My husband and I needed to go someplace neither of us had ever been for our honeymoon, however not simply anyplace we had ever been, someplace particular — out of this world, like visiting one other planet. A once-in-a-lifetime journey. We have been pondering of this chance to take two weeks off work and journey as an opportunity for an journey greater than to chill out: an adventure-moon, if you’ll.

I’ve already been on safari in Africa, he visited the Center East proper earlier than the pandemic, and we attempt to get to Europe a minimum of every year. Once we landed on India, the thrill within the room was palpable. By visiting India, we may get a style of a very alien tradition to our personal and expertise the hustle and bustle of well-known cities and the leisure and marvel of a pure panorama and wildlife we’d by no means encountered earlier than.

Preliminary analysis confirmed that the majority first-time vacationers to India embark on a three-city route referred to as the Golden Triangle that hits Delhi, Agra (the place the Taj Mahal is), and Jaipur, cities within the Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh states in North India. If you happen to suppose the Golden Triangle may tick off the packing containers you’re in search of in a non-traditional (however unforgettable) honeymoon, the subsequent step is deciding the place to remain.

Two top-level resort teams are greatest recognized all through India: The Oberois and Taj Motels. The Taj Motels convert historic properties into boutique inns, just like the Lake Palace in Udaipur. They’re not purpose-built; initially, they have been palaces, not inns, so the rooms at most of the properties are totally different sizes and don’t provide uniform options, like views.

Oberoi takes a distinct strategy, constructing the perfect inns for his or her location, specializing in luxurious, grandeur, and their signature “heartfelt” hospitality. In Agra, for instance, The Oberoi Amarvilas have been constructed to present each visitor front-row seats to India’s most well-known attraction and solely have visitor rooms that overlook the Taj Mahal, whereas the opposite aspect of the hallway is lined with home windows going through the entrance of the resort. We deliberate to remain at a number of Oberois on our journey, so when the resort group supplied us the possibility to remain completely with them, it was a straightforward “sure.” The properties, every distinctive with some distinctly Oberoi threads, acted as our residence bases within the chaotic cities and extra serene stops we added onto our Golden Triangle base path.

To assist us finalize our route, we enlisted the assistance of Audley journey company and, with our agent, Zac, we added onto the triangle with two nights in Udaipur, a extra distant and calmer scenic vacation spot, after our third cease on the triangle, Jaipur. As a result of my husband and I are animal lovers (and this was our adventure-moon, in spite of everything), we additionally determined to make a detour between Agra and Jaipur to Ranthambore Nationwide Park to see tigers throughout a jungle safari. As you devise the proper personalized India honeymoon, you may additionally enlist the Oberoi itself, as one other couple we met alongside the way in which had accomplished with their Unique Holidays program. The service creates customized itineraries lasting six nights or extra and makes touring all through India easy, dealing with every part from room reservations and intercity transfers to vacation spot and resort experiences.

As a result of we couldn’t resist extending our journey if we may justify it, we squeezed in a single ultimate cease: flying from Udaipur to Mumbai, India’s largest (and most fashionable) metropolis.

Right here’s the way it went.

Every property has iconic throughlines which can be distinctly Oberoi, emphasizing Indian traditions and heat hospitality. The workers appeared genuinely excited to make our honeymoon particular, too, including romantic private touches like additional room decorations and making ready considerate gestures forward of our stays.

Company are welcomed to each property, lavish in its personal method, by a workers member who performs a gratitude ritual referred to as Aarti, through which a candle on a tray is waved in a circle round us accompanied by the sentiment, “to your well being, well-being, and happiness.” Stay music and Rajasthani dance performances have been widespread all through our journey within the resort lobbies, eating places, and particular out of doors experiences. Recent, aromatic flowers are plentiful at each Oberoi location, with every day refreshes of bouquets in your room on tables, nightstands, or rest room counters, partitions dripping with vibrant flora, and artistic designs all through the properties, from petals floating in chook feeders to photographs and messages spelled out (like “Welcome to the jungle” as you wander the Ranthambore grounds and “Goodnight” proper exterior your room in Jaipur). You possibly can anticipate private and considerate touches like this at every location inside the overarching ethereal, otherworldly atmospheres, a stage of attentiveness and heat that helped buoy the resort group to the highest of one in all Journey + Leisure’s latest reader-voted rankings of The 25 Finest Lodge Manufacturers within the World.

