Devi Garh Palace is a heritage hotel and resort, housed in the 18th-century Devi Garh palace in the village of
Delwara
Delwara, nestled in the Aravalli Range hills, is a small town about 28 kms away from Udaipur, Mewar (a former state in present-day Rajasthan), and close to Eklingji Temple, on the way to the temple town of Nathdwara, in the state of Raja ...
. It was the
royal residence
A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whic ...
of the rulers of Delwara
principality, from mid-18th century till mid-20th century. Situated amidst in the
Aravalli hills, 28 km northeast of
Udaipur
Udaipur () ( ISO 15919: ''Udayapura''), historically named as Udayapura, is a city and municipal corporation in Udaipur district of the state of Rajasthan, India. It is the administrative headquarter of Udaipur district. It is the historic cap ...
,
Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...
, Devigarh forms one of the three main passes into the valley of Udaipur.
[New York Times Review - Devi Garh]
''The New York Times''.
In 2006, ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' named it as is one of India's leading luxury hotels, and
Frommer's
Frommer's is a travel guide book series created by Arthur Frommer in 1957. Frommer's has since expanded to include more than 350 guidebooks in 14 series, as well as other media including an eponymous radio show and a website. In 2017, the compan ...
Review, while calling it "the best hotel on the subcontinent", stated that "Devi Garh is more than beautiful, it is inspiring."
[ In 2008, it was featured in ]Lifestyle Channel
Lifestyle (formerly known as The LifeStyle Channel) is an Australian television channel. The channel launched on 1 September 1997. The channel has an emphasis on contemporary lifestyle interests. Its programming covers topics including food an ...
Discovery Travel and Living
Discovery Travel & Living is a defunct channel brand from Discovery Communications. This name was used in countries of Europe, Latin America and Asia. In other parts of the world the channel is known as Travel and Living Channel. It features trav ...
series, 'Dream Hotels' spread over five continents, other two Indian hotels that made it to the list of 55, were Taj Lake Palace, Udaipur
Udaipur () ( ISO 15919: ''Udayapura''), historically named as Udayapura, is a city and municipal corporation in Udaipur district of the state of Rajasthan, India. It is the administrative headquarter of Udaipur district. It is the historic cap ...
, and Rambagh Palace
The Rambagh Palace in Jaipur, Rajasthan is the former residence of the Maharaja of Jaipur located outside the walls of the city of Jaipur on Bhawani Singh road.
History
The first building on the site was a garden house built in 1835 for the w ...
, Jaipur
Jaipur (; Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had a population of 3.1 million, making it the tenth most populous city in the country. Jaipur is also known ...
History
Delwara, nestled in the Aravali hills, is about 28 km away from Udaipur and close to Eklingji Temple on way to temple town of Nathdwara. Delwara was originally known as ''‘Devkul Patan Nagri’'' which means the town of god, boasted of over 1500 temples at one time, out of which there were about 400 Jain temples. The ancient Jain temples of Delwara, now in total ruins, were built during the reign of Emperor Samprati (224-215 BC). He was the grandson of Emperor Ashok and son of Ashoka’s blind son Kunal. Samprati became the Emperor of the entire western and southern part of India (Maurya Empire) and ruled from Ujjain. It is said that Samprati, also known as ‘Jain Ashoka’, built thousands of Jain temples in India. It may be noted that all the ancient Jain monuments of Rajasthan and Gujarat, including the Jain temples at Delwara (Mewar), are also attributed to Emperor Samprati.
During 12th century, Rao Samant Singh of Jalore had four sons – Rao Kanhadeo, Maldeo, Raningdeo, and Sagar. Rao Kanhadeo and his son Kunwar Viramdeo were killed in a battle against Allauddin Khilji
Alaud-Dīn Khaljī, also called Alauddin Khilji or Alauddin Ghilji (), born Ali Gurshasp, was an emperor of the Khalji dynasty that ruled the Delhi Sultanate in the Indian subcontinent. Alauddin instituted a number of significant administrative ...
in 1311, while Rao Maldeo and Rao Raningdeo ruled smaller Jagirs in Jalore. It is believed that ''Rao Sagar'' was given the Jagir of Delwara, as the adjoining areas of Girva (Udaipur) were ruled by Deora Chauhans until 14-15th century.
Around the middle of the 13th century, ''Raja Sagar,'' a Deora Chauhan and a descendant of Rao Kirtipal of Jalore was a very brave king of ''Delwara''. He was the progenitor of Bothra Bachhawat Mehtas. Raja Sagar was blessed with three sons - ''Bohitya'', Gangadas and Jaisingh. Whenever there was the invasion from Muslims, Rana Jaitra Singh (1213–53) and later his son Rana Tej Singh (1262–73) called ''Raja Sagar'' for help in the battle. Raja Sagar always came along with army and fought valiantly against the invading Muslims.
