Fort Begu (1430 AD)

As we pulled into this heritage hotel past the elephant stables (now used for vehicle parking), we know this was a one of a kind property.|Our suite was unbelievable, walls and ceilings covered in ancient mosaic work. It was like sleeping in a room of one of the palaces we had visited on a prior trip - except this time there were no red crowd control ropes or glass viewing cases - this was our room for the night.|Dinner was served in the gardens and a minimal breakfast was served in the morning in the dining room.|Take time to enjoy the antiques, and definitely take a tour to the lake palace with absolutely beautiful temple to Lord Shiva. The carvings are for the most part intact, and beautiful.

The Begu Fort is very special and a wonderful place to stay for those who ready to enjoy a fortress from 1430 that has been lightly converted to a boutique hotel. It is run by the owner and his team with palace sized rooms from a previous era. Much of the fort is totally un-restored so you can see the buildings, frescoes in precious stones, colored glass and silver and the wall paintings of elephants as they were intended. The bathroom is large, in marble and well equipped. The air conditioning functions well. The wonderful friendly and enthusiastic hosts gave a tour of the fort they love and even the villagers joined in. Huge trees, elephant stables and several temples, one is in use by the villagers that live next door. The gardens and terraces are filled with wildlife, Parakeets, Peacocks and many birds that I could not name. The concentric stepped well is pretty magical. The bedroom, bathroom and eating areas are comfortable and absolutely unique. Dinner is a set menu of home cooked Rajasthan cuisine eaten on the terraces adorned with ancient stone lions. Breakfast was a combination of Indian dishes and or cooked eggs etc. Do not expect brand new, this is a 15th century palace / castle. It is accessed by a short stretch of good road from the highway from Udaipur. Then our host met us by motorbike to led us through the village and though walls via the gates and bridge across the moat.|A highlight of our three weeks in India. I only wish that we could have stayed longer.

This was easily the most interesting and authentic Rajasthani experience for us. The food is essentially Royal kitchen food, cooked with loads of care. The conversation with Rajaji, was enlightening and the evening trip to the summer palace was loads of fun. Don't miss this one for anything.

Staying at Fort Begu is a once in a lifetime experience absolutely not to be missed.|This crumbling piece of Rajasthan history currently takes bookings for small numbers of people to stay, and my family was fortunate to be able to stay in two of the extraordinary suites where we were treated to an absolutely unforgettable adventure.|The owner Ajay is so generous with his time and his hospitality, and the staff are delightful providing a well thought through itinerary of the best ways to experience and explore the fort in the short time we had there.|We rerouted our visit to Rajasthan specifically to visit Fort Begu, and it was so worthwhile. From the sunset tour in Ajay's vintage jeep, the incredible architecture, the wonderful food, and Arjun's excellent guidence through the village and ancient parts of the fort, we could not rate this highly enough.

Arriving at the fort from the noise and celebrations of Diwali we felt we had stepped back in time into a more peaceful way of life of past grandeur. Our sunset trip to the Lake Palace was magical and we enjoyed meeting members of the nearby farming community. Ajay Raj Singh was a consummate and generous host and we thoroughly enjoyed our pre-dinner chats of history and politics. Arjun guided us expertly around the fort and town and our stay here was one of the highlights of our whole trip to India. The food was all delicious and romantically presented at different spots around the fort. We felt a real connection with the people we met here and that we experienced the real India aside from the tourist trail. Our room was beautiful as well as comfortable and so much thought and effort had been put into making our stay memorable, with great success. We hope to return.

Beautiful setting and extremely attentive service. Our meals were prepared by women from the village with instruction from our host's mother and were excellent. We were served drinks and then dinner in a different location every evening with fires nearby to keep us warm. Quit chilly at night, but we were provided with heaters and wore layers. We enjoy learning about how people live and enjoyed the village tour. As foreigners, we were quite a novelty.

This is not your standard hotel. This is a gorgeous, historic heritage property, owned by Ajay, a descendant of the Mewar dynasty. It is as much an experience as it is a place to sleep. We stayed three nights, which felt about right. Longer and we might not have known what to do with ourselves.||Room: we had a spectacular suite room with ornate carvings, pillars and stained glass windows. I have traveled a lot and stayed in some very nice rooms; this may have been the nicest of them all. The bed was very comfortable, there were ample electrical outlets and the shower water pressure and heat were great. ||Grounds: the fort is a majestic, ramshackle structure located on 30 acres. Parrots and peacocks can be seen from your window. It was quite lovely, and it felt like a privilege to stay in such a historic building.||Food: breakfast was very good. It was a pleasure to have ground coffee instead of Nescafe. Lunch and dinner, while pricey, were simply outstanding. Made from traditional recipes handed down by Ajay's mother, the food was consistently interesting and masterfully prepared. In general staff assume you will eat all your meals there. There may be other dining options in the town, but it would require a car and more courage than I possess to navigate them unassisted.||Staff: the level of attentiveness of the staff was astonishing. You are treated (and addressed) as a maharaja or maharani. All of your needs, including some you don't have, are anticipated. To be honest, at times we found the deference and solicitousness wearisome. On the upside, everyone was very kind, and we were provided with several activities, including a village walk that was one of the best experiences of our entire trip. In addition, Ajay is a great conversationalist and provided us with lots of background and insight into his family history and the local culture.||Overall, an extraordinary experience in an extraordinary place. A bit of a splurge but, for me, worth it.||

I've had repeated visits to Fort Begu over the years. Also this time around it was an unforgettable experience. Here, in this huge fort, you are treated like Royalty, by Ajay Raj, member of the former royal family. The service is personal and the rooms ooze history. The food is traditional palace cuisine. And the best of all: You are well off the beaten tourist track, but still close enough to effortlessly get there. I highly recommend Fort Begu!