Orchard Palace

Top choice in Gujarat & Diu


This small palace, once the royal guesthouse, is now one of the best heritage hotels in Gujarat. Awash in regal character, its reception rooms, drawing rooms and bedrooms are crammed with antiques, royal portraits, drink decanters and mounted zebra skins and stuffed leopards. There's even a writing desk with a bust of Churchill.

The whole thing is set in manicured gardens with strutting peacocks. The royal kitchens provide meals (₹785) using vegetables from the on-site organic garden. It's worth coming to Gondal simply to stay here, but be sure to book ahead.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Gujarat & Diu attractions

1. Royal Vintage & Classic Car Collection

0.05 MILES

This is the royal collection of cars – 32 impressive vehicles, from a 1907 model made by the New Engine Company Acton and a 1935 vintage Mercedes saloon…

2. Shri Bhuvaneshwari Aushadhashram

0.16 MILES

Founded in 1910 by Gondal’s royal physician, this pharmacy manufactures ayurvedic medicines and it’s possible to see all the quirky machinery involved, as…

3. Naulakha Museum

0.68 MILES

This eclectic collection of museums is housed in a beautiful 260-year-old riverside palace that was built in a mixture of styles, with striking gargoyles…

4. Swaninarayan Temple

0.73 MILES

Moderately interesting Swaninarayan Temple, owned by the wealthy Swaninarayan sect, is a white 19th-century building built on land donated by the maharaja…

5. Udyog Bharti Khadi Gramodyog

0.74 MILES

Women spin cotton upstairs at this large khadi (homespun cloth) workshop, while downstairs embroidered salwar kameez (traditional dress-like tunic and…

6. Mayur Patola Art

22.05 MILES

Rajkot has quickly developed a Patola-weaving industry. This skill comes from Patan, and is a tortuous process that involves dyeing each thread before it…

7. Kaba Gandhi No Delo

22.74 MILES

This is the house where Gandhi lived from the age of six (while his father was diwan of Rajkot), and it features many photos of the family and lots of…