Sigh. What took me so long?
From an extra wide sun lounger in chic shades of taupe, I take in my surroundings. A dark stone swimming pool reflects the sky — an arc of blue with soft twists of cloud. A scattering of guests lie under white canvas pavilions, attended to by hotel employees in vermillion saris. Beyond the pool, I can see the green tops of a neat avenue of coral trees in one of many well-landscaped courtyards. The palace rises to my right, a vision of turrets and balconies and scalloped ramparts in the palest yellowy cream. A darting parakeet flashes green against it. And behind me a blaze of bougainvillea folds over the fort walls giving on to a brownish-green landscape — the ancient Aravalis rise in dollops and seem to radiate forever.
It is good to be back. I was last here 11 years ago to celebrate my mother’s sixtieth birthday and it is as magnificent as I remember.
First stop on a tour of the hotel is a wall of black and white photographs that show Devi Garh as it was when Lekha Poddar bought it from the government in the 1980s. Uninhabited for three decades, it was partly collapsed, wildly overgrown and infested with bats. The vision and ambition of the decade-long restoration project she spearheaded is awe-inspiring. And what opened on 31 December 1999 was something completely new in the world of heritage hospitality: an 18th-century building fitted out with ravishing contemporary interiors. Other hotels have since used this formula to great effect, but Devi Garh was the first.
The Poddar family opened two more boutique hotels near Jaipur a decade later, hotels that are also contemporary takes on tradition and share the drama of Devi Garh. The family remain part owners of the three but in 2013 handed over management to lebua, a luxury hotel group from Thailand famed for its fine bars and restaurants.
Deepak Ohri, lebua’s CEO, explains that for lebua, luxury is less about expense than about experience. They try to create “distinct luxury experiences” for their guests, built upon the unique character and context of each of their properties. So at Devi Garh you can choose from 12 private dining spots in various nooks of the palace, all equally splendid. You can do yoga on the rooftop at sunrise unless you prefer to take your mat to the shores of a nearby lake for a more reflective practice. If the Aravalis are calling, you can climb to the Devi temple which perches atop one of the hills to the south. Bike rides, camel rides, horse safaris, kite flying, and the L’Occitane spa, “a fusion of Indian-Mediterranean holistic wellness”, can all be part of your distinct luxury experience.
On our first evening, we are led through courtyards and up narrow staircases to the very top of the palace. The Sheesh Mahal is a tiny, pillared room decorated with cracked and timeworn mirrors, fallen away in places to reveal old paintwork beneath. We loll against bolsters and tuck into fine Rajasthani fare served on low silver tables sprinkled with rose petals. Candle light dances across the mirrors, the silver and glassware, while strains of the sitar drift in from a nearby balcony. During a pause in the music, amplified electioneering voices rise from the village below — a brief reminder of the real world. Otherwise we are in a fairytale.
Back in my room — an elegant space made mostly of white marble, with terrazzo flooring and touches of abalone — I find more rose petals and hot water filling my bathtub and I plunge into the comforting warmth. There’s poetry by Tagore on my pillow, along with essential oils to sprinkle and ease me into a long sleep.
In the morning, we ride on camels around the back of the fort and into Delwara village. The people are welcoming (40% of hotel employees come from here and neighbouring villages) and the place presents a rosy picture of rural life — cultivated fields in neat shapes, trees, water, pucca houses where girls in pressed blue school uniforms are plaiting red ribbons into their hair, and baby goats sleep in a shaft of sunlight. As we enter the village proper, we have to bend to dodge low hanging branches and great bunches of electricity wires. We amble through the lanes to find the exquisitely carved 13th century Jain Adinath Temple.
On our way to Udaipur we stop at Eklingji to pay our respects to Lord Shiva. The Maharana of Udaipur and his family do the same every Monday. In Udaipur, the City Palace is pristine in the mid-day sun (much sprucing is underway for the upcoming marriage of the Prince) and the lake looks a picture of health as boats ply across its glassy surface. The place is booming with tourists from all parts of the world.
It’s lovely then to be able to retreat the 25km to our fairytale palace for a late lunch of rocket and asparagus salad (straight from the chef’s garden) with perfectly roasted chicken, followed later by a spa treatment. I’m something of a facial junkie and the ‘Immortelle’ is perfect for me. That night, we eat asparagus cappuccino and grilled Australian lamb rack on the roof of the restaurant, cocooned by angithis. Local dancers and musiciansperform against the backdrop of the palace wall, golden against the night sky.
Deepak Ohri proposes that had the family who built Devi Garh been alive in the 21st century, they would have made their palace like lebua Resort, the second property we visit, about 12km from Jaipur on the Agra road. “We did not want to make an obvious copy of traditional Indian architecture,” said one of the designers involved in the Resort’s construction.
The Resort is built out of pinkish-coloured concrete and sandstone, and it spreads over seven acres of a 21-acre site. At first it looks almost space-age, like a set from Star Wars, but walking around, you begin to catch the architectural references, most obviously the Jantar Mantar, Jai Singh II’s 1728 observatory in the heart of the old city of Jaipur. In both places, a bold geometry cuts sharp shapes out of the cloth of the sky. And there are more references: from the market streets of the Pink City to the multi-domed roofs of mosques.
