Umaid Bhawan Palace, Jodhpur, India

Umaid Bhawan Palace, located at Jodhpur in Rajasthan, India, is one of the world's largest private residences. A part of the palace is managed by Taj Hotels. Named after Maharaja Umaid Singh, grandfather of the present owner Gaj Singh of the palace, this edifice has 347 rooms and serves as the principal residence of the erstwhile Jodhpur royal family. A part of the palace also houses a museum.

Umaid Bhawan Palace was called Chittar Palace during its construction due to use of stones drawn from the Chittar hill where it is located. Ground for the foundations of the building was broken on 18 November 1929 by Maharaja Umaid Singh and the construction work was completed in 1943. The Palace was built to provide employment to thousands of people during the time of famine.

Recently, Umaid Bhawan Palace was awarded as the World's best hotel at the Traveller's Choice Award, which was organised by TripAdvisor

he palace was built at a slow pace as its initial objective was to provide employment to the famine-stricken farmers of the locale. The foundation stone was laid in 1929. About 2,000 to 3,000 people were employed to build it. However, the actual occupation of the palace by the Maharaja came only after its completion in 1943, very close to the period of Indian Independence. There was criticism in some quarters for embarking on an expensive project but it had served the main purpose of helping the citizens of Jodhpur to face the famine situation. The estimated cost of building the palace was Rs 11 million. When it opened its gilded doors in 1943 it was considered as one of the largest royal residences in the world

The Palace is divided into three functional parts – the residence of the royal family, a luxury Taj Palace Hotel, and a Museum focusing on the 20th century history of the Jodhpur Royal Family.

for more details = Umaid Bhawan Palace Official Website