The best heritage hotels in India

What is it: Built in 1835, Taj Rambagh Palace began its humble life as the home of a royal wet nurse. Two centuries and several avatars later, it’s now one of the most iconic palace hotels in India

Why we love it: The opulence of the place takes you aback: glittering chandeliers, marble fountains, silk couches, soaring domed ceilings. Everything smells of rose and jasmine – Rambagh’s custom fragrance – and all 78 rooms are set around immaculately manicured Persian-style gardens, where you’ll spot dozens of peacocks at any point of the day. Corridors in between are lined with portraits of royal lineage, and the rooms themselves are done up in silk and brocade, dressed in handwoven rugs, carved furniture, and vintage Bakelite switches. 

Food-wise, you’re spoilt for choice. Rambagh’s got several bars and restaurants. Suvarna Mahal delivers a royal thali dinner under Venetian frescoed domes, Steam mixes up drinks inside a railway coach, and The Verandah’s best for sundowners, transforming into a candlelit setting with live folk performances in the evening. 

Price: Starting at ₹45,000 per night 

Address: Bhawani Singh Rd, Rambagh, Jaipur, Rajasthan 302005

What is it: Recently opened in 2025, Fairmont Udaipur Palace spreads across 18 acres in the hills of the Aravallis, with 327 rooms and suites

Why we love it: What’s particularly great about the Fairmont in Udaipur is that it’s a good 30 minutes away from the bustle of the other lakefront palaces. It’s a wonderfully nifty property: cleverly designed around the site’s topography, so you really only experience one level at a time. The architecture borrows heavily from Mewar’s palace vocabulary: chhatris, grand arches, symmetrical courtyards. This property has them all, and the grandiosity’s unmatched, but in a far brighter and more contemporary way than you’d expect. 

What’s also different about this lakefront palace is that it’s a bit more chilled out. You can wear athleisure (and fair enough – there’s plenty of sports facilities, including horseback riding, padel courts, and two swimming pools on offer) without feeling trashy. 

Rooms are artwork-heavy, with mirror-clad walls (this is Rajasthan, after all) with in-room automation, Kimirica toiletries, walk-in wardrobes, the works. There are EIGHT dining venues: Bahaar serves global fare, Dahaad’s a leopard-themed cocktail bar, and Sitara’s designed for basking in the winter sun. 

Time Out tip: This one’s fairly family- and child-friendly because there’s just so much to do on the property!

Price: Starting at ₹25,000 per night 

Address: Next to HP Gas Godown, Seesarma, Udaipur, Rajasthan 313031

What is it: A 100-acre terraced estate overlooking the town of Rishikesh and one of the world's most coveted wellness retreats

Why we love it: Ananda fulfils the palace fantasy while doubling as a world-class detox destination. It attracts guests who are exhausted and burnt out, seeking to disconnect from the world (most of us?). The staff will discreetly mention a few names, such as Kate Winslet and Oprah Winfrey. ‘Action' here means yoga, life-philosophy lectures, therapies, meditation and Ayurvedic massages. The minimum stay’s three nights, though a week or longer is recommended if you plan to participate in one of Ananda's personalised holistic wellness programmes. The food’s included in your package and determined after a medical consultation. Portions aren’t what you’d call generous, but everything’s fresh, organic and tailored to support your gut and overall wellbeing.

Price: Starting from ₹48,000 per night 

Address: The Palace Estate, Narendra Nagar, Tehri Garhwal, 249175

What is it: Part of the Quila Mubarak complex and formerly the queen's quarters, Ran Baas is one of the most significant restoration stories of the region. Once an endangered heritage site, it’s now a 35-suite property in Punjab

Why we love it: Past the bazaars selling embroidered phulkari stoles and juttis, you step through heavy arches into a 10-acre world. Built with Nanakshahi brick walls (the terracotta bricks that partly form the Golden Temple), the palace naturally withstands fierce summer heat. Inside, you’ve got the Sheesh Mahal lined with Aleppo mirror panels and over 600 chandeliers. This is reminder enough that you’re in Patiala, where maharajas’ appetite for Cartier and private aircraft made global headlines once upon a time. 

The 35 suites are spread across three floors. No two are alike, but all are themed around gemstones, much like The Johri in Jaipur, actually. Dining holds its own: Neel draws on royal hunting traditions, Atth explores the culinary legacy of undivided Punjab, and The Patiala Bar does exactly what you hope it does (rare malts and a Patiala peg that reminds you this was once a court known for excess). This hotel’s under the Relais & Châteaux umbrella, and it’s the only one of its kind.

