Orchard Palace
As I turn off into the dusty small town road of small town Gondal, into an impressive looking gate, I am greeted by peacocks walking around casually (at least eight of them), as if it were a perfectly normal thing to do. Perking up a bit and a little disconcerted by the hooting calls of the lovely national birds of India, I get my first view of the Orchard Palace.
It’s a small, beautiful structure, strangely Victorian in style that used to be the guesthouse of the Maharaja of Gondal. In fact everything at the Orchard Palace has an air of an aging anglophile, which was the prevailing trend amongst most of our erstwhile rulers. There are the numerous vintage cars (Jaguars and Rolls Royces, all in mint condition), stuffed leopards, inherited estate managers who have been here for generations… get my drift? It has the charm of a bygone era, when there were ship voyages to “the continent” and horse drawn carriages.
The Orchard Palace has been restored well but lots of renovation has happened too; they have maintained the high ceilings and antique fans while cementing other areas. The first room I am taken to is a small one, and after requesting them for a larger room, I am moved to this massive, airy room on the ground floor facing the gardens. Strangely there is no pricing difference between the palatial rooms and the small ones (seven in total), so be sure to ask for a larger one.
After a lovely lunch with the courteous staff at the Orchard Palace serving us in a most regal way, I go to the beautifully ornate Naulakha Palace, which was the home of the Maharaja before they moved to the current palace. The Orchard Palace definitely grows on you, it is a pretty, quaint house with a definite charm of its own. The sleepy small town is avoidable (“we are famous for spare parts”, says the cab driver when I ask him what there is to do here)!
However, the Orchard Palace itself is set on a large property, which grows its own veggies organically and has plenty of trees to sit under and relax. There are many areas in the house where you can sip on your chai (tea) and observe the peacocks go about their business. Great for families to bond and spend time with each other and experience the old-world charm of this heritage hotel and also for lovers of our eccentric Maharajas and their mad vintage car collections!
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