© Richard Randall

Caribbean

Sundries

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License.

The fitted wardrobes, of which there were several, lined the hallway. They were made of such thick solid wood that I could barely open the heavy doors. The bedroom was my favourite room, the bed was a sumptuous four poster. I don’t usually like four poster beds, they feel too claustrophobic for me. But this bed was so huge that it didn’t feel like sleeping in a four poster. The top end had slim wooden posts that were draped in thick brocade material. The foot end of the bed had ornately carved wooden posts, that were about twice the circumference of our bodies. The bed was so high too, it was a struggle to get up on to it, but in a good way. The lounge was very comfortable with lots of sofas and arm chairs, a huge television, bar etc. Off of the lounge was a huge terrace, overlooking an abundance of beautiful plants. The terrace had a large dining table, and two heavy loungers with soft comfortable cushions. We ordered most of our meals from room service, which were served to us outside on the terrace. We walked round the grounds of the hotel, which were fabulous, everything was perfect and so neat. The hotel had everything you could want, from barber shop, beauty salon, to a gym and indoor and outdoor swimming pools. The service was always excellent, and we could easily imagine what life was like for the Maharajas of yesteryear. We were treated like royalty, our every whim was catered for, nothing was too much trouble, which is how it should be at a hotel of this calibre. As the heat of the day passed, we would sit outside the bar on the terrace overlooking the immaculate grounds, where peacocks happily roamed. There were quite a few different varieties of birds, singing from the trees in the hotel grounds, as well as lots of squirrel like animals. One day we had just woken from our afternoon sleep when the doorbell rang. Richard answered it, and in walked two waiters carrying two large silver platters. They placed them on a table in the lounge and left. Richard lifted up the silver dome of the first platter, to reveal a selection of delicious looking savoury snacks. Underneath the second dome was a square cake, it was covered with icing and the words ‘Happy Anniversary’ were piped on top of it. It was the extra thoughtful touches like this that made our stay at The Rambagh Palace Hotel so special. The cake was delicious, lovely and moist, and very unexpected. One evening when we came out on to the terrace at the front of the hotel, there were a few markets stalls there. They were mainly selling jewellery with one offering henna tattoos. There were also a couple of camels in the grounds, for guests to ride. It explained the terrace being busier than usual, there were quite a few people sitting round various tables. We were happy sitting drinking too, lots of cold Golden Peacock Lager, and it was fun to watch everyone, although the market and camels were a bit tacky! I was still feeling very unwell, but being in such perfect surroundings definitely made me feel a little better! We loved The Rambagh Palace Hotel, our suite was definitely one of the best hotel accommodations we have had the pleasure of staying in. Even after staying at the seven star, Burj Al Arab Hotel in Dubai on the way home, we would highly recommend The Rambagh Palace Hotel, Jaipur, India. Perfect. All too soon our time in India came to an end. We checked out of The Rambagh Palace Hotel, took a taxi to the train station, and boarded an overnight train back to Delhi. The train journey was surprisingly comfortable, we had two berths, Richard on top, me underneath. We managed to sleep most of the way, waking up in Delhi feeling quite refreshed. We were very sad to be leaving India so soon, and I really should have gone straight home as I was so unwell, but we were excited to be heading to the Burj Al Arab Hotel in Dubai, more of which can be read on the Dubai Travelogue page.

Oceania