The grandest palace open to guests inIndia may be the Umaid Bhawan inJodhpur, a monumental 347-room golden sandstone edifice that is still the home of the maharaja of Jodhpur and his family. (They have retreated to one enormous wing.) After attempting to run it as a hotel himself, the maharaja also turned it over to Taj to manage.
The first two days of the festival this year were held in the intricate 15th-20th century red sandstone Mehrangarh Fort, one of the largest inIndia, which looms four hundred feet above the blue city of Jodhpur.