In Udaipur, read the room name twice. The Oberoi and the Fairmont both sell rooms with a "semi-private" pool – a pool you share. The suites with a pool of your own cost far more, or sit far out of town. The Oberoi Udaivilas' Luxury Suite with Private Pool is the one to book, on Lake Pichola with City Palace views. For under $150, two pool-villa properties north of the city deliver the real thing.
Booking for live prices · Review for our take
| Hotel | Rating | From/night | Area | Best for | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Oberoi Udaivilas | Exceptional | ~$9,600 | Lake Pichola | Best overall · Luxury Suite and Kohinoor Suite with private pool | Review ↓ |
| Fairmont Udaipur Palace | ~$3,500 | Aravalli Hills, outside the city | Biggest suites · Royal Maharani and Maharana Suites | Review ↓ | |
| The Leela Palace Udaipur | Exceptional | ~$4,200 | Lake Pichola | Ultra-luxury · three Arq villas with private pool and jacuzzi | Review ↓ |
| Sarasiruham Resort | Exceptional | ~$140 | Nagda, near Eklingji | Best budget · Luxury Pool Suite with its own pool | Review ↓ |
| Parijat Private Pool Villa | Superb | ~$100 | Udaipur–Nathdwara highway | For groups on a budget · 1–4 bedroom villas with plunge pools | Review ↓ |
Which Udaipur private pool suite should you book?
Choose between the lake and the budget. The palace hotels on Lake Pichola are the Udaipur of postcards. The pool villas out of town are a fraction of the price, with no palace attached.
For the classic Udaipur stay, book the Oberoi's Luxury Suite with Private Pool. It's a 116 m² suite with its own courtyard pool, and views to the City Palace. Check Oberoi Udaivilas availability.
On a budget, book Sarasiruham's Luxury Pool Suite. A private pool from around $140 a night.
| Your trip | Book | Where | The trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| A honeymoon on the lake | Oberoi Udaivilas – Luxury Suite with Private Pool | Lake Pichola | A big jump from the semi-private rooms |
| A huge suite with hill views | Fairmont Udaipur Palace – Royal Maharani Suite | Aravalli Hills | Outside the city, a drive to the lake |
| Money no object | Leela Palace – an Arq villa | Lake Pichola | Only three villas |
| A private pool on a budget | Sarasiruham – Luxury Pool Suite | Nagda | Out of town, no palace |
| A family or group, low cost | Parijat – 2–4 bedroom villa | Nathdwara road | A simple villa complex, not a resort |
"Semi-private pool" means shared. The Oberoi's Premier Rooms and the Fairmont's King Room and Deluxe Suite "with Plunge Pool" use it. Look for "private pool" in the category name.
The Oberoi Udaivilas
The honeymoon booking.
The Oberoi sits on Lake Pichola, built in Rajasthani palace style on a former hunting estate of the Maharana of Mewar. It sells two kinds of pool room, and only one kind is yours alone.
Private pool:
- Luxury Suite with Private Pool – 116 m² inside, with a king bedroom, living and dining rooms, and a private courtyard with its own pool and outdoor dining space. Views reach the Aravalli Hills, the lake and the City Palace.
- Kohinoor Suite with Private Pool – 246 m², two bedrooms, gold-domed ceilings and a large private pool with lake views, plus a 24-hour butler.
Not private:
- Premier Garden View and Premier City Palace View Rooms with Semi-Private Pool – direct access from your terrace to a heated pool you share.
The semi-private rooms are lovely.
They're just not what you came for.
Book this one if you want Udaipur's classic lake-palace stay with a pool that's genuinely yours. Check Oberoi Udaivilas suite rates.
Fairmont Udaipur Palace
The big-suite booking.
Fairmont Udaipur Palace is a large palace-style hotel in the Aravalli Hills, around 8 km from Lake Pichola. Its pool categories need the same care as the Oberoi's.
Private pool:
- Royal Maharani Suite and Royal Maharana Suite – each with a large terrace and a temperature-controlled private infinity pool. The Maharani is 362 m².
Not private:
- Fairmont King Room with Plunge Pool and Deluxe Suite with Plunge Pool – both describe a "semi-private plunge pool"
Book this one if you want a huge suite and an infinity pool with hill views, and don't need to wake up on the lake. Check Fairmont royal suite rates.
The Leela Palace Udaipur
The no-limits booking.
The Leela is on the shore of Lake Pichola, facing the City Palace. Its private pools come with Arq By The Leela, Villas at Pichola – three standalone villas, each with a private, temperature-controlled pool and jacuzzi:
- Varija, the Lake Villa – 360 m²
- Utpala, the Lake Villa with Private Deck – 480 m²
- Kumuda, the Family Villa – 803 m², two bedrooms
Arq stays include round-trip airport transfers, arrival by private boat and a champagne breakfast. You can also book all three villas together.
The Leela also sells a Grande Heritage Garden View Room with Plunge Pool. Its official description doesn't say whether that pool is private or shared, so ask before you book it.
Book this one if it's a milestone trip and you want your own villa on the lake. Check Leela Palace rates.
Sarasiruham Resort
The budget booking.
Sarasiruham is a small resort built around private pools in Nagda, near the Eklingji temple, north of Udaipur. It's a countryside stay, well out of the city.
Its Luxury Pool Suite is 550 sq ft for two, with a king bed, floor-to-ceiling windows and a private pool of about 150 sq ft, 3.5 ft deep. Official rates start from roughly ₹11,500 on weekdays, around $140.
It's a plunge pool, not a lap pool.
Book this one if you want a private pool for a fraction of a palace rate and don't mind driving into town. Check Sarasiruham rates.
Parijat Private Pool Villa
The group-on-a-budget booking.
Parijat is a cluster of independent villas on the Udaipur–Nathdwara highway, near Eklingji. Villas come in one to four bedrooms, each with a living area, pantry, garden and plunge pool. There's a restaurant on site.
Official rates start from roughly ₹8,000 for a one-bedroom villa, around $100. The larger villas split well across a family or group.
It's simple rather than luxurious.
Book this one if you're a group that wants a pool of its own and a low nightly rate. Check Parijat rates.
Two more worth knowing
RAAS Devigarh, a restored 18th-century palace in Delwara in the Aravalli Hills, has one pool unit: the Devigarh Complex. It pairs two suites across 4,585 sq ft with a private black granite pool. There's only one, so book it directly with RAAS. Its Garden, Palace and Aravali Suites don't list a pool.
Taj Lake Palace, in the middle of Lake Pichola, doesn't list a suite with its own pool. Its outdoor pool is shared.
Lake palace or countryside
On the lake, the Oberoi and the Leela give you the City Palace view Udaipur is famous for. You pay heavily for the private pool on top.
Out of town, the Fairmont, Sarasiruham and Parijat trade that view for space and price.
If you can book only one, book the Oberoi's Luxury Suite with Private Pool. On a budget, Sarasiruham.
For private pools on India's coast, see Goa. For more heritage with your pool, try Sri Lanka or Marrakech. Every destination is on the private pool villas hub.
When to go
October to March is the best season. Days are warm and dry, and evenings are cool enough to sit out by the pool. It's also wedding season, so book the palace hotels early.
April to June is extremely hot, often above 40°C. A private pool becomes the main event.
July to September is monsoon season, with humid days, heavy showers, the lowest rates and a green landscape.
Maharana Pratap Airport (UDR) serves Udaipur, with flights from Delhi and Mumbai.
Images: Hirumon / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 3.0
