The Wall Street Journal-20080216-WEEKEND JOURNAL- India- How To Travel Like A Raja
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WEEKEND JOURNAL; India: How To Travel Like A Raja
Full Text (2187 words)[A world once confined to India's rural aristocracy is opening up as historic forts and palaces turn into boutique hotels.]
Bhainsrorgarh, India -- In the early 18th century, an ambitious nobleman, Rawat Lal Singh, stabbed his friend in the neck on orders of the local king. The king's reward for removing a rival was a fief here in the southwest corner of the state of Rajasthan, where the nobleman built a fort perched on a cliff above a river filled with crocodiles.
For centuries, the fort proved impregnable. Only in recent months have the gates swung open to a new era of invaders: tourists.
In September, two brothers who are descendants of the murderous nobleman began accepting guests in five restored rooms of the Bhainsrorgarh Fort. The 25-acre property is the latest example of how India's noble families are turning towering antiquities into boutique hotels.
Rajasthan's Department of Tourism estimates that 130 forts and palaces have been converted into so-called heritage hotels during the past decade or so. Many are owned by families, like the Singhs, who lost their powers to govern and tax their fiefs after India's independence in 1947 but held onto much of their property and the historical landmarks on them. In some cases, the crumbling castles reflect crumbling family fortunes -- and the hospitality business is a way to rejuvenate both.
The Indian government has nudged along the trend. In the early 1990s, it lifted a ban on India's erstwhile nobles transforming historic homes into commercial properties, according to Daleep Singh Rathore, assistant director in Rajasthan's Department of Tourism.
More recently, the government has extended loans to families hoping to open hotels in palaces and forts. The cash infusions have saved scores of forts and palaces that were falling apart, while helping to meet surging demand for high-end hotels among tourists and business travelers. While Mr. Rathore doesn't have details on how many have done so, he says there has been a substantial increase in recent years.
Indeed, Rajasthan's heritage properties are drawing more tourists who want to break from the well-trodden Taj Mahal path. In 2006, Rajasthan ranked fourth among India's states and municipalities in total foreign visitors, nearly doubling to 1.2 million from 2003.
Big hotel groups have long seen the potential for business. One of the first was Neemrana Hotels, founded by a Frenchman, Francis Wacziarg. In 1986, Neemrana Hotels converted a 15th-century fort between New Delhi and Jaipur and opened it as a hotel, called the Neemrama Fort-Palace. Neemrana Hotels has since restored several other tottering properties, including one in the nearby village of Kesroli, called the Hill Fort Kesroli.
The Tata Group's Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces operates three palaces in Rajasthan, including the Taj Lake Palace, aptly named because it's on an island in the middle of Udaipur's Lake Pichola. India's wealthy Poddar family, which has been involved in several heritage projects, took more than a decade to restore the Devi Garh Palace outside of Udaipur.
To tap into the tourist flows, Hilton International and India's Oberoi Hotels & Resorts are among those that have built properties near Rajasthan's forts and palaces.
Like the Singhs, many royal families are inclined to hold onto their former fiefs rather than sell to a hotel group. As Hemendra Singh was growing up, he estimates his family rejected 100 or so written offers to sell or lease the Bhainsrorgarh Fort.
By venturing into the hotel business without established backers, though, Hemendra Singh and his brother Rajveer confront big challenges. Funding and staff training are merely two.
The fundamental challenge is how to turn a military fortress into a comfortable hotel. The fort -- which once housed hundreds of soldiers and included stables for 250 horses and three elephants -- was able to repulse the mightiest of attacks. The fort also had its own grainary and two separate wings in the main building for men and women. Yet it has stood up less well to Rajasthan's harsh desert climate and decades of neglect. Cracks have opened in now-abandoned rooms. Honey bees have taken over one of them.
Still, the two brothers -- with assistance from their wives and a dozen staff hired from the local village -- have managed to cater to high-end tourists. They charge about $365 a night for a room, all-you- can-eat royal cuisine included. Indoor plumbing, installed last year, has helped. So have touches like stained-glass windows in some of the spacious rooms. The main draw is sitting, dining and strolling around a fort hundreds of years old and hundreds of feet above the placid Chambal River, home to a crocodile sanctuary.
