Stay in the grandest palaces built to serve

Built on an island in the middle of Lake Pichola, the Lake Palace hotel is a surreally beautiful sight - a white confection that appears to float on the still waters. Legend has it the hotel was built as a pleasure palace in the late 18th century by a rebellious prince, Maharana Jagat Singh II, after his father banished him from the royal palace. Hedonism still rules at the Lake Palace: bedrooms feature velvet-clad chaises longues and huge tapestry-draped beds, drinks are sipped as the sunset floods the lake with soft pink light, and dinner can be anything from Italian to Asian to classic Indian dishes. The Jiva Spa offers therapies based on traditional Ayurvedic treatments and Indian rituals, such as "mangal snaan", a pre-wedding bathing ritual, and "alepa", the traditional Indian ritual of anointing the body with herbal pastes and essential oils. Double rooms cost from 36,848 rupees (Dh2,777) per night, including breakfast and taxes. Visit www.tajhotels.com or call 00 91 294 2428 800. Nothing made a statement that Abu Dhabi had arrived quite like the opening of Emirates Palace in 2005. The mix of traditional Arabian architectural styles with almost every conceivable modern luxury and a location on the Abu Dhabi Corniche immediately put it in the top echelon of sights in the UAE capital. The vision behind it was vast: the hotel itself stretches 1km from one side to the other, and took 20,000 workers three years to construct at a cost of Dh11 billion. The result matches the vision, with 394 rooms and suites, the largest of which is 680 sq m. It's a short stroll to a private white-sand beach that stretches 1.3km long, and if you're in need of exercise, there's a 6.4km jogging trail through the 100-hectare grounds. The facilities are in proportion, with more than a dozen restaurants and cafes supplying everything from fine dining to casual meals beside the pool. Real gold is sprinkled over food, with the hotel going through 5kg of gold- costing more than Dh1 million - each year. Double rooms cost from Dh1,995 per night, including taxes. Visit www.emiratespalace.com or call 02 690 9000. Always feared being one of those couples who sit over dinner with nothing to say to each other? It's not a rare occurrence at Devi Garh, where the 360-degree views across lush fields to the mountains from this former 18th-century fort beyond are mesmerising. Spectacularly located on the top of a huge rocky outcrop above the village of Delawar, the first sight of Devi Garh is breathtaking: 14 floors crowned with domes and turrets that stretch up to the skies. Once inside the complex it's all about pared-down style - white marble and spotless glass, with occasional flashes of colour in bright silk drapes or semi-precious stones glinting in the walls. This is a real retreat for mind and body: begin with a dawn yoga class, then laze by the vast marble pool, indulge in Ayurvedic treatments that ooze L'Occitane goodies and settle in for a grand supper and star-gazing. Double rooms cost from 19,558 Indian rupees (Dh1,474) per night, including breakfast and taxes. Visit www.deviresorts.in or call 00 91 2953 289 211. Gilt-edged four-poster beds, belle époque furniture, wide rattan sofas overlooking lush gardens - not all German hotels are temples to pared-down minimalism. The sumptuously grand Schlosshotel Kronberg was originally built for a German Empress in the late 19th century and has kept a suitably palatial feel, with antiques sourced from the estate of the last kaiser and sweeping terraces overlooking the beautiful Schlosspark. The hotel is a destination in itself, with an 18-hole golf course, a cottage that offers a programme of wellness and beauty treatments, and gourmet dinners in the wood-panelled dining room. Don't miss English afternoon tea on a Sunday afternoon, complete with pianist, scones and clotted cream, taken in the Empress's impressive library. For an insight into the chequered past of the Schloss, there are guided tours on weekend afternoons.