Over half a million readers of the Conde Nast Traveler have declared Udaipur’s Taj Lake Palace Hotel as the 3rd best in the world. These readers belong predominantly to US and UK. This was announced in the Conde Nast Travelers’ Choice Awards 2019.

Annual reader surveys in the US and UK have been compiled into one Global Readers’ Choice Awards List and Udaipur’s Taj Lake Palace stood 3rd in the Best Hotels in the World category. Rambagh Palace in Jaipur was placed at number 7, making it two hotels of Rajasthan to be in the top 10 globally.

The 1984 James Bond opus Octopussy took this hotel to its next orbit of popularity and so too for the City of Lakes, Udaipur. A major part of the shooting of this block buster movie was shot in Udaipur with the Taj Lake Palace (then Lake Palace) being the venue for many shots as well as the climax sequences.

“Palace hotels are awe-inspiring and the moment the guests enter, they are treated in splendour exactly like the royals. After enjoying the physical beauty of the architecture and having a feeling of walk into the history, they experience the unique service that brings Tajness to life”

Rohit Khosla, EVP Operations at IHCL, which is owned by Tata and manages the Taj brand

He added that the hotel transports guests into chapters of the past and they get to experience the living of a Maharaja with modern amenities in a medieval ambiance. Décor, music, flowers, suits, aroma – all of this makes for an unparalleled experience.

All of this, though comes at a price. Season rates for the Taj Lake Palace cost from Rs 80,000 to Rs 1.1 Lakh a night. Seven Taj group hotels have found mention in the Best Hotels of the World, Top 15 Hotels in India, Best Resorts in the World, Top 30 Resorts in the Indian Ocean and Top Hotels in Africa, in the past.

Questionnaire for the survey was posted on CNTraveler.com with readers voting across categories in the travel and tourism industry.