"This is my dream -- to put Bhainsrorgarh on the world map," says 35-year old Hemendra Singh. He grew up in the fort and is now marketing it from New Delhi, where he lives in a less palatial third- floor apartment. The brothers aim to open another 15 rooms in the fort in the next five years.
Constraining the flow of tourists is the time it takes to reach Bhainsrorgarh. From India's capital, New Delhi, it's an 11-hour road journey or an overnight train to nearby Kota city.
An hour from Kota, after winding through narrow village lanes, the elder of the Singh brothers, 41-year old Rajveer, greets guests at Bhainsrorgarh Fort Hotel. He offers cool glasses of guava juice and wreaths of marigolds. Guests are escorted to rooms past mounted antelope heads, grainy photos of slain tigers and ancestor paintings.
The artwork features the family's notorious Rawat Lal Singh, whom the 19th-century British explorer and historian Lt. Col. James Tod called "a beacon in the annals of crime." In his three-volume history of Rajasthan, Lt. Col. Tod describes how the Singhs' forefather murdered the king's uncle, Nathji Maharaja. As one of his best friends, he was able to slip into the well-guarded chambers at midnight to slit the man's throat as he was bent in prayer.
According to the author, the last words the Maharaja uttered were: "What brings you here?"
The King of Udaipur elevated the Rawat Lal Singh family to the top tier of Rajasthani nobles, able to rule vast swaths of land, and granted it Bhainsrorgarh.
Work on Bhainsrorgarh Fort began in 1742, clearly with the worry of revenge in mind. The fort's short doorways force visitors to stoop when entering rooms, so sword-wielding hosts might more easily slice off the heads of unwanted guests.
Bhainsrorgarh's current host, Rajveer Singh, claims no hard feelings remain between the two families. Digging out his ancestor's 16th- century gold-plated dagger, fingering a blade still razor sharp, Mr. Singh says, "because of this dagger, we have this property."
But if the family still has the fort, being a royal isn't what it used to be. Instead of being waited upon, Mr. Singh spends his days hustling up and down stairs serving dishes that he and his wife help cook. The royal cuisine includes blackened chicken, mutton with gravy, freshly plucked okra and sweet shredded carrots for dessert.
Mr. Singh has also done away with the traditional attire of Rajasthani nobles -- colorful turbans and pointy shoes -- for jeans, leather loafers and a ranch-style canvas jacket. The wardrobe is more suitable to the Jeep drives he takes with guests through desert scrub brush to nearby villages.
The family's rule of the land and people was taken away six decades ago. But older men who recognize the eldest heir of Bhainsrorgarh clasp their hands and bow as he whizzes by. Mr. Singh nods back -- as a neighbor, not a noble. "I'm a hotel operator now," he says, shifting gears. "That's what I want to be."
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Krishna Pokharel contributed to this article.
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STAYING AT A
HISTORIC HOTEL
Most tourists are drawn to Rajasthan for its majestic forts and palaces. The best known are those on a straight and beaten path through the cities of Jaipur and Jodhpur, ending up at India's western edge in the desert city of Jaisalmer. Many travelers also trek south to forts and palaces around Udaipur and its scenic lake.
But just as some of these monuments to Rajasthan's warrior kings are grander than others, so too have their remnants been restored with varying degrees of care. Those looking to live within their walls for a day or two should research not just the rich past, but also check up on the present condition of these so-called heritage hotels. Here are tips on how to locate the best out-of-the-way places.
-- Find at least one established and trustworthy travel agent. A good travel agent is essential for those looking to stay in more than one fort or palace for tourists. An agent can help plan an itinerary that suits your time frame, budget and stamina for Rajasthan's rough- road travel. Agents will probably be able to coordinate better with the families that operate many of these heritage hotels, since communication can be patchy. Agents may also advise on how kid- friendly a place may be as well as hire safe and reliable drivers or book train tickets. For agent recommendations, try the Rajasthan government's department of tourism -- email assistant director Daleep Singh Rathore at [email protected].
