Nilambagh Palace Hotel - Bhavnagar

One hundred and twenty kilometers from Utelia lies the princely port city of Bhavnagar which was founded in 1723 by Bhavsinghji, a descendant of the Gohil Rajputs who came to Saurashtra from Marwar in the 12th century and founded a princely state at Ghogha port. After changing many capitals, they selected Bhavnagar which they developed into a prosperous city. The historic Darbargadh City Palace of Bhavnagar is now given over to a bank but many other grandiose buildings from later centuries survive in reasonably good condition. The present descendants of the former ruling family dwell in a bungalow in the precincts of the Hotel Nilambagh Palace, which aspires more for the internationally accepted standard of luxury - 24 hours room service, telephonic intercoms in all rooms, a la carte menus, reception counter, money exchange counter, travel desk, conference facilities, etc.

Set among 40,000 feet of luxuriant lawn, groves and gardens, the Nilambagh was built in 1895/6 by William Emerson, whose other popular works in India are Bhavnagar's Takth Singhji Hospital, Allahabad's All Saint's Cathedral, Muir College, Bombay's Crawford Market and Calcutta's Victoria Memorial. The entrance is a pillared porch with Gothic arches and an austere period piece reception counter that opens onto a lobby of sofas, exotically colored carpets, life-size portraits, antique furniture, stuffed leopards and mounted trophies. From here one enters a paved courtyard, surrounding a fountain pleasure pool, around which the palace was erected.

The 26 double bedrooms, including 2 executive suites, are furnished lavishly with period furniture. The dining hall is in a grand scale with heavy Burma teak banquet tables, carved chairs, Belgain mirrors, antique furniture and crystal Chez chandeliers. But in summer it is more pleasant to dine in the lawns where there are wrought iron lawn tables, garden chairs and swings. In winter, too, the lawn in a nice place to sit-out and listen to the calls of birds. The highlight of Nilambagh, however, is the swimming pool, designed along the lines of a Roman bath with marble steps and white colonnades.