The words `luxury` and `parenthood’ seldom are carried together in any advertisement for a fancy resort. If anything, people consider them to not only be mutually exclusive but also auto-cancelling – the utterance of one negates the possibility of the other. There’s a solid reason why fancy sit-down meal-type restaurants don’t allow children.
But what is a parent to do? Give up hopes of being pampered till the child is off to school, or plop them in front of a screen, buying a few precious hours at the cost of pickling young minds with questionable content?
Luckily, some hotels understand this dilemma, and I have made trips to them on multiple occasions, writing about my experiences here. So far, I’d set my sights on destinations abroad, but this time around, I looked inland, and soon enough, we had packed bags for The Leela Palace, Udaipur.
The word ‘palace’ is a heavy jewel to carry in your crown; you either wear it with pride and it adorns the building, or else, the mighty head crushes and stoops under its weight and responsibility. A hotel is where you get service, but a palace is much more; it’s where you get to feel like a king or a queen. It’s a place where everything has to be perfect – from the way it is conceived and made to the presentation. A palace is an idea for a property which will envisage your every need and desire before the said need or want has even found root in your mind. And we turned up at this palace with a two-year-old in tow. We didn’t know what to expect, but we had been assured that they had us covered.
This reassurance was evident from the moment we left the airport and arrived at the property; the friendliness of the person receiving us was sincere and genuine. They were friendly but never too familiar, even with the toddler, always smiling but never intimidating. And you can be an adult, but to appeal to a child, that has to be genuine. Mind you, the boat ride to the hotel, which takes a leisurely 10-12 minutes, was also a great setting to keep a kid mesmerised and occupied.
The rooms at the Leela Palace, Udaipur, are spacious yet richly punctuated with all the accoutrements and amenities of a modern-day fancy villa. Whether it was part of the grand plan or not, their rooms, despite all the decorative elements, were still quite child-proof, in that there was little a toddler could use to bring harm to themselves. Except for the blueberries on our table, which were instantly hogged (thrice the platter was replenished and devoured during our stay there!) The rooms had no sharp corners, neither did the tables and chairs. The flooring was wooden and provided some cushion. The wardrobes and bathrooms were all, without any extra effort, modestly child-safe. Even the balcony was safe for the child to wander.
Over the next few days, we tried the two restaurants where the chef was always willing and able to accommodate our food requests. They were also quick with our requests, which helps when you have a hangry kid on hand. The food, whether trying the local dishes or their international fare, was never too spicy nor too bland. The pizzas here were a far cry from what hotel pizzas used to be, even a few years ago. The ones here showed true Italian DNA! The fine dining has a lady who makes fresh Indian bread right outside on a small flame stove, adding to the charm and authenticity of the experience. The fact that they are healthy and yummy certainly helped.
Speaking of health, the Leela group launched its wellness program, Aujasya, a few years ago, and it’s not just for the brochure's selling points. They deep-dived into the idea of healthy fare throughout the day, starting with breakfast and covering every meal along the way, including snacks. Now I know the concept of eating healthy conjures images of starving oneself. This certainly wasn’t the case here and the food remains delicious despite being better for you, as was verified multiple times by a very persnickety 2-year old who spits out anything that is not up to his gastronome standards, which, I assure you, are fine-tuned to be groomed into an inspector for the Michelin guide when the time comes.
As the evening falls, performances showcasing local song and dance forms take place, perfectly complementing the backdrop of a palace illuminated by countless candles. The recently inaugurated residences, which are like a hotel within a hotel, take you further up the realms of luxury, cocooning you in your little paradise, replete with a private pool and, not just a butler but an entire kitchen brigade on call!
But even more than the immovable structure, which is grand as it is, sitting on the banks of this magnificent lake, it was the attitudes of the staff that were truly moving and memorable. They stepped in to accommodate requests, no matter how oblique or sudden, they obliged us with picture requests, even doing up a corner with the setting sun for a backdrop for us to commemorate a special moment (and while one person took the pictures) another helped with keeping the toddler pleasantly occupied. They even had activities to engage children, which truly helped when we took our turns at the spa.
In the end, we managed a 3-day getaway and returned feeling rejuvenated, suitably pampered and with none of the guilt of having achieved all this at the cost of ignoring our child. That, for me, is true luxury. And as for the Leela Palace, Udaipur, as I look back, all I can surmise is that it was all truly very royal. And there cannot be a more fitting adjective for a palace.
