Last night was our final dinner here, so we went into the bar where the friendly barman made us our favourite mocktails of Seabreeze and Virgin Mojitos . Whilst we were waiting for these, Pete went upstairs to the roof terrace to make sure that we could get a table for two in about 15 minutes.
So we went upstairs at the appointed time and surprise, there was indeed a table for us, with napkins this time, but no chairs, or candle! We had studied the menu in the bar so were able to order promptly tandoori vegetable kebabs, tandoori murgh mahal, gobi (cauliflower) with roti and a Masala papad to start.
The food was excellent and came on time, but no room for dessert, so we went back to the bar for their rather strong black coffee before bed.
We woke up quite early again this morning for our cuppa of earl grey and checked the packing before going for breakfast, outside for a change. There was a different selection of fruit juices, so we tried a small garlic and ginger, no thanks, Pete had beetroot and carrot and Alison had a plain orange juice before we both had our fruit and curds. Another Masala omelette this time folded rather than flat, then back to our room to finish the packing and fill in the feedback form.
For Audley’s benefit, our verdict is that a first class rating for Rawla Narlai is probably a bit generous, by putting it on the same level as RAAS, which was first class. We had the “best room” for size, it it was in the old part and showing its age, the bathroom was the smallest we have had anywhere in India, decor was poor with cracked tiles and poor sanitary fittings. We suffered 5 short power cuts that we noticed, and some of the power points in the room seemed to be faulty and although the staff were attentive, happy and polite, the attention to detail and the level of service, especially in the pool area , left a lot to be desired.
On the positive side, all the experiences were excellent and memorable and the quality of the food (we can only comment on the Indian cuisine) was of a good standard.
We met a couple who had booked through a Delhi agency, which had rated the hotel as 3*, which seems about right. Despite all this we thoroughly enjoyed our stay here, but have reflected these comments in the feed back to the hotel as a management issue.
We finished in our room by 10:00 so phoned reception for our luggage to be collected, waited 10 minutes and then went to reception to check out. We saw our driver who showed us to our car, but there was no luggage, so off he went to get it collected.
Once the luggage appeared we set off and found the main SH 67 road towards Udaipur; we drive past herds of goats, the usual cows across the road until we came to a turning off to the right towards the kumbhalgarh, which was a diversion recommended to us.
The road took us through some stunning scenery, but was bumpy even by Indian standards and half way up the kumbhalgarh valley we came across a troupe of monkeys spread out across the road. Obviously we were invading their patch as the alpha male jumped on the roof and let us know that we were trespassing! Needless to say we didn’t open the windows to take any pictures! Further up the road there were women washing clothes by the Stepwell.
After about an hour on this exciting road we reached the Fort, which by then at midday was packed with cars. However our driver agreed to accompany us around and we paid for his ticket, the princely sum of 40 rupees, while our tickets were 600 rupees each!
It was a long climb up to the palace rooms and alison was being supported on one side by Pete and the other by our driver, who was very anxious to ensure her safety! The rooms themselves were a little disappointing as they were devoid of any furniture, but the size and extent of the Fort was amazing and the views from the ramparts were stunning.
On our return we stopped at the small cafeteria by the front gate for a drink and sandwich … total cost 230 rupees! the route back was different but just as bumpy until we got lower down when the road surface improved. Despite the fact that he had turned on the maps on his phone, our driver seemed unsure of the route and kept stopping to ask the way. He has to continually avoid the children who would run out into the road selling fruit.
We rejoined the SH 27 at a toll booth that would not read his fasttag, so we think he may have been let through for free, and we were on a four lane smooth road towards Udaipur, until he was turned off onto another narrow bumpy lane, which eventually did get us to the city. He phoned to confirm the rendezvous point with the Audley rep, who was waiting by the side of the road on his motorcycle, with a tuk-tuk nearby that took us through the narrow streets outside the hotel, with our luggage jammed in the back! Alison was just a little flustered at the experience! We had not even had the time to thank our driver.
Unfortunately, reception was “ crowded” with two other couples and the rep seemed in a bit of a hurry, asking Alison for the passports, which were in the camera case, while pete was elsewhere. Once he returned, passports were copied and checkin completed, the rep confirmed the time of our city tour, and the time of collection from the hotel for the flight transfer, waited until we had reached our room to check that we were satisfied and then zoomed off.
The hotel looks impressive, the room is really good, with a lake view from three windows and a large walk-in shower. The ambience of the restaurant is stunning with lakeside tables and a warm atmosphere as the sunsets over the lake.
We have booked dinner for 7:30 and a hotel boat trip for tomorrow at 5:00 (pm of course!). They are putting lights up all around the hotel for Diwali and it looks very attractive in the dark. We had a mixed vegetable starter and our first fish curry, which had a very thick and tasty sauce, a chicken curry with tandoori roti and naan bread. We even managed a delicious kulfi for dessert.
Afterwards we took some laundry into reception and it should be back tomorrow. It looks as if the water in the pool is not being pumped so we may not be able to use it.