Our 15-day India Honeymoon Throughout 6 Cities Was a True Journey — With Luxurious Respites

My husband and I wished to go someplace neither of us had ever been for our honeymoon, however not simply anyplace we had by no means been, someplace particular — out of this world, like visiting one other planet. A once-in-a-lifetime journey. We had been considering of this chance to take two weeks off work and journey as an opportunity for an journey greater than to loosen up: an adventure-moon, if you’ll.

I’ve already been on safari in Africa, he visited the Center East proper earlier than the pandemic, and we attempt to get to Europe a minimum of every year. Once we landed on India, the thrill within the room was palpable. By visiting India, we might get a style of a totally alien tradition to our personal and expertise the hustle and bustle of well-known cities and the leisure and marvel of a pure panorama and wildlife we’d by no means encountered earlier than.

Preliminary analysis confirmed that the majority first-time vacationers to India embark on a three-city route known as the Golden Triangle that hits Delhi, Agra (the place the Taj Mahal is), and Jaipur, cities within the Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh states in North India. When you suppose the Golden Triangle might tick off the packing containers you’re on the lookout for in a non-traditional (however unforgettable) honeymoon, the subsequent step is deciding the place to remain.

Two top-level resort teams are finest recognized all through India: The Oberois and Taj Lodges. The Taj Lodges convert historic properties into boutique accommodations, just like the Lake Palace in Udaipur. They’re not purpose-built; initially, they had been palaces, not accommodations, so the rooms at lots of the properties are totally different sizes and don’t supply uniform options, like views.

Oberoi takes a unique method, constructing the very best accommodations for his or her location, specializing in luxurious, grandeur, and their signature “heartfelt” hospitality. In Agra, for instance, The Oberoi Amarvilas had been constructed to present each visitor front-row seats to India’s most well-known attraction and solely have visitor rooms that overlook the Taj Mahal, whereas the opposite aspect of the hallway is lined with home windows dealing with the entrance of the resort. We deliberate to remain at a number of Oberois on our journey, so when the resort group supplied us the possibility to remain completely with them, it was a simple “sure.” The properties, every distinctive with some distinctly Oberoi threads, acted as our house bases within the chaotic cities and extra serene stops we added onto our Golden Triangle base path.

To assist us finalize our route, we enlisted the assistance of Audley journey company and, with our agent, Zac, we added onto the triangle with two nights in Udaipur, a extra distant and calmer scenic vacation spot, after our third cease on the triangle, Jaipur. As a result of my husband and I are animal lovers (and this was our adventure-moon, in any case), we additionally determined to make a detour between Agra and Jaipur to Ranthambore Nationwide Park to see tigers throughout a jungle safari. As you devise the right custom-made India honeymoon, you would additionally enlist the Oberoi itself, as one other couple we met alongside the best way had accomplished with their Unique Holidays program. The service creates customized itineraries lasting six nights or extra and makes touring all through India easy, dealing with every thing from room reservations and intercity transfers to vacation spot and resort experiences.

As a result of we couldn’t resist extending our journey if we might justify it, we squeezed in a single ultimate cease: flying from Udaipur to Mumbai, India’s largest (and most trendy) metropolis.

Right here’s the way it went.

Every property has iconic throughlines which are distinctly Oberoi, emphasizing Indian traditions and heat hospitality. The workers appeared genuinely excited to make our honeymoon particular, too, including romantic private touches like additional room decorations and getting ready considerate gestures forward of our stays.

