Samode Palace

Why book?

Samode Palace, a former royal residence 45 kilometres from Jaipur, dating back to the 16th century, has welcomed guests as a heritage hotel for over three decades. Its Rajput-Mughal interiors – alive with frescoes, murals, domed pavilions, and mirrored walls – still hold the mood and charm of another century. Tucked away from Rajasthan’s usual circuit, Samode rewards those who wander a little off-course. A palace is a palace, and you might believe that if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all. But Samode Palace quietly challenges the idea. Rising from the foothills of the Aravallis, it manages to be both grand and intimate. Carved out of sandstone and marble, with arched doorways, hidden alcoves, sprawling terraces, multiple courtyards and walls embedded with Belgian mirrors, it invites you to wander and discover. Every step and turn reveals something unexpected, quite like a treasure hunt – a poolside deck with a chattri, a parapet wall with jali work, a hidden staircase, a grand chandelier…Then there is the hospitality; most of the staff have been here for decades, and they see the palace not as a hotel, but as a continuation of the life it has always held.

Set the scene

An hour and a bit on the highway from Jaipur international airport along a flawless road, and the modern world falls away. You’re suddenly on a narrow cobbled lane in Samode village, and you find a torrent of water gushing through it, like an untamed river.

Not a flood, you’re told, but the seasonal river that runs through Samode during the monsoons. Children splash, cycles glide, men and women go about their lives wading through the waters to their ramped-up homes, life carrying on as though a river for a street was the most natural thing. You pass by a roaring waterfall and enter through Ganesh Pol – and drive up the hill, passing through three grand gateways until you arrive before Samode Palace. All around, the Aravallis rise their monsoon green, offsetting the palace’s pale yellow.

The backstory

Samode Palace began as a 16th-century Rajput fort, part of a jagir granted to Gopal Singhji, the fourth son of Prithviraj Singh of the Amber royal family. It stayed within the Nathawat lineage, evolving slowly over generations. In the early 19th century, Rawal Berisal began its transformation into a palace, layering over the original fort with marble pillars, jali screens, painted arches, and rooms covered in delicate fresco work. A few decades later, Rawal Sheo Singh expanded it further, adding the dramatic Durbar Hall and the staggeringly beautiful Sheesh Mahal. Since 1987, it’s been run as a heritage hotel by the family. Rawal Raja Raghvendra Singh and his brother Yadvendra Singh Nathawat remain closely involved with the four Samode properties – the Palace, Samode Bagh, Samode Haveli in Jaipur and Samode Safari Lodge in Madhya Pradesh.

The rooms

The rooms vary, and that’s part of the charm. There are 43 of them in all, including four Royal Suites, 19 Deluxe Suites, and 20 Deluxe Rooms. All rooms are generously proportioned, even the so-called ordinary ones. High ceilings, arched windows, Venetian mirrors, high gloss restored furniture, and old photographs of the royal family set the tone. And yet, each room has its own distinct character. Some of the suites come with their own jacuzzis and terraces, and the Royal Suites come with their own coffee machine. The suites have four-poster beds, English-style bathtubs with hoofs, a study niche, a sitting area by the fireplace, and often a window alcove overlooking the Aravallis. At 1350 sq ft, it’s the kind of room you can linger in all day and still feel like you haven’t quite seen all of it.

Food and drink

Food is Samode’s strong suit. The chefs here have worked with recipes from the Nathawat kitchens for decades, passed down through generations. While the restaurants offer an extensive international menu, the regional dishes are the ones to look out for. You’ll find laal maas, gatte ki sabzi, ker sangri, mirch ka salan and pudhina parantha, vivid with spice and flavour. The Grand Dining Hall, all arches, frescoed walls and gilded ceiling, serves both Rajasthani and international cuisine. There’s also a fine dining restaurant offering modern Indian fusion. The produce comes in daily from the local market in Chomu – seasonal, farm-fresh, and tasting fuller for the sweet water of the area. Meals can be staged across the palace – in a candlelit alcove with the moon framed by the arches, the poolside deck high above the courtyard, outdoors in the garden or inside the luminous sheesh mahal. Perhaps the biggest surprise at Samode is the wine cellar. It’s the last thing you expect in a palace hotel outside Jaipur. Tucked beneath the frescoes and courtyards are bottles from across the world, even a Château Latour. Mohan Yadav, the Head of food and drink and a qualified wine sommelier, knows the collection well enough to match a bottle to almost any meal or mood.

The spa

There isn’t a big glossy spa, but there are treatments – massages, ayurvedic oils, simple setups and a small gym. What’s more memorable is the setting: small rooms, a private courtyard overlooking the mountains.

The neighbourhood/area

The village of Samode is every bit as authentic as you’d expect. It hasn’t been curated for tourists. You can walk out and see how people live, enjoy the faded frescoes outside 200-year-old homes, watch wax transform into colourful, glittering bangles at the bangle shop, and chat with children who are curious but not performative. Or you can drive across to the 16th-century Mughal-style walled garden that the family now runs as a hotel in a safari jeep. Guests of Samode Palace are welcome to spend time there for a meal, a stroll through its lush lawns and pavilions, or simply to sit and enjoy the sound of fountains and birdsong in the background. If local farming interests you, meal or demo cooking classes can be set up at one of the rustic farmhouses in the middle of a lush field. There’s also a trek up to the old fort on the hill, which leads on to an ancient Hanuman temple.

The service

When it comes to the service, what stands out isn’t just efficiency, but memory and the smiles the staff greet you with. You are treated like a guest of the family with a quiet formality that’s rooted in tradition. The staff remember you. Not just your name, but how you take your tea, which room you stayed in last year, and what time you like breakfast. There’s no training manual for that. It comes from being here for years, sometimes generations.

For families

Given its romantic setting, the hotel caters to destination weddings in a big way, offering rooms at both Samode Bagh and the Palace for larger groups.

It’s not a typical resort with a room for kids to bounce around in. But there are two swimming pools and plenty of stories hidden within the walls of the palace. There’s space to explore, courtyards to hide in, and stairs to climb. Parents just need to let go of the usual expectations.

Eco effort

There’s no hard sell on sustainability, but the palace itself is an act of preservation. They draw on the local economy for food, human resources, and supplies. The miniature artworks on the wall have all been done by the forebears of the local artisans who now help with their restoration.

Accessibility

The palace is built in tiers along the hill; there are three different courtyards connected by stairs and retrofitted with elevators from where rooms can be accessed. There are also ramps for easy access, but this is a 400-year-old palace. Stairs are unavoidable in certain areas. Guests with mobility issues will need to plan around this reality.

Anything left to mention?

Maybe it is the remoteness or the structure, but the WiFi inside the palace doesn’t work too well. Look out for the ornate lamp posts across the courtyards – they’re made in England and part of the palace’s blended architecture, which combines Rajput and Mughal styles with European influences. And if parts of the palace feel familiar, it’s because they are: from The Far Pavilions to a Mario Testino Vogue cover with Kendall Jenner, Samode has long doubled as a film set. More recently, the Krug Champagne campaign featuring 11 Michelin-starred chefs was shot here as well.