For our visit to Trivandrum (the
actual name is a real mouth full of syllables, so if you want to try it,
officially it's Thiruvananthapuram), and in the spirit of a continuing birthday
present, Iowa Guru booked us a couple of nights in a 5-star hotel. It is an
interesting experience.
Mind you, we'd had some experience in this realm, in India. (I can't fathom the prices of such accommodations in the U.S. or Europe). The Four-Points Sheraton that we stayed in initially in Jaipur may have been 5-star, but it was, for the most part, just a nice hotel. (The staff was very friendly.) No, if you want a real 5-star experience in Rajasthan, you need to stay in a "heritage hotel". We haven't done that, but we've visited these places. Indeed, one, the Rambaugh Palace, is about a 10-15 minute walk from our flat. It's not as close as the slum area, but you can get just about everything in a 15' walk in Jaipur, from 17th century to 21st century, filthy rich to frighteningly poor. When Abba, Amy and Tom were here, we entered the cloistered precincts of the Rambaugh, taking the "champagne tour"--it concludes with a complimentary glass of champagne and some finger-foods to conclude, of course. These edifices, like many around Rajasthan, were once the palaces of the mighty and wealthy maharajas. You definitely get the vibe. Even the peacocks at Rambaugh palace seem a little more upscale. The lawn is manicured. Everything is meticulously clean (this is Rajasthan remember, where dust and grit come home to live). The indoor pool, the outdoor pool, the railway car restaurant, and the gold-plated room (with gold-plated service), all make you think that people here have money. A great place to pass through.
Another Rajasthan 5-star experience is Samood Palace, located next to a small village about an hour drive outside of Jaipur. Approaching via the single lane road through the sleepy village, with its pigs and goats and kids (human), you wonder what must lie at the end. And, Indian style, you find a gorgeous palace. To enter, you climb steps, entering a new level of intimacy with the building (and formerly, the maharaja), creating the sense of cloister than one finds in these heritage hotels. (Indeed, the women were cloistered.) The sense of ease, of space, of quiet, makes the whole experience seem almost otherworldly. (See photos by Iowa Guru for a sense of the splendor.)
Now, to the south. This hotel, a Taj, was not a heritage hotel, so it looked like a modern hotel. A large, clean, spacious lobby, poorly lit (why do they do that?). The room is nice, but small. A phone in the bathroom and glass shower doors give away that this is a classy place. The food was okay, but nothing to shout about. It had a nice workout room, with one guy who seemed to have a personal attendant to push the buttons on the remote control for the TV while the client continued his concentration on the slowly moving treadmill. The attendant later helped hold down the client's feet during sit-ups and mopped the client's mildly sweating brow when a little bead of sweat appeared. It all seems a bit weird to our middle-class, Midwestern sensibilities. However, the best amenity, and one that I wouldn't mind having available, was the swimming pool. Long enough for lap-swimming, perfect water temperature, and unused except by IG and me, it was a treat. The sun was a bit intense even around 9 a.m., but even 5-stars can't control everything.
The one experience that I haven't enjoyed at any of these hotels is a sighting of any beautiful people. Jackie O. used to visit the maharaja in Udaipur (and a sweet spot it was), and one reads about beautifuls visiting Jodhpur or Jaipur. (Jaipur, of course, gets writers, but how many writers might one consider "beautiful people"? Really, they type all day and are generally unseen.) So, I'd hoped to see some really rich people, but rich people just don't seem to do a good job anymore of setting standards. So many lumpy people dressed so unimaginatively (and this coming from the Tim Gunn-antipode). Frankly, the rich disappoint in these 5-stars. I'm already to go F. Scott Fitzgerald on them, and I always finish all Ernest Hemingway.
Oh, well, it was fun. Now back to reality.
Mind you, we'd had some experience in this realm, in India. (I can't fathom the prices of such accommodations in the U.S. or Europe). The Four-Points Sheraton that we stayed in initially in Jaipur may have been 5-star, but it was, for the most part, just a nice hotel. (The staff was very friendly.) No, if you want a real 5-star experience in Rajasthan, you need to stay in a "heritage hotel". We haven't done that, but we've visited these places. Indeed, one, the Rambaugh Palace, is about a 10-15 minute walk from our flat. It's not as close as the slum area, but you can get just about everything in a 15' walk in Jaipur, from 17th century to 21st century, filthy rich to frighteningly poor. When Abba, Amy and Tom were here, we entered the cloistered precincts of the Rambaugh, taking the "champagne tour"--it concludes with a complimentary glass of champagne and some finger-foods to conclude, of course. These edifices, like many around Rajasthan, were once the palaces of the mighty and wealthy maharajas. You definitely get the vibe. Even the peacocks at Rambaugh palace seem a little more upscale. The lawn is manicured. Everything is meticulously clean (this is Rajasthan remember, where dust and grit come home to live). The indoor pool, the outdoor pool, the railway car restaurant, and the gold-plated room (with gold-plated service), all make you think that people here have money. A great place to pass through.
Another Rajasthan 5-star experience is Samood Palace, located next to a small village about an hour drive outside of Jaipur. Approaching via the single lane road through the sleepy village, with its pigs and goats and kids (human), you wonder what must lie at the end. And, Indian style, you find a gorgeous palace. To enter, you climb steps, entering a new level of intimacy with the building (and formerly, the maharaja), creating the sense of cloister than one finds in these heritage hotels. (Indeed, the women were cloistered.) The sense of ease, of space, of quiet, makes the whole experience seem almost otherworldly. (See photos by Iowa Guru for a sense of the splendor.)
Now, to the south. This hotel, a Taj, was not a heritage hotel, so it looked like a modern hotel. A large, clean, spacious lobby, poorly lit (why do they do that?). The room is nice, but small. A phone in the bathroom and glass shower doors give away that this is a classy place. The food was okay, but nothing to shout about. It had a nice workout room, with one guy who seemed to have a personal attendant to push the buttons on the remote control for the TV while the client continued his concentration on the slowly moving treadmill. The attendant later helped hold down the client's feet during sit-ups and mopped the client's mildly sweating brow when a little bead of sweat appeared. It all seems a bit weird to our middle-class, Midwestern sensibilities. However, the best amenity, and one that I wouldn't mind having available, was the swimming pool. Long enough for lap-swimming, perfect water temperature, and unused except by IG and me, it was a treat. The sun was a bit intense even around 9 a.m., but even 5-stars can't control everything.
The one experience that I haven't enjoyed at any of these hotels is a sighting of any beautiful people. Jackie O. used to visit the maharaja in Udaipur (and a sweet spot it was), and one reads about beautifuls visiting Jodhpur or Jaipur. (Jaipur, of course, gets writers, but how many writers might one consider "beautiful people"? Really, they type all day and are generally unseen.) So, I'd hoped to see some really rich people, but rich people just don't seem to do a good job anymore of setting standards. So many lumpy people dressed so unimaginatively (and this coming from the Tim Gunn-antipode). Frankly, the rich disappoint in these 5-stars. I'm already to go F. Scott Fitzgerald on them, and I always finish all Ernest Hemingway.
Oh, well, it was fun. Now back to reality.
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