Company are welcomed to each property, lavish in its personal manner, by a workers member who performs a gratitude ritual known as Aarti, through which a candle on a tray is waved in a circle round us accompanied by the sentiment, “to your well being, well-being, and happiness.” Stay music and Rajasthani dance performances had been frequent all through our journey within the resort lobbies, eating places, and particular outside experiences. Recent, aromatic flowers are plentiful at each Oberoi location, with day by day refreshes of bouquets in your room on tables, nightstands, or toilet counters, partitions dripping with vibrant flora, and artistic designs all through the properties, from petals floating in chicken feeders to pictures and messages spelled out (like “Welcome to the jungle” as you wander the Ranthambore grounds and “Goodnight” proper outdoors your room in Jaipur). You’ll be able to count on private and considerate touches like this at every location inside the overarching ethereal, otherworldly atmospheres, a degree of attentiveness and heat that helped buoy the resort group to the highest of considered one of Journey + Information’s current reader-voted rankings of The 25 Greatest Resort Manufacturers within the World.

Pool areas from property to property have the identical brightly coloured, fringed solar umbrellas with gold designs, and lots of the decks are designed with checkered tiles in alternating colours, principally lighter and darkish blues. Lighting is a meticulously curated element on the Oberois, with every property utilizing a mixture of pure lighting — from open-air hallways, al-fresco bars, and large home windows with daylight pouring in, to candlelit tables, imposing torches with dancing flames, and scattered lanterns glinting throughout the panorama.

In your comfort, every property additionally has a butler service you’ll be able to dial any time of night time or day, room service choices, gyms with non-public or shared yoga courses, and spas with varied remedies. The Oberois don’t permit gratuities to particular person staffers, which takes the stress out of day-to-day journey since you don’t should continually take into consideration the conversion fee and maintain the appropriate measurement payments available. You’ll be able to take down the names of people that supply excellent service and depart a notice and tip for the whole workers on the finish of your keep. The workers, throughout the board, from the greeters to the pool servers, had been so genuinely useful and caring — in some cases working over to us earlier than we might elevate a finger — that we ended up writing almost each title down some days, a degree of hospitality that aligns with a core pillar of the Oberoi model’s service: Coronary heart.Felt.

Cease 1: The Oberoi, New Delhi

A luxurious enterprise resort ingrained within the hearts of locals.

Nestled proper within the coronary heart of bustling New Delhi, The Oberoi, New Delhi is an city respite — and considered one of Journey + Information’s suggestions of the very best locations to remain in New Delhi. Whilst you can’t wholly escape the noise of the bustling metropolis (the resort is true off a essential street), you’ll be able to see Delhi’s websites from eliminated chicken’s-eye vantage factors right here that you simply gained’t get in your strolling excursions.

Owned by the identical household since 1965 (and reopened in 2018 after in depth renovations), the five-star luxurious enterprise resort holds plenty of legacy within the metropolis. The communications supervisor on the property fondly referred to the primary all-day restaurant, 360°, as “Delhi’s drawing room,” a label that more and more made sense the extra we dined there. For every thing from birthdays to enterprise conferences, teams of well-dressed women and men gathered at massive tables and chatted over relaxed lunches day by day. The expansive restaurant, with glass partitions overlooking the gardens and pool, is the place you’ll be able to see components of day by day life for residents. Included in your keep is the multifaceted breakfast buffet at 360°, with a number of massive tables of world dishes based mostly on area — Asian, Indian, worldwide, and so on. — and you may also order dishes off the menu, starting from conventional Indian delicacies to Western-style eggs.

The opposite two eating places, Dhilli and Baoshuan, could not have the identical Delhi-specific nostalgia as 360°, however they’re each infused with historical past. The meals at each is spectacular, and so they’re a number of the best-rated eating places in the whole metropolis. Dhilli, which implies “from the center,” is the latest and presents upscale Indian delicacies masking seven areas (and the chef intends so as to add extra). The chef began with a mission to create meals impressed by his childhood reminiscences from visiting his granny — only one instance of the property infusing its choices with sentiment showcasing each basic and particular person Indian heritage.

The second upscale restaurant, Baoshuan, is called after the massive “Chinese language treasure ships” from the early fifteenth century that might sail to India (and so far as East Africa) carrying valuables and provisions. Led by two Michelin-star chef Andrew Wong (of A. Wong in London), Baoshuan celebrates Chinese language meals all through historical past and throughout many areas. Just like the menu, the presentation is wide-ranging, too, with traditional soup dumplings in steamer baskets to desserts arriving at your desk in bowls overflowing with silky smoke.