Pool areas from property to property have the identical brightly coloured, fringed solar umbrellas with gold designs, and most of the decks are designed with checkered tiles in alternating colours, largely lighter and darkish blues. Lighting is a meticulously curated element on the Oberois, with every property utilizing a mixture of pure lighting — from open-air hallways, al-fresco bars, and large home windows with daylight pouring in, to candlelit tables, imposing torches with dancing flames, and scattered lanterns glinting throughout the panorama.

On your comfort, every property additionally has a butler service you possibly can dial any time of night time or day, room service choices, gyms with personal or shared yoga lessons, and spas with varied therapies. The Oberois don’t enable gratuities to particular person staffers, which takes the stress out of day-to-day journey since you don’t should always take into consideration the conversion fee and preserve the best measurement payments available. You possibly can take down the names of people that provide excellent service and go away a observe and tip for all the workers on the finish of your keep. The workers, throughout the board, from the greeters to the pool servers, have been so genuinely useful and caring — in some situations working over to us earlier than we may raise a finger — that we ended up writing practically each identify down some days, a stage of hospitality that aligns with a core pillar of the Oberoi model’s service: Coronary heart.Felt.

Cease 1: The Oberoi, New Delhi

A luxurious enterprise resort ingrained within the hearts of locals.

Nestled proper within the coronary heart of bustling New Delhi, The Oberoi, New Delhi is an city respite — and one in all Journey + Leisure’s suggestions of the perfect locations to remain in New Delhi. When you can’t wholly escape the noise of the bustling metropolis (the resort is true off a foremost highway), you possibly can see Delhi’s websites from eliminated chook’s-eye vantage factors right here that you just gained’t get in your strolling excursions.

Owned by the identical household since 1965 (and reopened in 2018 after in depth renovations), the five-star luxurious enterprise resort holds a number of legacy within the metropolis. The communications supervisor on the property fondly referred to the principle all-day restaurant, 360°, as “Delhi’s drawing room,” a label that more and more made sense the extra we dined there. For every part from birthdays to enterprise conferences, teams of well-dressed women and men gathered at massive tables and chatted over relaxed lunches every day. The expansive restaurant, with glass partitions overlooking the gardens and pool, is the place you possibly can see parts of every day life for residents. Included in your keep is the multifaceted breakfast buffet at 360°, with a number of massive tables of world dishes based mostly on area — Asian, Indian, worldwide, and many others. — and you too can order dishes off the menu, starting from conventional Indian delicacies to Western-style eggs.

The opposite two eating places, Dhilli and Baoshuan, might not have the identical Delhi-specific nostalgia as 360°, however they’re each infused with historical past. The meals at each is spectacular, and so they’re a few of the best-rated eating places in all the metropolis. Dhilli, which suggests “from the guts,” is the latest and gives upscale Indian delicacies protecting seven areas (and the chef intends so as to add extra). The chef began with a mission to create meals impressed by his childhood recollections from visiting his granny — only one instance of the property infusing its choices with sentiment showcasing each basic and particular person Indian heritage.

The second upscale restaurant, Baoshuan, is known as after the massive “Chinese language treasure ships” from the early fifteenth century that will sail to India (and so far as East Africa) carrying valuables and provisions. Led by two Michelin-star chef Andrew Wong (of A. Wong in London), Baoshuan celebrates Chinese language meals all through historical past and throughout many areas. Just like the menu, the presentation is wide-ranging, too, with traditional soup dumplings in steamer baskets to desserts arriving at your desk in bowls overflowing with silky smoke.

