Rajvilas-An
Oberoi Resort
Jaipur, India
It’s as if P.R.S. Oberoi fell in love with India anew—this time with her treasures, beauty and crafts. Like an eighteenth-century miniature painting, he fussed over Rajvilas’ every detail. Artisans commissioned to work with local materials created royal elephants marching around the dining pavilion frescoes, sunken baths sculpted in marble and silk brocades laced with gold thread.
Oberoi would not, of course, be the first Indian to build for love—the Taj itself was built for love…
The
Surya Mahal
Restaurant
at
Rajvilas
Jaipur, India
Frescoes of royal elephants bedecked in robes and jewels parade inside each arched niche of the courtyard’s wall—exquisite miniatures writ large. Darkness seeps across the Rajhasthani desert and a turbaned lamplighter makes his rounds. With a sparkler atop his pole, he ignites the four columnar torches—high as an elephant’s eye—around the raised stage in Surya Mahal’s open courtyard.
The
Spa at Rajvilas
Jaipur,
India
I
didn’t come to India to play in the tub, but here I am up to my ears in
roses. First, swishing the milky, rose water so the petals tickle my skin,
then lifting my legs skyward for a rose-petal falls. Finally, like an
Indian goddess—but with only two arms—I lie back and savor this rare
treat.