The Royal Retreat - Udaipur, India     

My girlfriend and I stayed here for two nights during our recent holiday. The hotel is set someway outside Udaipur and has excellent views of the surrounding hills. It's grounds are well maintained and the gardens picturesque. It has two swimming pools, one at the top and one down the bottom of the grounds. There are numerous antiques scattered around the grounds, such as old elephant chairs. The rooms have a rustic charm to them. Ours had a veranda with a beautiful picture of a tiger hung on the wall. Inside, there was plenty of space with a separate ante-room for hanging cloths and leaving bags. The bathroom was clean, but bath lovers will be disappointed. There wasn't one. The whole property has a feeling of being quite new, but built in a traditional style which works quite well in my opinion. Indeed the gym and spa were still under construction when we were there, although this in no way caused any inconvenience. Food is only available on a buffet basis and was served al-fresco when we were there. The selection of drinks available at the bar is very limited (a handful of common spirits, beer and soft drinks). The staff could do with some training - when we were relaxing by the pool, no one came and asked us if we'd like a drink. When we were the only two guests at breakfast, we felt like exhibits in a museum as we were watched by just about every waiter in the restaurant. Perhaps worst of all was my girlfriend observing what she believed to be left-over soup being poured back into the main serving container. Overall I would recommend the Royal Retreat as a place to stay, but I hope that the hotel management reads the above comments and takes them on board by training its staff to better standards.

I went to spend the new year with my wife at Royal Retreat. The resort is ideally located far away from the maddening crowd surrounded by beautiful Arvallis all around. We did also enjoyed the antics aptly placed all over the resort. Also attending the gala nite was an immemorable experience in itself. But our main concern was the unprofessional front desk guys & unfriendly kitchen staff. The senior staff is of-course very warm, genuine & helpful. Also we had a tough time eating tasteless food sometimes. But yes, i would give 5 out 5 to the location of Royal Retreat....Rest depends on fellow travellers's choice.