There are two bars the place you possibly can get pleasure from pre- or post-meal drinks (or earlier, with The Membership Bar first open from 10 a.m. to three p.m.). The trendy rooftop spot, Cirrus 9, is the place you go to really feel such as you’re out in town (even when all you needed to do was hop in an elevator), having fun with specialty cocktails and scrumptious small plates that you may shortly replenish on (however do not since you’ll wish to save room for the eating places). The primary flooring has The Membership Bar, a comfortable and intimate enjoyable spot with a glass of Indri, India’s award-winning single malt whiskey. Connected to The Membership Bar, which is true off the foyer, is the Cigar Lounge, stuffed with Cuban cigars in humidor lockers.

If the climate is obvious sufficient, you possibly can see 35-40 monuments from the out of doors part of the rooftop bar, together with the UNESCO World Heritage Website Humayun’s Tomb, one in all India’s earliest examples of Mughal structure. The resort additionally overlooks a sprawling golf course, providing greenery in opposition to the city density and historic monuments. The lovable, pastel-hued Patisserie gives an environment akin to a European cafe for a mid-day deal with or caffeine pick-me-up.

As the primary Indian-owned luxurious resort in Delhi, the Oberoi, New Delhi, is as main an attraction because the monuments, courts, and markets it’s in shut proximity to. It’s embedded within the hearts of the locals as a first-of-its-kind and unequalled institution.

Cease 2: The Oberoi Amarvilas, Agra

Jaw-dropping views of the Taj Mahal in a one-of-a-kind setting.

Ranked twenty seventh on the earth this yr, the 102-roomed Oberoi in Agra is a setting you’d anticipate solely to search out in a wanderlust-inducing romantic film. Instantly upon coming into, you come face-to-face with a transparent view of the Taj Mahal within the close to distance, framed by the massive home windows of the first-floor lounge. Guided exterior the gold-domed lounge to the terrace, we sipped welcome drinks sporting plush marigold necklaces whereas gazing at not simply one in all India’s most legendary websites but in addition one of many Seven Wonders of the World. The atmosphere is so magical that it feels faux, just like the resort’s backdrop should be a inexperienced display — and the richly designed interiors, with marble inlay, jaali screens, and hand-woven tapestries, are simply as dreamy. Actuality units in as you wander the opulent nine-acre property and see the unimaginable Mughal mausoleum from totally different vantage factors. Each room on the resort includes a view of the Taj Mahal, and lots of have a balcony the place you possibly can benefit from the surrounding sights, the terraced garden and tiled pavilions, and nightly dance performances because the solar units.

The pool at Amarvilas has a shiny blue flooring that pops from above, and it extends from the surface deck to a coated space with high-columned archways, cozy couches, and an enormous gold portray of the Indian god Ganesha. There’s a swanky bar proper off the foyer with silk sofas, adorned with unobstructed views of the Taj Mahal, in addition to two indoor eating places downstairs, the all-day eating choice Bellevue and Esphahan, which gives Indian specialty delicacies at two seating occasions accompanied by dwell santoor music.

Within the night, as a deep pink solar set over the surface village rooftops, lights glimmered like lanterns, speckling the property in twinkling gold. Company loved the music and dance efficiency on a rooftop in entrance of the Taj Mahal from the pool deck and their room balconies as if we have been all at a present in our personal personal packing containers. After this, we headed right down to Esphahan for dinner in an intimate area with conventional regional delicacies, together with our first Rajasthani laal maas, a smooth and juicy lamb dish that was completely crispy and smoked on the sides.

Once we returned to our room, a white chocolate reproduction of the Taj Mahal awaited us — a deliciously candy contact to cue us up for our go to to the famend website the subsequent day. A particular exercise you possibly can add is having a non-public breakfast on one of many suite’s balconies overlooking the Taj Mahal, the place we had our personal buffet in an exquisite luxurious suite surrounded by Indian artwork, hand-knotted rugs, and handcrafted furnishings, in addition to a santoor musician creating the proper ambiance. When you have a premier room with a balcony, you too can get pleasure from al fresco eating from your individual area.