-- Once you have two or three proposed itineraries, do your own research. Check places on the Internet. Make sure Web site prices match (or are cheaper) than what is being offered through an agent. Try to find recent customer reviews, since prices and quality of places can change quickly. Check the route on a map of Rajasthan to gauge travel time and work out if you want to hit points of interest on the way.
-- At each destination, try to have a backup option. Some can be dirty and depressing -- you shouldn't waste your time and money sticking it out. Do due diligence, but also reach an understanding with an agent that if a place falls far short of expectations you reserve the right to change -- or move on to the next stop.
-- Peter Wonacott
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Trip Planner
Rajasthan
TRAVELERS TO Rajasthan should time their trips carefully. Early in the year is ideal as cooler winter and spring months make travel easier. Trips to the state should include a visit to the capital, the pink-walled city of Jaipur, whose streets are teeming with sacred cows and street vendors selling everything from shoes made of camel leather to ornate puppets. Shekhawati, the region in northeast Rajasthan, is famous for its forts and frescoes, giving the area the feel of an open-air museum.
Festive animal fairs around the state offer memorable Rajasthani tableaus while providing a change of pace from the temples, forts and palaces. Fairs include Nagaur Cattle Fair (Feb. 12-16), featuring camels and plenty of Rajasthan's turban-wearing, mustachioed men bargaining over beasts of burden. The Jaipur Elephant Festival (March 21), features elephant polo, elephant parades and tug-of-wars between men and, yes, elephants.
Following are some historic forts and palaces in Rajasthan that have been converted into hotels.
1. PHOOL MAHAL PALACE
(www.royalkishangarh.com)
Location: Kishangarh, central Rajasthan.
Features: The 17th-century fort built by the royal Kishangarh family -- and still owned by them -- serves as a towering backdrop to the hotel. Many of the rooms are filled with family heirlooms and look out onto a lake visited by migratory birds.
Price: About $80 a night.
2. TAJ LAKE PALACE
(www.tajhotels.com)
Location: Lake Pichola, Udaipur.
Features: The palace, built by Maharana Jagat Singh II more than 260 years ago, sits in the middle of a lake. Suites overlook ancient temples, fortresses and gardens.
Price: Starting from $500 to $850 a night.
3. DEVI GARH PALACE
(www.deviresorts.com)
Location: 17 miles northeast of Udaipur.
Features: The 18th-century palace has a spa, health club and the services of an astrologer. Design is based on Hindu religious principles of seeking a balance between male and female energies.
Price: A garden suite is $550 a night inclusive of breakfast, lunch and dinner and two-way airport transportation.
4. NEEMRANA FORT-PALACE
(www.neemranahotels.com)
Location: About 60 miles from New Delhi International Airport.
Features: Built in 1464 A.D., the fort and palace is cut into a hillside. The property has a pool along with a health spa and yoga sessions.
Price: A wide variety of rooms range from $63 a night to around $240 for suites.
5. UDAI BILAS PALACE
(www.udaibilaspalace.com)
Location: Dungarpur, Udaipur.
Features: The mid-19th-century, privately owned property straddles Gaibsagar Lake on one side and a reserve forest on the other.
Price: About $113 a night.
6. BALSAMAND LAKE PALACE
(www.heritagehotelsofindia.com)
Location: A few miles north of the city of Jodhpur.
Features: The palace was conceived as the summer capital of Jodhpur rulers when it was built in the 13th century. Now a privately owned hotel, the rooms have medieval Rajasthani-style tapestries and floor coverings.
Price: About $340 a night.
7. HOTEL GAJNER PALACE
(www.hrhhotels.com)
Location: City Palace Complex, Udaipur.
Features: Built by Sir Ganga Singh, a famous Bikaner ruler in the early 20th century, the former hunting resort has places to spot a variety of migratory birds.
Price: $160 per night.
-- Peter Wonacott and Vibhuti Agarwal
