Amet Haveli, A Heritage hotel, Udaipur — Hotel in Rajasthan

In year 2019 when covid hit the world the travel industry it was one of the very first to face the consequences of lockdown. That’s when I had planned The Indian Bucket List - Giving Back!

I planned a journey of 9000+ kms journey in my RE Himalayan BS6 motorcycle to showcase lesser known destinations of Rajasthan. It is around this time that I decided to review the hotels I stay in.

In Udaipur I picked Amet Haveli a heritage hotel which is more popular for its restaurant Ambrai. The land of Maharana’s and palaces – Udaipur – echoes tales of Rajputana’s glorious past, the legendary rulers that ruled, the history they left behind and their exploits at the war fields. These legends of time are brought back to life by heritage hotels like Amet Haveli. Standing grand on the western bank of Lake Picchola of Udaipur. Amet Haveli (Haveli means mansion built around a courtyard) finest heritage hotels among other in Udaipur belonging to Umrao’s Mewar (Council of the Princely State of Mewar). The present owners of Amet Haveli converted their residence into a heritage hotel with stress on setting and showcasing a good example of history amalgamating with modern times.

Location: Centrally located in Jaipur, the Old Udaipur city outside chandpole. Cross the bridge and you will see it on far left … on corner edge appears like floating on shimmering waters of Pichola.

Rooms: As I entered through a huge door (pole) which opened into a grand courtyard with a fountain right in center adding to its old world charm. After check in I was given a room on ground floor with lake view as the hotel upgraded me to one category higher. A crisp bed, great view and minibar in room was going to be my home for next few days. Later I met the owner Mr. Jaivardhan Singh Amet who told by the heritage hotel has 22 lake facing rooms comprising of 8 heritage suites, 8 super deluxe rooms, 6 heritage deluxe rooms, the hotel offers the utmost comfort and luxury right on the banks of lake Pichola. Each room is equipped with all modern amenities while still preserving the old world charm that defines the Haveli. Any restorations for the Haveli were carried out bearing in mind the old architectural style of the building. This was done with the aim of offering the guests the comforts of modern day with the ambience reflecting its regal past. Amet Haveli is a good blend of both worlds, old and new is sure to make your experience memorable and comfortable.

Later I went to have a cup of tea at Ambrai which I had heard a lot about. From my room which was located in central courtyard with swimming pool under the shadow of a Harsingar tree…cross the courtyard and you see a signpost “Amrai” the view is phenomenal the old city, ghats, temples, the lake, the city place washed in golden lights… the Taj Lake Palace and the Aravali hills… you can’t possibly get a better view of the entire cityscape. I was stunned by its sheer beauty. To be true it made me realize why Udaipur is often referred as “Venice of East”.

My host Mr. Jaivardhan Amet was very welcoming as he ordered tea and asked the staff to look after me. Enjoyed sipping tea looking at the shades of pink and orange sky as the sun was setting behind the Aravali Hills.

Bar : Bar is housed on far left in a grand pavilion which is part of Ambrai.. leather sofas, antique style tables and barman wearing Mewari paag.. superb! I set there enjoyed my view as I wrote my travelogue. Serves IMFL, Beer and Cocktails

Food: Mouth watering, delicious, well served, presentation is good. I was suggested Mewari Kheech and Makka ka Paniya a traditional recipe from the House of Amet.

Service & Staff : Courteous, happy to serve and extremely polite. Nothing was too much for them.

After spending four nights of exploring Udaipur I decided to include Amet Haveli a TIBL Select & Preferred Hotel in Udaipur.

Photograph courtesy : Madhav Rathore, Founder, The Indian Bucket List

Please follow us on Instagram: @the_indian_bucketlist to follow my journey and destination off the...

Stayed for 2 nights with family, having mixed reviews which are as follows.

