Saturday October 29 – A Beautiful Resort Destination: Udaipur
This morning we woke up early, once again to go see the city of Udaipur. After the 45-minute drive, we had no desire to see another palace or even go on more hotel inspections. However, we were there for a reason- to set up Steele Luxury Travel’s Sweet Taste of India 2012 group trip. We stopped along the way to visit a Jain temple in Ranakpur. This famous marble complex is noted for its 29 halls supported by 1,444 pillars, each adorned with hundreds of carved figures, no two alike. 
Our energy was revived after our long day yesterday and we were ready to hit it. We started off in the city center visiting the crystal museum. One of Udaipur’s majarajas had a more than complete collection of crystal on display that he had made for himself during his reign. The display of crystal was brilliant; from crystal beds to chandaleirs, from drinking and shot glasses, to combs and beauty accessories- all in stunning crystal.
After our visit to the beautiful museum, we were to visit 3 hotels in the city. We were thrilled to visit these hotels as they were all voted by Conde Nast Traveler as 3 of the best hotels in the world. Udaipur is known as the “city of sunrise”, India’s most romantic city, built around four lakes. The blue waters reflect the shimmering white palaces and temples and the whole city exudes a feeling of peace and beautiful space. We started with the Taj Lake Palace, which is a floating hotel in the middle of Udaipur’s Lake Pichola. The hotel did not look that fantastic form the outside, however from the inside it was an oasis of all sorts. The young maharaja had built this palace for his lavish dinner and dance parties—something I can surely relate to. The property included beautifully appointed rooms, grand public spaces, and a tropical vibe that included small animals and lush greenery. It was a delight to be there. However, I was looking forward to the Oberoi Udaivilas, voted as one of the 3 best hotels in the world. 
This beautiful Udaivilas hotel was a pure resort. The hotel boasted an airy luscious vibe about it; most rooms had their own private plunge pool overlooking Lake Pichola. We obviously loved this hotel and decided to incorporate it into our itinerary; no questions asked.
We ended with the brand new and modern Leela Hotel, which my friend Andre was staying. Josh and I enjoyed a delicious lunch together with our tour guide Shiv and Andre; we ordered hamburgers and fries—yumm. The hotel was over the top decorated, beautiful dark rooms, and extravagant public areas complete with waterfalls, high designed murals, and stunning furniture. It was a bit chintzy for me. This property could have been in palm springs, Manhattan or London. It looked like Mr. Phillipe Starck had something to do with this place… we decided that the hotel was not exactly to our liking.
We decided to take the remainder of the day and run around the local city with no guide, no bus. Josh, Andre and myself truly enjoyed the afternoon bargaining, wheeling and dealing. We knew that we should enjoy this beautiful and happy day, as tomorrow we were headed to Varanasi to experience one of India’s not-to-miss experiences, the cremation grounds and the Mystical Ganges River.