Jehan Numa Palace Hotel: Bhopal’s Royal Boutique Address
Staying at a palace hotel has its own charm. It oozes a lot of character and is packed with history. And when it has a cosy home-like feel and is surrounded by lush greenery, it becomes a must-experience. One such place is the Jehan Numa Palace Hotel, which I call as Bhopal’s royal boutique address.
It is a beautiful mix of British Colonial, Italian Renaissance and Classical Greek architecture that is located amidst an intimate green surrounding full of vibrant floral hues. Each hall, corridor and seating area in the Jehan Numa Palace Hotel tells stories of its glorious past through portraits, photographs and design elements from the era gone by. It speaks of the rich legacy of the famous Nawab begums of Bhopal who ruled Bhopal for over a century and who gave birth to a cosmopolitan culture in Bhopal encompassing both Muslim and Maratha heritage.
Unlike other palace hotels, Jehan Numa Palace hotel is more like a luxurious home with clean and crisp design elements, well thought through spaces tucked amidst a lovely green setting. This luxurious boutique hotel has all the amenities of a luxury hotel. Service can be a bit slow at times, but I feel that is the charm of staying in a palace hotel. It is that kind of place where you can allow time to stop at your own convenience while learning about the rule of the begums of Bhopal and their life and while enjoying the delicious food and beverages served by the hotel kitchen. I see it as a perfect relaxed getaway after your business meetings or your tourism day outs.
It doesn’t matter whether you are on a business trip, short trip to Bhopal or on a long culture and heritage trip across Madhya Pradesh, Jehan Numa Palace hotel is bound to appeal to you. It’s warm interiors and lush exteriors are bound to make any one feel at home. I would love to stay here once again hopefully during a monsoon holiday to Madhya Pradesh.
The place is great. Their food is fabulous and they are very reasonably priced for palace hotels. All fantastic reasons to stay here on your next trip to Bhopal. And if you wish to stay a bit far away from the city in the middle of nature and wilderness, look up their Jehan Numa retreat property located just a few kilometers outside of Bhopal. Both properties are fantastic places to stay during a trip to Bhopal. If you have time at hand, try spreading your stay between these two properties for the best of both worlds.
How to make bookings:
Bookings can be made either through Jehan Numa website, Rare India (who handle all their booking operations) or any of the online booking platforms like booking.com, agoda.com, tripadvisor.com, makemytrip.com and goibibo.com.
Their prices usually begin from INR 6,750 per room per night. And they do offer discounts for advance bookings and for extended stays.
Tourist attractions to see in Bhopal while staying at Jehan Numa Palace:
1) Taj-ul-Masajid: one of the largest mosques in Asia
2) Upper Lake: A Ramsar site and one of the largest man made lakes of India
3) Van Vihar National Park: A modern zoological park near the upper lake
4) Bharat Bhavan: A multi-arts complex and museum
5) Madhya Pradesh Tribal Museum: A heritage museum showcasing the tribal cultures of Madhya Pradesh
6) State Museum: Home to cultural and historical artefacts from the state
