| Devi Garh Palace | |
|---|---|
| Location | Delwara, Udaipur, Rajasthan |
| Opening date | 2000 |
| Owner | Lekha Poddar, Anupam Poddar |
| Website | http://www.deviresorts.com/ |
Devi Garh Palace is a heritage hotel and resort, built in the 18th century Devi Garh palace in the village of Delwara, nestled in the Aravalli hills, 28 km northeast of Udaipur, Rajasthan and forms one of the three main passes into the valley of Udaipur [1][2].
Today, it is one of India's leading luxury hotels [3], and Frommer's Review, while calling it "the best hotel on the subcontinent", stated that "Devi Garh is more than beautiful, it is inspiring." [1]. In 2008, it was featured in Lifestyle Channel Discovery Travel and Living series, 'Dream Hotels' spread over five continents, other two Indian hotels that made it to the list of 55, were Taj Lake Palace, Udaipur, and Rambagh Palace, Jaipur [4]
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The principality of Delwara was given out to Raja Sajja Singh, one of the lieutenant of Maharana Pratap, after the 'Battle of Haldighati' in 1576 [5]. First a rudimentary palace was built by Raghudev Singh II, which was later revamped a few years later in 1760s for a royal visit of the Maharani of Udaipur. The seven-storeyed hilltop fort palace in Rajasthani architecture was built in the 1760s [6].
Two centuries later, it was in ruins and empty for 20 years, when it was acquired by Poddars, an industrial family from Shekhawati region in 1984 [7]. The restoration took over 15 years and a team of 750 people, led by architect Gautam Bhatia and architect Navin Gupta. The interior spaces were redesigned in minimalistic style by Mumbai-based interior designer Rajiv Saini, to turn this palace into an all suite luxury hotel, complete with a spa and Ayurvedic retreat [8][9][10], today it is considered one of India's best designed hotels [11][12].
In 2004, came into limelight with British model-actress Liz Hurley and her NRI boyfriend Arun Nayar visit to the Devigarh Palace to celebrate the latter's birthday.[13], since it has also been visited by Amitabh Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan and Fardeen Khan, besides Ambani brothers [14]
The 2007 Hindi film, Eklavya: The Royal Guard was set and extensively shot at Devigarh [15].
Located 28 km northeast of Udaipur, on the road between Udaipur and the religious township of Nathdwara, Devi Garh is a 45 minute drive from the city.