There are two bars the place you’ll be able to take pleasure in pre- or post-meal drinks (or earlier, with The Membership Bar first open from 10 a.m. to three p.m.). The trendy rooftop spot, Cirrus 9, is the place you go to really feel such as you’re out in town (even when all you needed to do was hop in an elevator), having fun with specialty cocktails and scrumptious small plates that you would rapidly replenish on (however do not since you’ll need to save room for the eating places). The primary ground has The Membership Bar, a comfy and intimate stress-free spot with a glass of Indri, India’s award-winning single malt whiskey. Hooked up to The Membership Bar, which is true off the foyer, is the Cigar Lounge, filled with Cuban cigars in humidor lockers.

If the climate is obvious sufficient, you’ll be able to see 35-40 monuments from the outside part of the rooftop bar, together with the UNESCO World Heritage Web site Humayun’s Tomb, considered one of India’s earliest examples of Mughal structure. The resort additionally overlooks a sprawling golf course, providing greenery towards the city density and historic monuments. The lovable, pastel-hued Patisserie presents an environment akin to a European cafe for a mid-day deal with or caffeine pick-me-up.

As the primary Indian-owned luxurious resort in Delhi, the Oberoi, New Delhi, is as main an attraction because the monuments, courts, and markets it’s in shut proximity to. It’s embedded within the hearts of the locals as a first-of-its-kind and unmatched institution.

Cease 2: The Oberoi Amarvilas, Agra

Jaw-dropping views of the Taj Mahal in a one-of-a-kind setting.

Ranked twenty seventh on the earth this 12 months, the 102-roomed Oberoi in Agra is a setting you’d count on solely to search out in a wanderlust-inducing romantic film. Instantly upon getting into, you come face-to-face with a transparent view of the Taj Mahal within the close to distance, framed by the massive home windows of the first-floor lounge. Guided outdoors the gold-domed lounge to the terrace, we sipped welcome drinks carrying plush marigold necklaces whereas gazing at not simply considered one of India’s most legendary websites but additionally one of many Seven Wonders of the World. The surroundings is so magical that it feels pretend, just like the resort’s backdrop have to be a inexperienced display screen — and the richly designed interiors, with marble inlay, jaali screens, and hand-woven tapestries, are simply as dreamy. Actuality units in as you wander the opulent nine-acre property and see the unbelievable Mughal mausoleum from totally different vantage factors. Each room on the resort incorporates a view of the Taj Mahal, and plenty of have a balcony the place you’ll be able to benefit from the surrounding sights, the terraced garden and tiled pavilions, and nightly dance performances because the solar units.

The pool at Amarvilas has a vivid blue ground that pops from above, and it extends from the surface deck to a coated space with high-columned archways, cozy couches, and a large gold portray of the Indian god Ganesha. There’s a swanky bar proper off the foyer with silk sofas, adorned with unobstructed views of the Taj Mahal, in addition to two indoor eating places downstairs, the all-day eating choice Bellevue and Esphahan, which presents Indian specialty delicacies at two seating occasions accompanied by reside santoor music.

Within the night, as a deep purple solar set over the surface village rooftops, lights glimmered like lanterns, speckling the property in twinkling gold. Company loved the music and dance efficiency on a rooftop in entrance of the Taj Mahal from the pool deck and their room balconies as if we had been all at a present in our personal non-public packing containers. After this, we headed all the way down to Esphahan for dinner in an intimate house with conventional regional delicacies, together with our first Rajasthani laal maas, a tender and juicy lamb dish that was completely crispy and smoked on the sides.

