A Journey Through Rajasthan Camps, Cashmere, Jewelry, Polo, Festivals and More
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This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use, please contact client relations at 1-866-831-4314 or email [email protected]. JUNE 2015 | OUR 37TH YEAR AndrewHarper.com TRAVELING THE WORLD IN SEARCH OF TRULY ENCHANTING PLACES THIS MONTH PALACES, FORTS, BAZAARS, DESERTS AND TIGERS EXCITING INDIAN DISCOVERIES Exotic new hotels and India: A Journey Through Rajasthan camps, cashmere, jewelry, polo, festivals and more NEW YORK UPDATE New Midtown hotels, plus Theater District restaurants, shops and museums WEB EXCLUSIVES Look for these symbols, then visit The Hideaway Report at AndrewHarper.com. = additional related article = slideshow = video IN THE NEWS New Era on Cap Ferrat FEW GRAND HOTELS are quite as grand as the Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat. Built in 1908, it is surrounded by 17 acres of lavender and Tranquil garden at the glamorous new Rajmahal Palace hotel, Jaipur citrus trees at the tip of a PHOTO BY ANDREW HARPER pine-scented peninsula seven miles east of Nice. THE FAMOUSLY OPULENT PALACE HOTELS OF RAJASTHAN — PLACES SUCH AS THE Gustave Eiffel designed the lobby; Pierre-Yves Rambagh Palace in Jaipur and the Lake Palace in Udaipur — remain an irresistible draw for Rochon presided over a 2009 renovation. History, most first-time visitors to India. But now, a new generation of sumptuous smaller properties grandeur, a celebrity clien- and luxury camps offers experienced travelers a variety of alluring alternatives. tele, a Michelin-starred restaurant, an excep- aipur, like much of India, has changed enormously miles away. At the same time, the Rajmahal Palace tional spa and a private Jin recent years. Today, a metropolis of more than was constructed: a serene pavilion surrounded by a stretch of waterfront: The 3 million people encircles the 18th-century core. pleasure garden. During the colonial period from Cap-Ferrat has them all. Fortunately, the heart of the city has lost little of its 1821 to 1947, this became the home of the British The only criticism has been that the service is magic. Elephants and camels still mingle with the Resident political officer. Then, after independence, a tad old-fashioned. Now cars and tuk-tuks; the gem and textile merchants the flamboyant, polo-playing Maharaja Man Singh this is likely to change. In continue to ply their trades in the kaleidoscopic II adopted the Rajmahal as his personal residence. May, Four Seasons took Johari Bazaar; and the precincts of the immense It soon became a kind of guesthouse for the global over management of the City Palace are as imposing and exotic as ever. elite, presided over by his dazzling wife, Gayatri property. Henceforth, North American hospi- By Indian standards, Jaipur is not especially Devi, author of the best-selling memoir “A Princess tality can be expected to ancient. In 1727, at the instigation of Maharaja Jai Remembers.” The queen of England came to stay, augment Gallic elegance Singh II, a new planned city was laid out on a grid, as did Jackie Kennedy, along with an international and flair. FOURSEASONS.COM a replacement for his previous capital, Amber, seven cast of politicians, sportsmen and socialites. For personalized trip-planning assistance, call (800) 375-4685 or email [email protected]. AndrewHarper.com | For comments and inquiries concerning The Hideaway Report, please email [email protected]. TEXTILES Scarves and Shawls ‘SHOCKING PINK is the navy blue of India,” Diana Vreeland famously declared. Rajasthan is a place of vibrant color. The desert may be mono- chrome, but the peacock is a common native bird, and the people delight in crimson, emerald and Living room of the Maharaja’s Apartment, Kennedy Suite bedroom, and lunch in The Collonade gold. For Rajput and Mughal rulers, color and PHOTOS BY ANDREW HARPER display were an expres- sion of power. In Jaipur At the end of 2014, the Rajmahal Palace amounted to understatement. The modern marble and Jodhpur, the skills assumed a new incarnation as a boutique hotel. bath contained a large round soaking tub, as well and crafts of the 16th Although it is still owned by the royal family, as a sizeable and effective walk-in shower. century are now in global management of the property has been entrusted to At present, Rajmahal offers 14 air-conditioned demand. My guide took SUJÁN, an expanding Indian hotel company best rooms and suites, including two magnificent Royal me to Maharani Textiles & Handicrafts, an appar- known for its upscale wildlife camps. Arriving in Apartments, but up to 15 new accommodations are ently unremarkable store Jaipur, we turned off a congested urban highway and planned. The two-bedroom Maharaja’s Apartment in the Jodhpur bazaar a entered a hidden 10-acre enclave of neat flowerbeds