"One of two family palaces at Gondal, among orchards and old royal quarters, still owned and lived in by the family that built them"
The Riverside Palace is part of a small collection of heritage palaces in the historic town of Gondal, alongside the Orchard Palace, surrounded by orchards, rivers and the old royal quarters.
These are former family residences rather than converted hotels, and the family still treats them as home. The owner, HH Himanshusinhji Jyotendrasinhji Sahib, describes the palaces as deeply personal to him long before they became a place for guests to stay, and the house is presented as a living heritage rather than a preserved one.
Days here are quiet by design. Mornings start with birdsong and peacocks in the gardens, afternoons pass in shaded courtyards and galleries. Gondal itself carries more to see than the palaces: the family also keeps the Naulakha Palace museum, a vintage car museum in the royal garage, and a rail museum.
In Gondal, Gujarat. The nearest airport is Rajkot (RAJ).
A lodge laid out as a Gujarati village on the edge of Sasan Gir, home of the Asiatic lion. Eighteen double-storey kothis line a cobbled street, each with a shaded courtyard, a first-floor veranda facing the teak forest and a small pool modelled on an Indian stepwell. Hand-carved sandstone jali screens throw dappled light over the rooms; the kitchen leans farm-to-table Gujarati.
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A small lodge in the golden grasslands of Blackbuck National Park, in the Bhal region of Saurashtra. Rough-hewn stone villas, some with plunge or full pools plus one suite, look straight onto the grass, and blackbuck and bluebull can be watched without leaving your room. Guided walks and the Lettuce Eat restaurant fill the hours in one of India's emptier, stranger landscapes.
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Built in 1729 and for many years the home of Maharaja Sawai Man 'Jai' Singh and Maharani Gayatri Devi, who wrote in her memoir of its ‘charm and character’. It is still the Royal Family's primary residence, and their photographs, polo trophies, heirlooms and a 1950s Ford Thunderbird are on show through the house. Thirteen rooms and suites including two Royal Apartments, furnished in heirlooms and modern pieces the family call a perfect example of Indian Art Deco, with gardens, a pool ringed by fountains, a spa, two restaurants and a polo bar.
Rates on request, usually back within the hour
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