We had wished to go for a forest safari at Ranthambore National Park since last winter. However the winter passed and we were able to find a time for it only in the mid of april. The trip was scheduled just 3-4 days in advance. Summer had already began in full swing but some plash showers across most of nothern India had brought the temparature down. So we thought that we had the ideal environment for the safari, i.e. not so hot weather conditions in a month which is considering favourable for tiger sightings. After booking the park safari online, I straight away browsed to TravelGuru.com for accomodation. This was not the first time I was booking through travelguru and as such travelguru is the first choice. After going through the list of hotel, I finally settled and booked for Raj Palace Resort. This time I did the booking solo without voice support from any Travelguru executive but I really appreciate their expertise and commendable customer service.
We drove from Jaipur to Sawai Madhopur. The hotel is conviniently located about half a kilometer from the start of Ranthambore road. All hotels / resorts in the town are on the Ranthambore Road and many hotels including the high end luxury ones are located kilometers ahead. The location of Raj Palace Resort is excellent and one can drive / commute to and fro the town easily if required.
There is a uncovered parking lot inside the hotel premises(i.e. safe inside boundary walls) which can accommodate 7 cars. The passages leading to the reception can also accommodate 2-3 cars.
We stayed in a Deluxe AC room. The rooms are duplex cottage type with each block having 4 rooms. Our room was on the first floor and an external metal staircase leads to the room. The staircase railings are covered with herbs bearing beautiful flowers. The entire hotel campus is very good with variety of trees / flowers and their horticulture work is superb. It is like a green environment created in a desert state.
The rooms are large and clean with decent ambience. There is a makeup / dressing area separated behind curtains which is good if you are travelling with your family.
When we arrived, the front desk was helpful and arranged a gypsy for our fort tour within a short time. I had booked a jungle safari online in advance for the next day. At the time of check-in, the front desk staff informed that the safari agent would come in the evening for collecting papers and other briefings. However it took some waiting and number of calls with the front desk to get the activity completed. It feels that the hotel staff can do better for their guests with regard to the safari though their role is limited to introducing to the safari operators only.
We had planned for only one night stay but we were so much thrilled by the charm of the resort that we decided to extend our stay by one more day. The hotel swimming pool is small but well maintained and we spent a good portion of our second days stay in the pool.
The food is below expectation in both taste and quantity. We took only one meal at the hotel restaurant and thereafter we ventured out to visit other restaurants in the town. The options in complimentary breakfast are also very limited.
We had an early morning check out before the start of breakfast timings at the hotel. As such we had requested for some simple breakfast in the morning which the restaurant staff obliged well in time. The good thing was that they called and informed us that the breakfast is ready before we ourselves were ready.
We enjoyed every bit of our stay there and we would stay at the same place if we visit Ranthambore again. Last but not the least, kudos to the Travelguru representative at Ranthambore, Mr. Vishnu, who is so courteous and makes you feel at ease.