Description: Surrounded by exquisite gardens, decorative pools, and fountains, the Rajvilas Oberoi hotel is a quiet, peaceful oasis set on the outskirts of Jaipur and the hurly burly created by its 2.3 million residents. Its luxurious rooms, tents, and villas are equalled only by the high level service and the extraordinary beauty seen throughout the property.

Since its 1997 opening, Rajvilas has acquired a reputation as one of the world's finest luxury hotels, which is probably why former President Clinton stayed here during a state visit. It has also won awards throughout the world include Gourmet magazine's "Most Exotic Resort in the World" recognition.

We stayed here for three nights in February 2008 and loved it. Our "room" choice was one of the 14 air-conditioned tents, each about 45 meters square. Though the tent itself was luxurious, featuring a freestanding cast iron bathtub and luxurious Rajasthani fabrics, we most liked its walled garden and private deck. Here we spent the late afternoon reading on chaises and listening to Indian music wafting over from Jaipur. (Winter is wedding season in India.)

The 32 acres of meticulously manicured gardens that surround Rajvilas' rooms, villas and tents are truly stunning. In the center sits a real Hindu temple and the gardens play host to many animals and birds, including peacocks and Indian parakeets, both of which we saw outside our tent.

Probably one of the chief highlights of our three night stay at Rajvilas was dinners at Suryamahal, the hotel's restaurant offering both Indian and Continental dishes. Because the weather was balmy, one had the option of eating outside in a magnificent stone courtyard and watching colorful Rajasthani dance and music performances.

Another highlight was the fact that our stay coincided with a weekly Rajasthan culture talk presented by a local professor. That night, we were fortunate enough to be the only attendees as this very erudite scholar discussed topics ranging from the Indian economy to Chittorgarh, a famous historic site in Rajasthan.

The famed but harrowing story of Chittorharh goes back to 1303, when the sultan of Delhi besieged and captured this fort so he could abduct the beautiful Rani Padmini. In true Rajput fashion, Padmini preferred death to dishonor so rather than become the sultan's mistress, she committed "jauhar" (killing oneself by leaping into a large fire) along with all the other ladies of the fort. At the same time, all the men left the fort in saffron robes to fight the enemy unto death.

Prices for rooms at Rajvilas range from just under $600 for a deluxe double up to over $3,000 for the huge royal villa, which has its own private pool. Guests can even avail themselves of the luxurious Banyan Tree Spa, though we didn't try it. Rajvilas lies a little over ten miles from the Jaipur airport.

Among other services, Rajvilas also offers a private car to take guests to the heart of Jaipur. The one jarring note in our stay was that literally right outside the opulent front gates of Rajvilas sits a small shantytown built from nothing more than tarps and sticks and obviously lacking running water or sanitation. Its presence pointedly reminded us of the extremes of rich and poor that characterize contemporary India.
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