Cease 3: The Oberoi Vanyavilas Wildlife Resort, Ranthambhore

The place luxurious meets ruggedness for an thrilling introduction to elusive tigers.

If you happen to’ve ever puzzled what an old style British looking lodge seems like, The Oberoi, Vanyavilas — India’s first luxurious jungle resort — will allow you to play make-believe (in a way more animal-loving time of conservation and appreciation). Dotted with luxurious tents lined on the within with shimmery embroidered tigers, the Oberoi on the sting of Ranthambore Nationwide Park, additionally referred to as Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, feels each untamed and expertly curated to provide the greatest expertise potential. Though the workers in any respect Oberoi properties have been extraordinarily attentive, educated, and genuinely sort, Ranthambhore felt extra like a neighborhood than a typical guest-employee dynamic. Everyone seems to be as invested in your safari expertise as you might be, excitedly recounting totally different visitors’ sightings that day and eager to see your images and movies. They know the tigers by identify and go away you handwritten notes on images of essentially the most well-known large cats as if penned by the animals themselves, the night time earlier than a drive.

In contrast to the opposite locations we visited, Ranthambore would not have metropolis sights to attract you off the property, however the on-site choices are plentiful. Being there seems like attending an grownup summer time camp you’ve got dreamt up, with knowledgeable guides who can lead you on nature walks, private cooking lessons, and academic talks at night time on subjects like biodiversity and the hidden lives of tigers. Almost every single day, Lakshmi — an elephant the property rescued from a circus — walks over together with her caretaker to eat breakfast on website. She could be very pleasant, letting visitors feed and hug her. I took a day yoga session within the personal backyard, aside from the gaggle of peacocks hovering subsequent to me once I opened my eyes after savasana.

A spotlight of the property is the Commentary tower, which gives panoramic views of the encircling space. You possibly can guide particular experiences right here, like a non-public dinner or stargazing, but it surely’s not the one choice for such particular moments. On our ultimate morning, my husband and I had a non-public breakfast full of caprice by the pond, with colourful steel collectible figurines adorning the desk, surrounded by floral shows on the garden, and accompanied by our personal musical efficiency.

The night time earlier than, we loved a particular dinner showcasing the perfect delicacies of the area referred to as a “Royal Rajasthan Thali,” introduced lovingly by the chef. The dinner featured 9 dishes — together with dishes we already knew, like laal maas and curries, in addition to lesser-known native dishes like flour dumplings referred to as masala baati and a vegetable rice dish referred to as mangodi pulao — together with Indian breads adopted by two totally different desserts.

Cease 4: The Oberoi Rajvilas, Jaipur

A folkloric property that transports honeymooners to a bygone period.

It’s possible you’ll acknowledge Jaipur from the movie “The Finest Unique Marigold Lodge” or for its well-known aesthetic cohesiveness, with most buildings made of sunshine pink stone. Outdoors the previously walled part of the town, same-size store stalls line the streets. One of the well-known sights breaks up the uniformity: the eye-catching Hawa Mahal (additionally referred to as the Palace of Winds), an ornate facade with 953 home windows the place girls from the emperor’s harem would watch as he made his entrance into city.

Modeled after Mr. Oberoi’s personal fort and in the identical picturesque vein as its hometown, the Oberoi in Jaipur options a lot of the identical grandeur as the town’s notable locations, Metropolis Palace and Amber Fort, together with excessive scalloped doorways, lattice-lined staircases, flaming mashaal torches, previous armor mounted on the partitions, miniature and gold-leaf work, and, after all, sturdy fortress partitions in the identical gentle pink colour. The regal 18th-century styled property is sort of a portal to a make-believe world, letting you think about what residing within the Mughal period may need been like (for royalty and the very rich), particularly as you study extra of the town’s historical past on excursions. At Amer Fort, for instance, our information confirmed us the channels constructed by means of the Corridor of Pleasure, reverse the much-photographed Corridor of Mirrors, the place workers would infuse water with pure scents that will then stream to massive curtains that will waft the floral notes all through the palace. With bountiful flowers all over the place, the Oberoi is of course aromatic in the identical old style and stylish method.

