Laxmi Niwas Palace Hotel, Bikaner-Photos from my short visit!

While we were staying at Narendra Bhawan, we had a short visit to Lakshmi Niwas Palace. Laxmi Niwas Palace was built during 1898-1902 as official residence of King of Bikaner, Maharaja Ganga Singh. It is now converted into hotel, operated by the same group that runs Suryagarh and Narendra Bhawan. This post shares the grandeur of Lakshmi Niwas Palace, captured through my lens during our short visit.

The grandeur of the hotel campus dawns upon you as you enter. Located behind a huge garden, the entrance is grand and requires you to climb up a few stairs in style. Unfortunately I only have the night photos to show as we didn't visit it during day time, except getting a glimpse of it while visiting the adjacent museum.

 Few closeup photos of Laxmi Niwas palace building in daylight.

It was day after Christmas so a giant X'mas tree greeted us. If you care to look up, the grand ceilings assure us of safety in style.

 As we entered the portico, first thing that hit me was that this looks similar to Suryagarh. We were later told that Suryagarh is inspired from Laxmi Niwas Palace. A folk dance was in progress, in which a dancer was carrying 12-13 pots over her head and dancing. If that were not enough, she pulled various stunts- dancing on a bed of nails, a heap of broken glass, plates with sharp edges and so on. Audience were completely bowled over by her balancing skills and dancing. We were later told that she is one of the top dancers in Bikaner and has mastered the art after years of practice- she is on permanent rolls of Laxmi Nivas and performs here regularly.

Above: A heap of glass set up for dancing upon

Below: The lady smashing the glasses while dancing. 

 Count the number of pots on her head...

The lady was dancing pretty fast. I had tough time getting decent pictures. It was night time with little light, subject is fast moving and I had a rudimentary vantage point. Whatever pictures you see here are ok-ok for web use, do not have the sharpness if viewed in higher resolution. I still have lots to learn w.r.t. camera controls in low light condition with fast moving subjects.

After viewing the dance performance we had some light refreshments and headed for a quick tour of the Laxmi Niwas property. Unfortunately with the hotel running full to last room, we couldn't visit any of the rooms or suits.

The bar and the billiards room:
The bar and the billiard room are full of wild animals, ones hunted by the then kings and now displayed as a prized possession, with careful maintenance by experts to retain their exterior look and skin quality. This scene is not likely to appeal to the animal lovers today, but need to understand that these animals were killed centuries ago when wild animals were alive in large numbers and hunting was probably the main sport for the rich and wealthy.

The special VVIP room
The room adjacent was very unique, with intricate art works. We were told this room is used exceptionally only in case of VVIP guests.

We were shown some of the restaurants- there are 3 in Laxmi Nivas and they are interconnected. Every square inch showcases eartwhile luxury and grandeur- we spent very little time there.

 

 

The room rates at Laxmi Niwas starts at Rs 7000 upwards. It is going to be truly a royal experience for sure. Hopefully I get to spend some more time in their campus in future visits.