Inside Indian royal Maharaja Padmanabh Singh’s opulent home in Jaipur’s City Palace – now available to rent on Airbnb
Parts of his palatial residence are a museum, open to visitors who flock to see its historic artefacts, intricate carvings and paintings, but for the wealthier visitor, there is even a suite of rooms available on Airbnb, with the proceeds going to help support local rural women.
Here’s a look around the polo-loving, fashion-don, ramp-model prince’s home. Welcome to the City Palace, Jaipur.
The palace basics
The City Palace was part of a huge project to lay out a new city by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, who laid its foundation stone in 1727. Called Jaipur, it is now often referred to as the Pink City on account of the colour of much of the stone used.
The palace itself is a mixture of Rajput and Mughal architecture with the palace’s temples and other buildings built around several courtyards. There are three gates, two of them providing access to visitors today, while the current members of the royal family have exclusive use of the Tripolia gate.
The palace’s widespread use of inlaid ornamentation, mirrors and murals showcase the artistic traditions of Jaipur while displaying a significant part of the royal family’s heritage.
Mubarak Mahal
This is most visitors’ focus of attention as they enter the palace, planted centrally in its largest courtyard. The palace’s reception hall was a much later addition and today houses a major part of the museum, with an impressive collection of pashmina shawls, costumes, saris and folk embroidery. Other parts of the museum are housed in galleries surrounding this and other courtyards.
Pure opulence
Throughout the palace, there’s an impressive collection of chandeliers, wall carvings and paintings. The palace is filled with antiques assembled by the family over generations and the current prince, who is a proud ambassador of the Pink City, is rumoured to be more knowledgeable about the artefacts on display than any guide.
Alternatively, guests can book a guide to take them to the most popular spots for all the best shots of the palace, as well as tip them off as to where to get the best deals from local shopkeepers in the surrounding city.
Chandra Mahal
The seven-storey Chandra Mahal is the architectural centrepiece of the palace, including its most important features, the Mukut Mahal, Shri Niwas, Ranga Mandir, Sukh Niwas – sumptuously decorated rooms, one atop another. The pinnacle for many is the Chhavi Niwas, whose blue-and-white colour scheme has made it one of the most Instagramable places in the palace.
Room with a view
The best possible way to experience the palace is to wake up within it as a guest. Lacking an invite from the maharaja himself, you can achieve that by booking the lavishly appointed Gudliya Suite which includes an indoor swimming pool and the services of a butler. Previously used by the likes of Princess Diana and Oprah Winfrey, the suite is today available on Airbnb for around US$8,000 a night.
The proceeds from booking go to the Princess Diya Kumari Foundation, a local non-profit that particularly supports women in rural areas of Rajasthan.
Tourist tips
A few things to note ahead of your visit to the city and its palace:
- The best time to visit Jaipur is between October and March when the weather is cooler
- The palace opens at 9:30am and closes at 5pm, seven days a week
- A full tour can take two or three hours
- Flat shoes are recommended
- Although the royal family keep a low profile, some tourists claim to have spotted the prince at the museum – you never know if you may get lucky!
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Princess Diana and Oprah Winfrey once stayed in the Rajasthani royal residence, and now you can book the same lavish butler-serviced Gudliya Suite on Airbnb – or if your budget won’t allow it, take a tour of the City Palace’s historic halls