Haveli Sona Mahal, Udaipur

We came to Haveli Sona Mahal by boat, which is the right way, gliding past the bathing ghats as the City Palace turned amber above us. The haveli rises straight from the water at Lal Ghat, four storeys of weathered cream stone with green-shuttered windows and a rooftop that everyone in Udaipur seems to know about. A flight of worn steps leads up from the jetty into a frescoed sitting room where peacocks and processions still march across the walls, faded but unmistakably old. The owner's grandmother painted the lintel herself, we were told. Outside, the lake did what Pichola does: it shimmered, and we forgot the time.

The room

Our lake-facing room was modest in size and unembarrassed about it; here the architecture does the talking. A deep jharokha window, cushioned in mirror-worked bolsters, opened directly onto the water so that we took most meals perched there, watching the light change on the palace opposite. The bed was canopied in white muslin, the floor cool grey marble, the walls a soft lime wash hung with a single antique mirror-frame. A small writing desk held a brass inkwell nobody expected us to use. The bathroom was compact and unfussy. None of it competes with the view, and that is exactly the point.

You do not decorate a room that opens onto Lake Pichola; you simply get out of its way.The Suite Edit

Service & food

The staff are unhurried and quietly proud, the kind who remember you watched the sunset from the third table and reserve it for you the next night. The rooftop restaurant is the haveli's heart, perfectly aligned so the City Palace fills the western sky at dusk; book the corner. Cooking is honest Rajasthani-vegetarian with a few Mewari specialities, the dal baati churma generous and the gatte ki sabzi properly tangy. It is home cooking rather than haute cuisine, occasionally slow when the rooftop fills. A short cocktail list arrived recently; the gin with kokum is worth ordering once the lanterns come on.

The verdict

This is for romantics and photographers who measure a hotel by what they can see from the bed, and who understand that a heritage haveli trades polish for soul. Honeymooners will be very happy. The honest caveat: it is an old building on the ghats, which means steep stairs, no lift, thin walls and the genuine bustle of a working lakeside neighbourhood at your door. Light sleepers and anyone needing step-free access should think twice. But for that view, eaten with morning chai, we would forgive almost anything.