At Rajvilas, we loved a number of privateness with a premier room with a non-public pool and canopied patio space, however the principle pool deck is gorgeous and enjoyable as effectively, with stone statues, domed buildings, colourful tiles, and pleasant peacocks that stroll as much as your chairs to socialize and share your poolside snacks. Within the room bogs, the recessed bathtubs are distinctive and opulent, and we returned to our room to flower-filled drawn baths and customized notes written with petals, like “Congratulations” after we arrived and “Goodnight” exterior our door as we headed to sleep.

When you’ll possible spend time exterior exploring Jaipur, the Oberoi Rajvilas has so much to supply on its 32 acres, like tennis courts, an eight-hole golf course, expansive gardens, night puppet exhibits, a slew of particular experiences (like personal meals, wine tastings, cooking lessons, and excessive tea at Mr. Oberoi’s Naila fort) and two eating places, Surya Mahal and Raj Mahal, and Rajwada Library Bar. We ate exterior on the Indian specialty restaurant Raj Mahal, a preferred eating spot for visitors and outsiders alike (so remember to make a reservation) in a courtyard with tree-lined edges glowing from firelight. This out of doors area operates from October to March. Like on the different Oberois, conventional music was carried out by a small group of native musicians within the heart of the area, including much more texture to the cinematic eating expertise.

Within the 300-year-old restored Shiva temple on the heart of the property throughout a brief stone bridge, my husband and I had a quick however memorable Aarti blessing ceremony carried out by a Hindu priest, with birds chirping exterior as he sang, that ended with him making use of a Bindi to our foreheads and tying yellow and pink string bracelets onto our wrists that I’ve insisted we carry on till the autumn off naturally (which they haven’t accomplished as I write this a great distance from Jaipur in Westchester, New York) as a result of I like the sentimentalism.

In one other restored historic constructing on the property, a 280-year-old haveli (or mansion) that’s now the on-site spa, we did an in depth therapy referred to as the Rajput Romance of Rajvilas. This three-hour {couples} session featured Ayurvedic methods and began with a foot cleaning ritual adopted by a physique scrub, therapeutic massage, and facial in a big tranquil room with hand-painted murals.

Cease 5: The Oberoi Udaivilas, Udaipur

A colourful, fairytale oasis nestled in a tranquil lakeside panorama with spectacular mountain views.

Most likely essentially the most well-known Oberoi properties in India, The Oberoi Udaivilas lived as much as the hype. It’s an ethereal Mewar-inspired property within the Metropolis of Lakes, with a putting gold-leaf domed ceiling and chandelier over a marble fountain within the foyer as your first welcome level. To get to the visitor quarters, you cross by means of a magical room coated in mosaic mirrors akin to the Corridor of Mirrors in Jaipur’s Amber Fort. At night time, a cluster of assorted pillar candles flicker off the partitions, dancing across the room as the one gentle within the area. Outdoors it is a dreamy expanse of landscaping, with a bronze sundial because the entrance centerpiece and stairs lined with carved-stone column torches extending behind and flanking both aspect of the checkered water channel. Your entire property feels vibrant, overflowing with water and flowers with the blue checkered tiles — an Oberoi throughline — enjoying off the pure verdancy.

