Two caparisoned stone elephants flank the 30 foot (9 meter) tall entrance gate to the hotel.
An evening view from one of the hotel’s suites of the lap pool and the gigantic onion dome of the lobby, lit by a cut lead crystal chandelier in the form of the sun’s rays. The architect for Udaivilas was Nimish Patel of Abhikram, a world-renowned expert on traditional Rajasthani architecture and vernacular building methods, who started on the project in 1985. We joined his team in 1994, working until the completion of the hotel in 2002. The lavishly appointed interiors were implemented by the Canadian Jeffrey Wilkes of LTW Designworks, based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In conceptualizing gardens for the hotel that would complement the open-sided rooms and fluid spaces (admirably suited to the hot, arid climate) and ornamental features of Nimish Patel’s architecture, we drew inspiration from elements of Udaipur’s ancient palaces: spacious courtyards adorned with huge slabs of black and white Indian marble, reflecting pools and flowing water, formal lawns, statuary and geometric motifs. In order to convey a rich, dreamlike ambience as well as our design intentions, we also borrowed the traditional Mughal miniaturized style of painting in our concept drawings. Using false flat perspectives, a riot of
