Shiv Niwas Palace, Udaipur

About Shiv Niwas Palace
Built sometime in the beginning of twentieth century by Maharana Fateh Singh as his private residence, Shiv Niwas Palace is one of the mot exotic palaces in Udaipur. Later, the palace was used by Maharana Bhopal Singh as a venue for party and entertainment for the royal guests. The palace is situated at the soutehrn end of Lake Pichola, the palace costed nearly 6,00,000 when it was built. This was a pretty huge amount at the time it was built. The prince of Wales visited this palace in 1903 and was mighty impresed with its dazzling brilliance.

It was the wisdom of the Late Maharana Bhagwat Singh, that saw the palace being converted into a hotel. Since its conversion, the Shiv Niwas palace Hotel has thrice won the best hotel award in the heritage hotel category which goes on to prove the tremendous charm exuded by the palace. The hospitality enjoyed by the tourists is yet another reason for the popularity of the hotel.


Architecture of the Shiv Niwas Palace
This crescent shaped palace was built in typical European style, though traditional elements of Hindu structures manifest themselves too. The structure exudes more harmony and balance in its built up than the nearby Shambhu palace. Maharana Fateh Singh trained two of his court artisans in England so that they embellish the palace interiors and exteriors with glass-mosaic design and fine art of fresco painting.

There is a huge courtyard surrounded by rooms. Originally there were nine suites all around the courtyard. Out of these suites one is decorated with paintings while four of them were decorated with glass mosaics. The rest of the rooms were left plain and without any embellishment. More suites were added to the original structure after the palace as converted into a heritage hotel.

The most interesting aspect of the architecture is the decoration of conference hall. The hall faces the lake and is covered with glasses from wall to ceilings. The reflection of the lake at different point of time in the day brightens every corner of the hall. It is one of the best view and tourists must enjoy this on their visit to Shiv Niwas palace.


Shiv Niwas Palace Hotel
The Shiv Niwas Place was converted into a hotel during the reign of Maharana Bhagwat Singh. The success of this experimentation is reflected in the reactions of the visitors who come to stay here. The accomodation at the Shiv Niwas Palace Hotel comprises 14 deluxe rooms and 17 suites. The suites are further subdivided into historic suites (4), terrace suites (8), royal suites (3) and imperial suites(2). The imperial suites have fountains in the bedroom with silver coated furniture while the royal suites have glass inlay works on the walls. Historic suites, lavishly adorned with antiques, have private balcony while the terrace suites have a private terrace in addition to a balcony.

Tourists can enjoy a Continental, Mughlai and Mewari cuisine at the Pantya Restuarant while they can also enjoy a drink at the Paneera bar.

For a bit of entertainment, tourists can take a bath in a swimming pool or enjoy a game of billiards, squash, boating, horse riding and table tennis.


Reaching There
» By Air - Dabok Airport is the nearest airport which is 24 kms away from Udaipur.Flights from this airport connect to all major cities like New Delhi, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Ahmedabad, Aurangabad and Mumbai.
» By Rail - Railways connect Udaipur to and from Chittrogarh, Ajmer, Jaipur and Delhi.
» By Road - Frequent bus services are available to take tourists to and from Udaipur. The cities connected to Udaipur by road include Ahmedabad, Ajmer, Delhi, Jaipur ,Chittrogarh, Indore, Kota, Mount Abu and Mumbai.