Once we returned to our room, a white chocolate reproduction of the Taj Mahal awaited us — a deliciously candy contact to cue us up for our go to to the famend website the subsequent day. A particular exercise you’ll be able to add is having a personal breakfast on one of many suite’s balconies overlooking the Taj Mahal, the place we had our personal buffet in a stupendous luxurious suite surrounded by Indian artwork, hand-knotted rugs, and handcrafted furnishings, in addition to a santoor musician creating the right ambiance. In case you have a premier room with a balcony, you may also take pleasure in al fresco eating from your individual house.

Cease 3: The Oberoi Vanyavilas Wildlife Resort, Ranthambhore

The place luxurious meets ruggedness for an thrilling introduction to elusive tigers.

When you’ve ever questioned what an old style British looking lodge looks like, The Oberoi, Vanyavilas — India’s first luxurious jungle resort — will allow you to play make-believe (in a way more animal-loving time of conservation and appreciation). Dotted with luxurious tents lined on the within with shimmery embroidered tigers, the Oberoi on the sting of Ranthambore Nationwide Park, additionally known as Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, feels each untamed and expertly curated to provide the finest expertise attainable. Though the workers in any respect Oberoi properties had been extraordinarily attentive, educated, and genuinely variety, Ranthambhore felt extra like a group than a typical guest-employee dynamic. Everyone seems to be as invested in your safari expertise as you might be, excitedly recounting totally different friends’ sightings that day and eager to see your images and movies. They know the tigers by title and depart you handwritten notes on images of probably the most well-known large cats as if penned by the animals themselves, the night time earlier than a drive.

In contrast to the opposite locations we visited, Ranthambore would not have metropolis points of interest to attract you off the property, however the on-site choices are plentiful. Being there looks like attending an grownup summer time camp you’ve got dreamt up, with skilled guides who can lead you on nature walks, private cooking courses, and academic talks at night time on subjects like biodiversity and the hidden lives of tigers. Almost each day, Lakshmi — an elephant the property rescued from a circus — walks over along with her caretaker to eat breakfast on website. She could be very pleasant, letting friends feed and hug her. I took a day yoga session within the non-public backyard, aside from the gaggle of peacocks hovering subsequent to me after I opened my eyes after savasana.

A spotlight of the property is the Commentary tower, which presents panoramic views of the encircling space. You’ll be able to guide particular experiences right here, like a personal dinner or stargazing, but it surely’s not the one choice for such particular moments. On our ultimate morning, my husband and I had a personal breakfast full of caprice by the pond, with colourful metallic collectible figurines adorning the desk, surrounded by floral shows on the garden, and accompanied by our personal musical efficiency.

The night time earlier than, we loved a particular dinner showcasing the very best delicacies of the area known as a “Royal Rajasthan Thali,” introduced lovingly by the chef. The dinner featured 9 dishes — together with dishes we already knew, like laal maas and curries, in addition to lesser-known native dishes like flour dumplings known as masala baati and a vegetable rice dish known as mangodi pulao — together with Indian breads adopted by two totally different desserts.

Cease 4: The Oberoi Rajvilas, Jaipur

A folkloric property that transports honeymooners to a bygone period.

You might acknowledge Jaipur from the movie “The Greatest Unique Marigold Resort” or for its well-known aesthetic cohesiveness, with most buildings made of sunshine pink stone. Outdoors the previously walled part of town, same-size store stalls line the streets. One of the well-known sights breaks up the uniformity: the eye-catching Hawa Mahal (additionally known as the Palace of Winds), an ornate facade with 953 home windows the place ladies from the emperor’s harem would watch as he made his entrance into city.