Later, the Kingdom of Mewar was divided into 16 first grade thikanas or districts. Delwara was one of the 16 Rajwadas, along with Badi Sadri and Gogunda. Delwara was ruled by Jhala Rajputs from 15th Century onwards. The ancestor of the family was Raja Raj Singh of Halvad (Dhrangadhara), son of Harpal Singh Makwana. Jhalas performed meritorious service in Mewar along with Maharana Kumbha (1433–68). During the reign of Maharana Udai Singh I (1468–73) sons of Raja Raj Singh, Ajja and Sajja, came to Mewar. The Maharana granted the Jagir of Delwara to Kunwar Sajja and that of Bari Sadri to Kunwar Ajja Singh. Ajja fought alongside Maharana Sangram Singh I (1509-1527) and against Babur in 1527 at the Battle of Khanwa. When Maharana Sangram Singh (Rana Sanga) was wounded on the battlefield, Ajja donned the Maharana's tunic, which kept the Mewar army together but proved fatal for Raj Rana Ajja, who died in the battle. As many as 7 generations of the Jhala family had been sacrificing their lives for Maharanas of Mewar. Later, the second wife of Maharana Udai Singh II (1537–72) was a daughter of Raj Rana Jait Singh of Delwara.
The principality of Delwara was given out to Raja Sajja Singh, one of the lieutenant of Maharana Pratap
Pratap Singh I, popularly known as Maharana Pratap (c. 9 May 1540 – 19 January 1597), was a king of Mewar from the Sisodia dynasty. Pratap became a folk hero for his military resistance against the expansionism of the Mughal Empire under A ...
, after the ' Battle of Haldighati' in 1576. First a rudimentary palace was built by Raghudev Singh II, which was later revamped a few years later in the 1760s for a royal visit of the Maharani of Udaipur
Udaipur () ( ISO 15919: ''Udayapura''), historically named as Udayapura, is a city and municipal corporation in Udaipur district of the state of Rajasthan, India. It is the administrative headquarter of Udaipur district. It is the historic cap ...
. The seven-storeyed hilltop fort palace in Rajasthani architecture
The architecture of the Indian state of Rajasthan has usually been a regional variant of the style of Indian architecture prevailing in north India at the time. Rajasthan is especially notable for the forts and palaces of the many Rajput rule ...
was built in the 1760s.
Restoration
Two centuries later, it was in ruins and empty for 20 years, when it was acquired by Poddars, an industrial family from Shekhawati
Shekhawati is a semi-arid historical region located in the northeast part of Rajasthan, India. The region was ruled by Shekhawat Rajputs.
Shekhawati is located in North Rajasthan, comprising the districts of Jhunjhunu,
parts of Sikar that lie ...
region living in Bangalore
Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...
in 1984. The restoration took over 15 years and a team of 750 people, led by architect AUTAM BHATIAand 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
A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneoth ...
and Ayurvedic retreat, today it is considered one of India's best-designed hotels.
Visitors and events
In 2004, it came into limelight with British model-actress Liz Hurley
Elizabeth Jane Hurley (born 10 June 1965) is an English actress and model.
As an actress, her best-known film roles have been as Vanessa Kensington in '' Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery'' (1997) and as the Devil in '' Bedazzled'' ( ...
and her NRI boyfriend Arun Nayar
Elizabeth Jane Hurley (born 10 June 1965) is an English actress and model.
As an actress, her best-known film roles have been as Vanessa Kensington in '' Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery'' (1997) and as the Devil in '' Bedazzled'' (2 ...
's visit to the Devigarh Palace to celebrate the latter's birthday. Since then it has also been visited by Amitabh Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan
Saif Ali Khan (; born Sajid Ali Khan Pataudi; 16 August 1970) is an Indian actor and film producer who works in Hindi films. Part of the Pataudi family, he is the son of actress Sharmila Tagore and cricketer Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi.
Khan ...
and Fardeen Khan
Fardeen Khan (; born 8 March 1974) is an Indian actor. He is the recipient of a Filmfare Award (1999) and is the son of the actor, director, and film producer Feroz Khan.
Early life and education
Fardeen Khan was born on 8 March 1974 in Mumbai ...
, and the Ambani Ambani is a surname and may refer to the following people:
Some people of Ambani surname
* Anil Ambani, an Indian businessman and chairman of Reliance Group
* Dhirubhai Ambani, an Indian businessman and founder of Reliance Industries in Mumbai
...
brothers.
The 2007 Hindi film, '' Eklavya: The Royal Guard'' was set and extensively shot at Devigarh.Eklavya belongs to Amitabh Bachchan!
Aprajita Anil, Indian Express
''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split be ...
, 16 February 2007.
Transport
Located 28 km northeast of Udaipur, on the road between Udaipur and the religious township of
Nathdwara
Nathdwara is a town near Rajsamand city in the Rajsamand district of the state of Rajasthan, India. It is located in the Aravalli hills, on the banks of the Banas River and is 48 kilometres north-east of Udaipur. Shrinathji, is a swarup o ...
, Devi Garh is a 45-minute drive from the city.
References
External links
Official websiteat Archive
at
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was f ...
Palace of dreamsat
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...
Devi Garh Locationwikimapia
Wikimapia is a geographic online encyclopedia project. The project implements an interactive "clickable" web map that utilizes Google Maps with a geographically-referenced wiki system, with the aim to mark and describe all geographical objects ...
{{Udaipur
Palaces in Rajasthan
Royal residences in India
Hotels in Rajasthan
Buildings and structures in Udaipur district
Hotels established in 2000
Houses completed in the 18th century
Tourist attractions in Udaipur district
Heritage hotels in India
Hotels in Udaipur