There is no better place to begin a Royal holiday in Rajasthan than at the Rambagh Palace Hotel in Jaipur. Unfortunately, our flights from Srinigar to Delhi to Jaipur were seriously delayed and we didn’t have many hours to luxuriate in this palatial ex-Palace turned hotel. The Rambagh Palace was built in 1835 for the Queen’s favorite handmaiden (nice job if you can get it) and has been home to generations of royals. Over the years, this palatial residence became a royal guesthouse and hunting lodge until converted into a palace in 1925. Rambagh then became the residence of the Maharaja of Jaipur and remained the home of the Jaipur royal family until 1957. Now a part of Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, it is considered the “jewel in the crown” among the authentic palaces in India.

Coming from adventures in Kashmir, sleeping in tents and trekking, it was staggering to arrive at a Palace hotel only to be greeted by servants in Rajasthan-style livery and shown to an “ordinary” Palace room with a four-poster bed. Hey…I grew up in a 3-bedroom apartment in Chicago, shared one bathroom with the seven of us and ex-Marine was in the Marine Corps at age 17. This was, and is, heavy stuff to deal with when your families were not part of the “rich and famous.”

The lowest rate now is…”cough…cough”…in the high hundreds of dollars a night. It was much lower in price in 1988 or our bodies couldn’t have darkened Rambagh Palace’s doors. (What wasn’t lower in price?) I would suggest talking to a local agent who probably can wheel and deal a lower price and surf Kayak and other search engines.

Of course the food is wonderful. Of course the staff bends over backwards for your every whim. What else would you expect for that kind of money. There are two unusual and completely diametrical experiences offered by the Rambagh Palace Hotel that really made me laugh.

- Have your fortune told by an on-site Astrologer (Actually, not that unusual. Many hotels in India offer this.); and

- Arrange a special game of Polo on request. Rambagh Palace Hotel says…Polo was the royal game of the erstwhile Maharaja’s and can be played at the Rambagh Polo Grounds adjacent to the Palace.