Modeled after Mr. Oberoi’s non-public fort and in the identical picturesque vein as its hometown, the Oberoi in Jaipur options a lot of the identical grandeur as town’s notable locations, Metropolis Palace and Amber Fort, together with excessive scalloped doorways, lattice-lined staircases, flaming mashaal torches, previous armor mounted on the partitions, miniature and gold-leaf work, and, after all, sturdy fortress partitions in the identical mild pink shade. The regal 18th-century styled property is sort of a portal to a make-believe world, letting you think about what dwelling within the Mughal period may need been like (for royalty and the very rich), particularly as you study extra of town’s historical past on excursions. At Amer Fort, for instance, our information confirmed us the channels constructed via the Corridor of Pleasure, reverse the much-photographed Corridor of Mirrors, the place workers would infuse water with pure scents that might then move to large curtains that might waft the floral notes all through the palace. With bountiful flowers in all places, the Oberoi is of course aromatic in the identical old style and chic manner.

At Rajvilas, we loved plenty of privateness with a premier room with a personal pool and canopied patio space, however the primary pool deck is gorgeous and enjoyable as properly, with stone statues, domed constructions, colourful tiles, and pleasant peacocks that stroll as much as your chairs to socialize and share your poolside snacks. Within the room loos, the recessed bathtubs are distinctive and opulent, and we returned to our room to flower-filled drawn baths and customized notes written with petals, like “Congratulations” after we arrived and “Goodnight” outdoors our door as we headed to sleep.

Whilst you’ll seemingly spend time outdoors exploring Jaipur, the Oberoi Rajvilas has loads to supply on its 32 acres, like tennis courts, an eight-hole golf course, expansive gardens, night puppet reveals, a slew of particular experiences (like non-public meals, wine tastings, cooking courses, and excessive tea at Mr. Oberoi’s Naila fort) and two eating places, Surya Mahal and Raj Mahal, and Rajwada Library Bar. We ate outdoors on the Indian specialty restaurant Raj Mahal, a preferred eating spot for friends and outsiders alike (so remember to make a reservation) in a courtyard with tree-lined edges glowing from firelight. This outside house operates from October to March. Like on the different Oberois, conventional music was carried out by a small group of native musicians within the heart of the house, including much more texture to the cinematic eating expertise.

Within the 300-year-old restored Shiva temple on the heart of the property throughout a brief stone bridge, my husband and I had a quick however memorable Aarti blessing ceremony carried out by a Hindu priest, with birds chirping outdoors as he sang, that ended with him making use of a Bindi to our foreheads and tying yellow and purple string bracelets onto our wrists that I’ve insisted we carry on till the autumn off naturally (which they haven’t accomplished as I write this a great distance from Jaipur in Westchester, New York) as a result of I really like the sentimentalism.

In one other restored historic constructing on the property, a 280-year-old haveli (or mansion) that’s now the on-site spa, we did an in depth remedy known as the Rajput Romance of Rajvilas. This three-hour {couples} session featured Ayurvedic methods and began with a foot cleaning ritual adopted by a physique scrub, therapeutic massage, and facial in a big tranquil room with hand-painted murals.

Cease 5: The Oberoi Udaivilas, Udaipur

A colourful, fairytale oasis nestled in a tranquil lakeside panorama with spectacular mountain views.

In all probability probably the most well-known Oberoi properties in India, The Oberoi Udaivilas lived as much as the hype. It’s an ethereal Mewar-inspired property within the Metropolis of Lakes, with a hanging gold-leaf domed ceiling and chandelier over a marble fountain within the foyer as your first welcome level. To get to the visitor quarters, you cross via a magical room coated in mosaic mirrors akin to the Corridor of Mirrors in Jaipur’s Amber Fort. At night time, a cluster of various pillar candles flicker off the partitions, dancing across the room as the one mild within the house. Outdoors this can be a dreamy expanse of landscaping, with a bronze sundial because the entrance centerpiece and stairs lined with carved-stone column torches extending behind and flanking both aspect of the checkered water channel. The complete property feels vibrant, overflowing with water and flowers with the blue checkered tiles — an Oberoi throughline — enjoying off the pure verdancy.