Likes:

1. Heritage hotel, Staff friendly and helpful, feels like a royal stay!

2. The room space was splendid, featuring a large window that offered a view of the water( for lake view room only) and an expansive shower area. Amet Haveli is located on the shores of Pichola Lake, and its washrooms are notably more spacious than those in other hotel rooms.

Dislikes: 1)The location iiself is bit odd to me, you can not take 4 wheeler as it is a very narrow lane, Though hotel will send their tuktuk (battery rickshaw) during office hours if you are coming by 4 wheeler, for that you need to get down at Amba mata temple, for this you need to call them in advance or else you can hire a tuktuk around you. The roads to the hotel are extremely narrow and it is better to walk than drive if you are not used to driving in Udaipur.

2. Sometimes services are delayed, we had to call 2-3 times for to fix the TV as we wanted to watch world cup cricket at night but they couldn't fix the issue in 2 days.

3. The hotels breakfast buffet comes up with lesser options. Flies are around the breakfast menus (could be the reason is the lake side water is not clean enough), the most irritating part is buffet trays are so tightly attached that you always need to utilize your two hands while opening, they should do something to fix this.

4. While at check-in they have asked for all nights stay cost to pay in advance which is a bit odd to me (that could be hotel's policy). Anyway, our stay was at par if you ask overall, You can not roam around the hotel area as it is partly under renovation.

5. Check-out time is 10 AM and check-in is 2 PM, never came across 4 hours difference in any other hotels in entire Rajasthan tour. That could be their policy but it's a bit strange to us.

Last but not the least, you need to understand Udaipur itself is a small city, either you stay near/in front of "Lake Pichola" or you stay near/in front of "Lake Fateh Sagar". We preferred Lake Pichola side as it is having better reviews. But my suggestion would be you do not need to stay main lake (Pichola) facing hotels (e.g. Amet Haveli, Hotel Lake Pichola or Jagat Niwas Palace Hotel as luxury hotels), there are plenty of lake pichola side hotels and all would be 5-10 mins by walk to the lake. You can roam around on streets of old city full of arts and history. Gangaur Gha, Jagdish temple and city palace is reachable by walk from any lake pichola side hotels. If you ask us, we ourselves stayed out of hotels most of the times. You will visit Udaipur to roam around, not to sit idle inside the hotel and watch the lake through window all...

First and foremost, Hapreet is amazing, and I appreciate her. The taxi driver Devilal (Dev) is terrible, AVOID him at all costs when you are here. I already know that people charge high prices for tourists (Use Took tooks) however, I do not like to be forced to spend money, and what happened was he refused to tell me the price until after the trip, which I paid and just kept quiet , I told him that the next day I wasn't sure what was happening and I already knew he was not busy as he wasn't busy when I found him at the hotel. Other than him disrespecting me and saying that I need to organize my trip properly before making any decisions. I was supposed to write a magazine review for this hotel as it is a heritage site and hotel, however this experience truly dampened my view on the hospitality. I am extremely disappointed, and have decided not to feature this hotel in my article. My regret is that the 3000 rupees for taxi, I should have given to the reception staff as a tip - they are extremely respectful and good at their job. Promote Hapreet to a managerial role. I will come back to this hotel again in December, and if you do not make changes to how the driver handles people, I will make sure people know that it's a scam. I'm not an idiot, I know he over charged me EXCESSIVELY, however I am not a fighter, so now the hotel will suffer the consequences for inadequate human resources when hiring, because this is nonsense. Rather people go to Taj Palace, Uberoi Villas, or Udai Kochi. Also the restaurant manager needs to learn how to smile, and have proper service, as people ARE TOURISTS and don't know if the restaurant is open or not.

Please hire better staff, except the reception staff- they are phenomenal.

I will come again to check if you've made these adjustments, but I will no longer be writing the article about your hotel - complete waste of my time.

Also, they were knocking at my door at 6am and calling at 6am - WHAT THE HELL IS THAT.

Fix your stuff IMMEDIATELY.

I will post this information on as many review sites...