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 wherever we had ever 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 calm down: 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 at the very least yearly. After we landed on India, the thrill within the room was palpable. By visiting India, we may get a style of a very 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 almost all 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 in the Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh states in North India. If you happen to assume the Golden Triangle may tick off the containers you’re in search of in a non-traditional (however unforgettable) honeymoon, the following 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 inns, just like the Lake Palace in Udaipur. They’re not purpose-built; initially, they had been palaces, not inns, so the rooms at lots of the properties are totally different sizes and don’t supply uniform options, like views.

Oberoi takes a unique strategy, constructing the very best inns 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 provide 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 facet 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 straightforward “sure.” The properties, every distinctive with some distinctly Oberoi threads, acted as our residence 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 personalized India honeymoon, you could possibly additionally enlist the Oberoi itself, as one other couple we met alongside the best way had finished with their Unique Holidays program. The service creates customized itineraries lasting six nights or extra and makes touring all through India easy, dealing with all the things 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 may justify it, we squeezed in a single closing 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 can be 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.

Visitors are welcomed to each property, lavish in its personal method, by a workers member who performs a gratitude ritual known as Aarti, during which a candle on a tray is waved in a circle round us accompanied by the sentiment, “on your well being, well-being, and happiness.” Dwell music and Rajasthani dance performances had been widespread all through our journey within the resort lobbies, eating places, and particular outside experiences. Recent, aromatic flowers are considerable at each Oberoi location, with each day refreshes of bouquets in your room on tables, nightstands, or toilet counters, partitions dripping with vibrant flora, and inventive designs all through the properties, from petals floating in hen 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 anticipate private and considerate touches like this at every location throughout the overarching ethereal, otherworldly atmospheres, a degree of attentiveness and heat that helped buoy the resort group to the highest of one in all Journey + Leisure’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, largely 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 lessons, and spas with varied therapies. 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 continuously take into consideration the conversion fee and preserve the appropriate measurement payments readily available. You’ll be able to take down the names of people that supply excellent service and depart a be aware 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 situations operating over to us earlier than we may carry a finger — that we ended up writing almost each identify 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 one in all Journey + Leisure’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 major highway), you’ll be able to see Delhi’s websites from eliminated hen’s-eye vantage factors right here that you just received’t get in your strolling excursions.

Owned by the identical household since 1965 (and reopened in 2018 after intensive renovations), the five-star luxurious enterprise resort holds a number 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 all the things from birthdays to enterprise conferences, teams of well-dressed women and men gathered at giant tables and chatted over relaxed lunches each day. The expansive restaurant, with glass partitions overlooking the gardens and pool, is the place you’ll be able to see components of each day life for residents. Included in your keep is the multifaceted breakfast buffet at 360°, with a number of giant tables of worldwide dishes primarily based on area — Asian, Indian, worldwide, and many others. — and you may as well 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, they usually’re a number of the best-rated eating places in the whole metropolis. Dhilli, which implies “from the center,” is the latest and provides upscale Indian delicacies protecting 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 common and particular person Indian heritage.

The second upscale restaurant, Baoshuan, is called after the large “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 basic 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 fashionable 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 could possibly rapidly refill on (however do not since you’ll wish to save room for the eating places). The primary flooring has The Membership Bar, a comfy and intimate enjoyable 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 evident sufficient, you’ll be able to see 35-40 monuments from the outside part of the rooftop bar, together with the UNESCO World Heritage Website Humayun’s Tomb, one in all 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 lovely, pastel-hued Patisserie provides 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 planet this 12 months, the 102-roomed Oberoi in Agra is a setting you’d anticipate solely to search out in a wanderlust-inducing romantic film. Instantly upon coming into, you come face-to-face with a transparent view of the Taj Mahal within the close to distance, framed by the large home windows of the first-floor lounge. Guided outdoors the gold-domed lounge to the terrace, we sipped welcome drinks sporting plush marigold necklaces whereas gazing at not simply one in all India’s most legendary websites but additionally one of many Seven Wonders of the World. The setting is so magical that it feels faux, just like the resort’s backdrop should 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 vibrant blue flooring that pops from above, and it extends from the skin deck to a coated space with high-columned archways, cozy couches, and an enormous 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 provides Indian specialty delicacies at two seating instances accompanied by reside santoor music.