The resort exterior is breathtaking and surreal, with sandy-hued domes of various sizes and castle-style turrets dotting the intense blue sky. Constructed on a hill, the dreamy property presents a number of sweeping views from totally different vantage factors, and the sound of trickling water all through provides to the soothing, relaxed ambiance as you discover the 30 acres and uncover hidden seating nooks from cozy corners inside with outsized chairs and benches scattered all through the plush gardens. I felt like I used to be in “Aladdin” wandering the stately grounds, with romantic stone-columned archways lining the outside corridors and bowls with floating flowers round so many corners and partitions dripping in flowers, coated in fluffy bushels of fuschia.

There are two public pool areas right here, one on the heart of the resort with a fringe of black and white squares and one other outdoors the spa, in entrance of a view of the close by Aravalli Hills and Lake Pichola. Whereas this pool has a less complicated design, the reflections of the buildings and poolside cabana constructions make it as photogenic because the Oberoi’s different pool decks. We had been fortunate to have a room with entry to the semi-private mote-like pool that overlooks the entrance of the property, with views all the way down to the waterfront restaurant and bar and, extra importantly, Lake Piccola. This pool isn’t temperature-controlled, so it was a bit too chilly to swim in, however we loved morning coffees and sunsets from the non-public deck.

A spotlight of our keep was the non-public dinner we loved on the secluded Lakeside Pavilion on the banks of Lake Pichola, which was draped in light-weight tapestries that billowed within the night wind and was lit up by a fringe of tealights built-in into floral designs that includes vivid orange and yellow and deep pink flowers, warmed by fiery warmth lamps. The expertise was one-of-a-kind, made much more particular by the attentive workers, who had been fast to carry over champagne after we sat, and our non-public efficiency of conventional picket flute music. One other night, we did a personal sundown boat journey on Lake Piccola, a particular expertise I extremely advocate, with an skilled information who steered us to the very best spots with the clearest views of the dwindling solar, and we had been greeted upon return with two glasses of champagne to take pleasure in lakeside.

For different eating choices, the all-day Suryamahal has indoor house and a big deck part known as Chandni, the place you’ll be able to sit beneath canopies if the solar is intense or for the ambiance it supplies at nighttime. Throughout dinner service, Chandni presents reside music alongside sweeping views of Metropolis Palace on the opposite aspect of Lake Pichola. There’s additionally Udaimahal, the fine-dining restaurant, and The Bar off the foyer, which is open till midnight day by day.

Cease 6: The Oberoi, Mumbai

A traditional high-end resort for a dose of up to date consolation.

Positioned on Marine Drive, The Oberoi in Mumbai is in a primary spot for exploring town on foot. Strolling into the resort after our almost two-week journey via Rajasthan, we had been instantly struck by the trendy and complicated city really feel that contrasted with the earlier properties’ extra rural and conventional kinds, which infused historical past and native tradition into the structure and design. This resort is extra what a Westerner is probably going accustomed to, with loads of versatile eating choices (additionally as a result of it’s connected to the adjoining Trident Resort via a passageway of outlets).

The stylish Eau bar, with indoor and outside bars and seating, is without doubt one of the finest spots within the metropolis to seize blissful hour and watch the sundown over the bay that leads into the Arabian Sea, which you’ll even have a front-row seat to in case your room faces the oceanfront due to floor-to-ceiling home windows. The bar’s reside band performs modern music within the evenings, together with songs you’ll acknowledge.

Within the Oberoi, there are three eating places — all-day Fenix with a complete menu throughout cuisines; Vetro, an Italian restaurant that operates in tandem with the wine library Enoteca; and Ziya  — in addition to a foyer bar with drinks and light-weight bites. Ziya is incredible, with trendy Indian menus by Vineet Bhatia, the primary Indian chef to be awarded a Michelin star. The meals is outstanding, the plating and presentation are creative, and the view of the glass-enclosed present kitchen lets you watch in real-time as your Indian bread bakes on charcoal tandoors. It is a eating expertise to not be missed, whether or not you’re staying on-site or not, and was a superb approach to finish our romantically adventurous, luxurious-yet-wild honeymoon.