We stayed at the Umaid Bhawan Palace in December 2002 on our honeymoon. Firstly, the palace itself is pretty good. Nothing spectacular as palaces go... but not bad nevertheless at Umaid Bhawan Palace - Jodhpur. The rooms are ok, given that staff quarters are converted to the hotel. Half of the palace is still occupied by the ruler. Anyways, the check-in service was alright. I guess they did not bother much about us since we did not take their expensive suites (20k+ per night).
Umaid Bhawan Palace - Jodhpur buffet was also awesome: The buffet breakfast service was VERY GOOD - food ok but the service was excellent with the staff being very polite, courteous and helpful. I think this is as important as the quality of the food.
What really brought me down was when we were checking out. I called the front desk of Umaid Bhawan Palace - Jodhpur to get some help with our luggage and they said someone will be right over. Waited for 20 mins - no one came. Called back and the same lady said we never called earlier. Ok fine - I don’t argue quickly - understand she’s busy - so send someone this time pls? She says yes and then after 1/2 hr no one still shows up. So I called the third time and she said someone is already on the way. I’m sure the guy who was coming lost his way...
Umaid Bhawan Palace - Jodhpur ruthless reception: So we just decided there is no point and lugged our own stuff to the car. At the reception, the lady saw us and asked how our stay was while we checked out. I told her it most of it was good until this point. She had no apologies, no regret. As if by paying her 7K a night they did me a favor???? If this was to happen in North America I’d definitely have a discount coupon and apology. Not that I wanted her to say sorry but at least show some concern so a guest can come back. We’ve been back to Rajasthan twice after that, but always steer clear of this place now.