Time Out tip: Sign up for a free guided walk of the complex.

Price: Starting from ₹35,000 per night 

Address: Quila Androon, Adalat Bazar, Patiala, Punjab 147001

What is it: The only Taj Palace hotel in South India, Taj Falaknuma was once part of the private estate of the seventh Nizam of Hyderabad, a ruler who flaunted the 184-carat Jacob Diamond like a paperweight. Set across a 32-acre hilltop estate overlooking Old Hyderabad, the palace is a mix of Palladian and Tudor styles, with classic English furniture, French tapestries and Venetian chandeliers

Why we love it: Taj Falaknuma’s a reflection of the Nizam's paradox: lavish, yes, but not assaultingly fancy. Unlike the mirror-and-gilt theatre of North Indian palaces, this one carries more burnished wood and leather. You arrive in a golf cart or, if you’re lucky, a Victorian horse carriage, with a uniformed standard bearer clicking his heels in salute and rose petals drifting down. A gracious central courtyard, lined with fountains and old trees, flanks two wings that house most of the 60 rooms and suites. The grand suites offer cavernous proportions, serious luxuries and panoramic views across Hyderabad. Celeste brings Mediterranean polish, Adá handles Hyderabadi slow cooking with refinement, and at the Belvedere Terrace, under the coloured-glass canopy, you can get pleasantly tipsy on cocktails.

Time Out tip: Everyone does the palace tour, but you should ask for the version rich in scandal and gossip, including the Nizam's legendary 101-seat dining table and how visiting royals were ‘ranked’ by the size of their rooms.

Price: Starting at ₹30,000 per night 

Address: Engine Bowli, Falaknuma, Hyderabad, Telangana 500053

What is it: Most palaces are built to flaunt a dynasty's ego; this one was built to save a city. In the 1920s, the then Maharaja of Jodhpur commissioned this Art Deco golden sandstone colossus as an employment opportunity for his drought-ridden citizens. The result’s one of the world's largest private residences. Today, it’s part residential quarters, part museum, and part hotel. Only 64 rooms are used for hotel accommodation, and it still serves as an actual royal residence

Why we love it: Guests glide up Titanic-worthy twin staircases to the rhythm of ceremonial drums, rose petals underfoot, champagne in hand beneath the soaring 105-foot cupola. The royal suites offer private balconies framing the blue sprawl of Jodhpur and the imposing silhouette of Mehrangarh Fort, with mirror-finished terrazzo, metallic accents, heirloom furniture and separate living spaces. One notch higher, the grand Tower Suites add expansive lounges and fireplaces. Risala, named after the Maharaja's cavalry regiment, sees polished silver cloches lifted to reveal refined Rajasthani and North Indian classics; Pillars presents global cuisine in an elegant colonnaded setting; and Baradari extends onto manicured lawns for romantic alfresco dinners under the desert sky. It’s set in splendid isolation about twenty minutes from the old city's bustle.

Price: Starting from ₹50,000 per night 

Address: Circuit House Rd, near Umaid Bhawan Museum, Cantt Area

What is it: The Oberoi brand’s capitalised on a rare chance to painstakingly restore from history instead of building anew: in this case, it’s a property on the edge of Panna National Park in Madhya Pradesh, and within easy reach of Khajuraho

Why we love it: The lore’s strong here. This was once a fortress of the Bundela dynasty, and said to be the wedding venue of Baji Rao I and Mastani (the ill-fated, star-crossed lovers Sanjay Leela Bhansali made a blockbuster about). The property houses 65 rooms and suites (palace rooms, private pool villas, the two-bedroom Kohinoor suite) and is set across a 76-acre estate that overlooks a pristine lake. The palace itself rises from the slopes of the Maniyagarh Hills, framed by ancient sal and palash forests.

This is wilderness and luxury married together with utter sophistication. For instance: Game drives at dawn where you scan the grasslands for a flicker of tiger tail (or settle for potbellied crocodiles). Dining at Maanya, which revives royal recipes in an opulent dining room. Perhaps some continental fare at Neerangan, served by the lake with live music at dusk, or cocktails at Amrava by the courtyard fountains. 

Time Out tip: The spa’s only accessible by boat, but you MUST visit. 

Price: Starting from ₹75,000 per night 

Address: Tehsil Rajnagar, Post Office, Rajgarh, Chandranagar