Cheryl Bentley - A Guide to the Palace Hotels of India

When the Narain Niwas was built in 1881, it was surrounded by forest. Tigers came frequently to drink water. Panthers arrived to eat the many peacocks strolling around the grounds. It was the garden house built by N arain Singhji, a Rajput chief tan from Kanota, an area 15 km from Jaipur. A vassal of the Jaipur maharaja, Singh stayed here when in Jaipur. The Narain Niwas is appropriately close to Rambagh Palace. But by 1957 the forest had disappeared. With the change in family fortunes the Narain Niwas was opened as a hotel in 1978. Only the peacocks still strolling around its grounds hark back to formerly wild times. Today the hotel remains very much as it was. Two wings, depending on the light, sometimes golden, sometimes pink, with scalloped Mughul arches, flank a central section. The wings are capped by two threestory towers. A cannon rests in front. The property is surrounded by gardens.

Those who enjoy hotels fitting comfortably into the previous century will like this one. Throughout the building you find original frescoes, with paint made from crushed semi-precious stones, bordering arches and defining pillars. The N arain combines a happy collection of nineteenth-century East India Company furniture with Afghan carpets, Rajasthani swords and shields, and native sanganeri (hand block) curtains. The dining room/lobby sports dark wood furniture with elaborate carving, lots of arches, and pink pillars. As in most palace hotels, paintings of ancestors preside over the room. All 22 rooms are different. All have 17 -ft-high ceilings. At slightly higher prices ($28) are deluxe doubles, numbers 21-24. The centerpiece of 21 is the red and maroon marble fireplace. The room comes with gold wicker furniture, chandelier, and a pink marble table with ornate legs that definitely is from times with a taste for embellishment. Number 22 is the hotel's best, with frescoes and red-velvet furniture sporting carved wooden legs. Number 23 is especially large. It has an interesting tall wooden dresser. Upholstery on an ancient sofa is floral. Frescoes surmount the fireplaces. Number 24 also has frescoes and a fireplace. The furniture is gold wicker. Standard doubles contain four-poster beds and also have frescoes. Numbers 33-36 are the best standards. Mohan Singh, grandson of the Narain's founder, runs the hotel. He is often seen lounging on the verandah. Although willing to answer guests' questions regarding the hotel's history, he seems to lack the gift of gab and needs considerable probing to get him to talk.

Kanota Bagh, Narain Singh Road, Jaipur 302 004, Rajasthan, India. Tel. (0141)563448. Telex 03652482 NNPH-IN. AE, DC, MC, v: Special rates negotiable during low season. Moderate.

Although leased by the Taj group, this small ivory hotel with a wide stretch oflawn lacks the high gloss marking Taj hotels. Which is part of its charm. From the maharaja's massive, unrestored wooden furniture to the dust on the polo trophies in the display case, the clock has stopped somewhere in the 1950's for the Raj Mahal. If you are of a romantic bent, charmed rather than bothered by a genteel, crumbling ambience, this ll-room hotel is for you.

Owned by Bhawani Singh, Jaipur's current maharaja, the Raj Mahal has been in suspended animation for years while Singh and the Taj group negotiate its future. It could be renovated at any minute, but given the relaxed Indian concept of time, it could also continue as is for years.

Built approximately 250 years ago by Maharaja Jai Singh for one of his wives, the Raj Mahal was used during the Raj as a British Residency. With Indian independence in 1947, Maharaja Man Singh claimed the property. It was a guest house for his daughter's wedding, which was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the most expensive wedding in the world. After Rambagh became a hotel, Singh and wife Gayatri Devi moved here where they continued their bustling social life. Jacqueline Kennedy stayed here as their guest.

The hotel is still marked with reminders of Man Singh's stay. Display cases are crammed with polo trophies he won and black-and-white photos marking key events. One picture taken in 1935 entitled "Gathering of Famous Polo Players," shows the darkly handsome maharaja. Another "Exhibition Polo Match," in honor of Mrs. Kennedy in 1962, features Devi.