Within the night, as a deep purple solar set over the skin village rooftops, lights glimmered like lanterns, speckling the property in twinkling gold. Visitors 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 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 smooth and juicy lamb dish that was completely crispy and smoked on the perimeters.

After 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 web site the following 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 lovely luxurious suite surrounded by Indian artwork, hand-knotted rugs, and handcrafted furnishings, in addition to a santoor musician creating the right ambiance. If in case you have a premier room with a balcony, you may as well take pleasure in al fresco eating from your personal house.

Cease 3: The Oberoi Vanyavilas Wildlife Resort, Ranthambhore

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

If you happen to’ve ever puzzled what an old style British searching lodge appears 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 doable. Though the workers in any respect Oberoi properties had been extraordinarily attentive, educated, and genuinely form, 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 company’ sightings that day and desirous to see your pictures and movies. They know the tigers by identify and depart you handwritten notes on images of probably the most well-known huge 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 appears like attending an grownup summer time camp you have dreamt up, with skilled guides who can lead you on nature walks, private cooking lessons, and academic talks at night time on subjects like biodiversity and the hidden lives of tigers. Practically daily, Lakshmi — an elephant the property rescued from a circus — walks over along with her caretaker to eat breakfast on web site. She could be very pleasant, letting company 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 Remark tower, which provides panoramic views of the encompassing space. You’ll be able to e-book particular experiences right here, like a personal dinner or stargazing, however it’s not the one choice for such particular moments. On our closing morning, my husband and I had a personal breakfast full of caprice by the pond, with colourful steel 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 could 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. Exterior the previously walled part of town, same-size store stalls line the streets. One of the crucial 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, in fact, 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 residing within the Mughal period might need been like (for royalty and the very rich), particularly as you be taught extra of town’s historical past on excursions. At Amer Fort, for instance, our information confirmed us the channels constructed by means of the Corridor of Pleasure, reverse the much-photographed Corridor of Mirrors, the place workers would infuse water with pure scents that might then circulate 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 stylish method.

At Rajvilas, we loved a number of privateness with a premier room with a personal pool and canopied patio space, however the primary pool deck is gorgeous and enjoyable as nicely, 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” once we arrived and “Goodnight” outdoors our door as we headed to sleep.

Whilst you’ll possible spend time outdoors exploring Jaipur, the Oberoi Rajvilas has lots 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 lessons, 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 company and outsiders alike (so you’ll want 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 middle of the house, including much more texture to the cinematic eating expertise.

Within the 300-year-old restored Shiva temple on the middle of the property throughout a brief stone bridge, my husband and I had a short 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 finished 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 intensive therapy known as the Rajput Romance of Rajvilas. This three-hour {couples} session featured Ayurvedic strategies 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 move by means of a magical room coated in mosaic mirrors akin to the Corridor of Mirrors in Jaipur’s Amber Fort. At night time, a cluster of assorted pillar candles flicker off the partitions, dancing across the room as the one mild within the house. Exterior 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 facet of the checkered water channel. Your complete property feels vibrant, overflowing with water and flowers with the blue checkered tiles — an Oberoi throughline — taking part in 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 provides 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 middle 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 an easier 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 vibrant 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 convey over champagne once we sat, and our non-public efficiency of conventional picket flute music. One other night, we did a personal sundown boat trip 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 underneath 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 facet of Lake Pichola. There’s additionally Udaimahal, the fine-dining restaurant, and The Bar off the foyer, which is open till midnight each day.

Cease 6: The Oberoi, Mumbai

A basic high-end resort for a dose of latest consolation.

Positioned on Marine Drive, The Oberoi in Mumbai is in a major spot for exploring town on foot. Strolling into the resort after our almost two-week journey by means of Rajasthan, we had been instantly struck by the trendy and complex city really feel that contrasted with the earlier properties’ extra rural and conventional types, 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 by means of a passageway of outlets).

The stylish Eau bar, with indoor and outside bars and seating, is among the finest spots within the metropolis to seize comfortable 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 because of 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 means that you can watch in real-time as your Indian bread bakes on charcoal tandoors. This can be a eating expertise to not be missed, whether or not you’re staying on-site or not, and was a superb solution to finish our romantically adventurous, luxurious-yet-wild honeymoon.