but the unspoiled beauty of dreams. So it’s not surprising to find out that most of The Oberoi Rajvilas is only five years old, though constructed using traditional techniques like camel-pulled mills. It’s also not surprising that the architects took more of their inspiration from paintings than real life. This isn’t authenticity, it’s fantasy, but it definitely feels and looks good.

The ratio of staff to guests here is five to one. Staff scurry out to greet you with a glass of watermelon juice after you emerge from your air-conditioned jeep. At every turn, there is someone—dressed in traditional costume—somberly awaiting your instructions. Warning. If being waited on bugs you, you may want to steer clear; some people find the scope of servility here a little unnerving. The rest of us just lean back by the blue tiled pool and wait for our drinks to be topped up or indulge in an Ayurvedic at the Spa. But for the ultimate in exoticism and pampering stay in a tent inspired by those taken by royalty on hunting chests. Decorated with Victorian beds, steamer trunks and claw foot tubs and roofed in thick silk with rollaway rugs, they also boast air conditioning and hot water. And did we also mention that they come with cooks, servants and dancers?

So if you want to experience India as reality, by all means, get into a rickshaw and take your chances in the heaving mass of the Pink City. But if you want to preserve India as a fantasy then the The Oberoi Rajvilas is the place for you. We promise that it won’t disappoint your imagination.

How to get there: The Oberoi Rajvilas is a 40-minute drive from Jaipur Airport. The drive from Delhi to Jaipur takes approximately 4 hours. The hotel is also accessible by train. The Oberoi Rajvilas is approximately 14 km from Jaipur railway station and the travel time by train from New Delhi to Jaipur is approximately 5½ hours by Puja Express. A fast train, Shatabdi Express, takes 4 hours between Jaipur and Delhi.