| Shiv Niwas Palace | |
|---|---|
 Shiv Niwas Palace, Udaipur | |
  Location within Rajasthan | |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Rajput architecture |
| Town or city | Udaipur |
| Country | India |
Shiv Niwas Palace is a former residence of the Maharana of Udaipur, Rajasthan, located on the banks of Lake Pichola.
Located to the south side of and part of the City Palace complex, work on this building was begun by Maharana Sajjan Shambhu Singh (1874 to 1884) and finished by his successor Maharana Fateh Singh at the beginning of the 20th century as a royal guesthouse.
During its time as a guesthouse it hosted a number of royal gatherings and VIP visits from all over the world, including George V of the United Kingdom in 1905, and Edward the Prince of Wales.
By the time that Bhagwat Singh succeeded to the throne of Mewar in 1955, it was becoming increasing difficult for the royal family to afford the cost of maintaining the large numbers of royal residences that they owned, in particular the city palace. Following his success in converting the Lake Palace into an income generating hotel he decided to also convert the Shiv Niwas and the smaller Fateh Prakash Palace into luxury heritage hotels. After a 4 year long period of conversion the Shiv Niwas opened as a hotel in 1982. [1]
The 3 levels of the palace are arranged in a semicircular arc around an internal courtyard in the middle of which is a marble pool. [2] Balconies and rooftop terraces opening off different rooms enjoy views to the south of the gardens laid below the dam wall of Lake Pichola; while to the west, the island resorts of Jag Mandir and the Lake Palace. The building is of ancient Rajput architectural styles. The interior features ivory and mother-of-pearl inlay work, glass mosaics and frescoes, many of them produced by Khaja Ustadh and Kundan Lal, whom the Maharana had sent to England to learn the art of glass-mosaic design and to study fresco painting. [3]
When first built the palace had nine suites, all on the ground floor. During its conversion into a hotel, eight apartments were added in a new second story so that the hotel now has 36 guest rooms consisting of: [4]
Since its conversion into a hotel it has played host to, among others, Queen Elizabeth II, the King of Nepal, the Shah of Iran, and Jacqueline Kennedy.
The hotel is run by the HRH Group of Hotels, itself owned by the current Maharana.
The palace was featured in the 1983 James Bond movie Octopussy .
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Udaipur, historically named as Udayapura, is a city and municipal corporation in Udaipur district of the state of Rajasthan, India. It is administrative headquarter of Udaipur district. It is the historic capital of the kingdom of Mewar in the former Rajputana Agency. It was founded in 1559 by Udai Singh II of the Sisodia clan of Rajput, when he shifted his capital from the city of Chittorgarh to Udaipur after Chittorgarh was besieged by Akbar. It remained as the capital city till 1818 when it became a British princely state, and thereafter the Mewar province became a part of Rajasthan when India gained independence in 1947.
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Lake Pichola, situated in Udaipur city in the Indian state of Rajasthan, is an artificial fresh water lake, created in the year 1362, named after the nearby Picholi village. It is one of the several contiguous lakes, and developed over the last few centuries in and around the famous Udaipur city. The lakes around Udaipur were primarily created by building dams to meet the drinking water and irrigation needs of the city and its neighbourhood. Two islands, Jag Niwas and Jag Mandir are located within Pichola Lake, and have been developed with several palaces to provide views of the lake.
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Bagore-ki-Haveli is a haveli in Udaipur in Rajasthan state in India. It is right on the waterfront of Lake Pichola at Gangori Ghat. Amar Chand Badwa, the Prime Minister of Mewar, built it in the eighteenth century.
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Coordinates: 24°34′28″N73°40′54″E / 24.5743288°N 73.6816858°E