The resort exterior is breathtaking and surreal, with sandy-hued domes of various sizes and castle-style turrets dotting the brilliant blue sky. Constructed on a hill, the dreamy property gives a number of sweeping views from totally different vantage factors, and the sound of trickling water all through provides to the soothing, relaxed ambiance as you discover the 30 acres and uncover hidden seating nooks from cozy corners inside with outsized chairs and benches scattered all through the plush gardens. I felt like I used to be in “Aladdin” wandering the stately grounds, with romantic stone-columned archways lining the out of doors corridors and bowls with floating flowers round so many corners and partitions dripping in flowers, coated in fluffy bushels of fuschia.

There are two public pool areas right here, one on the heart of the resort with a fringe of black and white squares and one other exterior the spa, in entrance of a view of the close by Aravalli Hills and Lake Pichola. Whereas this pool has a less complicated design, the reflections of the buildings and poolside cabana buildings make it as photogenic because the Oberoi’s different pool decks. We have been fortunate to have a room with entry to the semi-private mote-like pool that overlooks the entrance of the property, with views right down to the waterfront restaurant and bar and, extra importantly, Lake Piccola. This pool isn’t temperature-controlled, so it was a bit too chilly to swim in, however we loved morning coffees and sunsets from the personal deck.

A spotlight of our keep was the personal dinner we loved on the secluded Lakeside Pavilion on the banks of Lake Pichola, which was draped in light-weight tapestries that billowed within the night wind and was lit up by a fringe of tealights built-in into floral designs that includes shiny orange and yellow and deep pink flowers, warmed by fiery warmth lamps. The expertise was one-of-a-kind, made much more particular by the attentive workers, who have been fast to carry over champagne after we sat, and our personal efficiency of conventional picket flute music. One other night, we did a non-public sundown boat trip on Lake Piccola, a particular expertise I extremely advocate, with an knowledgeable information who steered us to the perfect spots with the clearest views of the dwindling solar, and we have been greeted upon return with two glasses of champagne to get pleasure from lakeside.

For different eating choices, the all-day Suryamahal has indoor area and a big deck part referred to as Chandni, the place you possibly can sit beneath canopies if the solar is intense or for the ambiance it offers at nighttime. Throughout dinner service, Chandni presents dwell music alongside sweeping views of Metropolis Palace on the opposite aspect of Lake Pichola. There’s additionally Udaimahal, the fine-dining restaurant, and The Bar off the foyer, which is open till midnight every day.

Cease 6: The Oberoi, Mumbai

A traditional high-end resort for a dose of up to date consolation.

Situated on Marine Drive, The Oberoi in Mumbai is in a chief spot for exploring the town on foot. Strolling into the resort after our practically two-week journey by means of Rajasthan, we have been instantly struck by the trendy and complex city really feel that contrasted with the earlier properties’ extra rural and conventional types, which infused historical past and native tradition into the structure and design. This resort is extra what a Westerner is probably going accustomed to, with loads of versatile eating choices (additionally as a result of it’s connected to the adjoining Trident Lodge by means of a passageway of retailers).

The stylish Eau bar, with indoor and out of doors bars and seating, is likely one of the greatest spots within the metropolis to seize completely satisfied hour and watch the sundown over the bay that leads into the Arabian Sea, which you’ll even have a front-row seat to in case your room faces the oceanfront due to floor-to-ceiling home windows. The bar’s dwell band performs up to date music within the evenings, together with songs you’ll acknowledge.

Within the Oberoi, there are three eating places — all-day Fenix with a complete menu throughout cuisines; Vetro, an Italian restaurant that operates in tandem with the wine library Enoteca; and Ziya  — in addition to a foyer bar with drinks and light-weight bites. Ziya is improbable, with fashionable Indian menus by Vineet Bhatia, the primary Indian chef to be awarded a Michelin star. The meals is phenomenal, the plating and presentation are creative, and the view of the glass-enclosed present kitchen means that you can watch in real-time as your Indian bread bakes on charcoal tandoors. This can be a eating expertise to not be missed, whether or not you’re staying on-site or not, and was a wonderful technique to finish our romantically adventurous, luxurious-yet-wild honeymoon.