If the architecture of lebua Resort excites, its interiors dazzle — quite literally as many of the floors are made of a glittering composite. The entrance ‘lobby’ is a lofty tunnel of pink jaali with a sparkly chevron floor. Behind it, the palette shifts to muted greys in a corridor that stretches 120 meters to a distant vanishing point, and the well-equipped conference facilities. Another sky-lit passage leads at an incline upwards towards the Barand restaurant and the Machan pavillion, the highest point of the hotel and a popular private dining spot.
Jaipur’s rich heritage has been mined further for the rooms. Each is in one of four gem colours with tekri work or miniature paintings converted into lenticular prints for decoration. Mine is like a large sapphire-blue box with a picture window opening on to a view of the Aravalis. Pigeons flap and coo around the jaalied balcony. As one settles on the top of the open door, I wonder if it is going to dart in and steal my chocolates.
Of the many activities on offer here, I requested a horse safari, but not in enough time for it to be organised. They put me on a horse anyway — a fine black one named Knight — and I have my first ever polo lesson. I learn to hold the reins in my left hand and steer using the horse’s neck, to wield the stick with my right hand, to raise it and let it swing through on to the ball — luckily, we are using an orange beach ball rather than the harder, smaller and easier-to-miss polo ball. By the end, I can at least make contact with it at a trot and I am thrilled, and exhausted. If the excellent Polo Factory were in Delhi, I’d be back for lessons every week.
The third property we visit, the lebua Lodge, is not far from Jaipur and close to Amer but feels far from both. After passing Amer Fort, you turn left off the Delhi road, wiggle through the back end of the town and on to a jungle track. The track passes through the centuries-old Dilli Darwaza and on to the Lodge, actually a group of 40 cube-shaped white tents, a reception building, restaurant and swimming pool cradled in the Aravalis. Again I’m struck by the bold design of the place, intended more to start a conversation with its natural surroundings than to become part of them, although morning glory blankets the backs of the tents.
There are more than 200 species of bird here, and wild panthers and nilgai. At tea time, I am astonished to hear the roar of lions — 19 ex-circus beasts live in a wildlife sanctuary at walking distance from the Lodge. They roar at meal times; it’s very atmospheric. At dusk, I go for a walk with naturalist Harsh who picks wild berries for me and shares his passion for the place and its wildlife. We don’t see panthers but do encounter a gallivanting army of langurs and the odd peacock.
When I return, my sunken bathtub is filled again — oh joy — with rose petals and hot water. After a long soak, I emerge to find a bonfire, the fort wall lit up, and a table set for ‘sunken dining’ in a lowered section of the swimming pool. It’s quite a vision.
Each of lebua’s Rajasthani properties has a distinct character. If Devi Garh is something like vintage champagne, lebua Resort would be a bold new world red, perhaps not to everyone’s taste but those who like it will love it, and lebua Lodge a gentler sauvignon blanc. At each place, the staff tried hard to create for me a ‘distinct luxury experience’, and they mostly succeeded.
There were moments — particularly at Devi Garh — that I just wanted to pocket and remember forever.
The information
Getting There
Jaipur and Udaipur are well connected by air and rail to major cities. At the moment, there are no direct flights between Jaipur and Udaipur, but several trains run daily. We travelled by road and it took about six hours.
Where To Stay
We stayed at the timelessly beautiful Devi Garh (from Rs 24,000 per night; lebua.com/devi-garh), the dramatic lebua Resort (from Rs 16,650- 84,500 per night;lebua.com/lebua-resort-jaipur) and the elegant lebua Lodge in Amer (from Rs 8,250 per night; lebua.com/lebua-lodge-amer).
What To See & Do
Devi Garh is a distinct luxury experience in and of itself — you don’t have to do very much except lie back and gaze at its beauty and let yourself be pampered and indulged by its exceptional team. Those wanting activity can explore the surrounding area on foot or camel or bicycle, making sure to spend time in the captivating marble Jain temple in the village. Within striking distance by the road are Eklingji and the thousand-year-old Nagda temples. Then of course, there is Udaipur, which looks stunning. Long gone are the muddy puddle days when one could drive a car across to the Lake Palace.
From lebua Resort, there are all the attractions of the city of Jaipur some 12km away. Don’t miss the Jantar Mantar, especially as it was such an inspiration for the Resort’s architecture. The pool and spa at the Resort are lovely, there’s table tennis, and horse rides every morning. With some advance notice, the lebua team can organise horse and jeep safaris, camel and elephant rides, polo lessons, mountain biking and hot air ballooning (and that’s not all). The Resort is a popular venue for corporate functions and weddings and it has extensive facilities for them.
lebua Lodge is a great place for wildlife enthusiasts — there are lots of animals and birds (the birdsong in the morning is a delight) and you can walk to the government sanctuary to see the retired circus lions. The magnificent Amer Fort is nearby — if you haven’t seen it before, you really must! And Amer’s hidden gem is the Anokhi Museum of Hand Printing in a lovingly restored haveli (worth a visit on its own). The museum is beautifully put together and fascinating; on the top floor, master craftsmen demonstrate block carving and printing and visitors can have a go. It’s humbling to realise the skill and time that goes into the creation of the pretty Anokhi shirts I wear all summer long