comes with a drawing room that opens onto a private 10-minute walk from the and clipped lawns. At the end of a stretch of raked terrace, a dining room with seating for eight, and a RAAS hotel. “We have around 2,000 employees,” gravel, our car drew up beneath the portico of an dedicated butler. The equally impressive Maharani’s owner Mukesh Jain told imposing pink mansion. There, staff in white robes Apartment also provides a private dining room, plus a me, “and we manufacture and scarlet turbans escorted us up a flight of steps veranda and a heated plunge pool. Scarcely less lavish for many of the top inter- into the cool of the ceremonial Durbar Hall. India’s are the four Royal Suites, which include The Queen national designers. In New dust and cacophony vanished, and we found ourselves Elizabeth II Suite, built for the British monarch’s York, we work for Donna Karan. And in Paris, for in a world of voluptuous calm. Flutes of champagne state visit to India in 1961, and The Kennedy Suite, Hermès. Here, you can arrived on a silver tray. inhabited by Jackie Kennedy in 1962. buy this for $200,” he Although Rajmahal is nearly 300 years old, Having settled in — the services of a butler to continued, flinging open its architecture was modified in accordance with unpack our bags were offered and declined — we an exquisite cashmere shawl. “But on the Rue du European tastes. Inside, the décor is now also a went for a stroll around the gardens before relaxing Faubourg Saint-Honoré, mixture of Indian and colonial styles, laced with beside the lovely art deco swimming pool. Alas, they charge 7,000 euros.” generous helpings of art deco and chinoiserie. A like most outdoor pools in India, it was unheated. In Jaipur, you can enjoy Delhi-based interior designer, Adil Ahmad, was Currently, Rajmahal has a small spa in an adjacent a very different kind of shopping experience engaged to undertake a comprehensive redecoration. building, but plans are under way for a more at Hot Pink, an elegant Clearly, no expense was spared, and he was allowed extensive facility. boutique in the Hotel to indulge every conceivable whim and fantasy. In The hotel’s principal dining venue is The Orient Narain Niwas Palace that addition to 46 custom-designed wallpapers, Ahmad Occident, where excellent Indian and Western was co-founded by French installed a flamboyant, at times overwhelming, color cuisine is graciously served in a grand mirrored designer Marie-Hélène de Taillac. The shop contains scheme. Fortunately, he also relied extensively on space. I particularly enjoyed taking light meals in an eclectic mix of textiles family furniture, paintings and photographs, so that The Collonade, an exquisite glass-fronted veranda and artifacts from all despite the extravagance, the Rajmahal retains the overlooking the gardens. Nearby, The Polo Bar displays over India. atmosphere of a grand private home. silver trophies and black-and-white photographs from We found that we had been allocated the second- the former maharaja’s polo-playing days. floor Resident’s Suite. In contrast with the public For many years, my recommended property in areas (and many of the other guest accommodations), Jaipur has been the Rambagh Palace, also a former our huge circular room was more restrained in style, royal residence. Located about a mile from the though lavender paisley wallpaper, mirrored doors, Rajmahal, it is an imposing structure of 79 rooms a Persian carpet and a huge chandelier scarcely and suites surrounded by extensive grounds and 2 HIDEAWAY REPORT JUNE 2015 retreat” constructed around a 19th-century hunting GEMSTONES lodge owned by the local Thakur, or feudal lord. Situated on a ridge four miles south of the town, it overlooks a dramatic tract of wild and inhospitable country. We had been drawn to the property by flattering reviews in major travel magazines and a Royal Collection seductive website. at Gem Palace The resort’s 12 stone cottages are set along the Jewelry shores of a small man-made lake, its surface dotted in Jaipur with wildfowl and its margins stalked by egrets and herons. Each cottage has been colorfully decorated LARGE RUBIES, with traditional Rajasthani furniture and artifacts, sapphires and emeralds can often be purchased and offers space, a high degree of privacy and a in Jaipur for much less chilly plunge pool. The cottages are touted as places than they would cost in in which to relax, to read and to escape from the the West. Although the polo fields. Although immaculately maintained, it world. Instead, they struck me as places in which to city contains innumerable inevitably seems more impersonal. In contrast, the stores and workshops, a feel bored and isolated — once the initial pleasure visit to the Gem Palace is much smaller Rajmahal permits its guests to feel of watching the ducks through binoculars had worn still mandatory.