Lucknow, North & Central India, India

The Taj Mahal (formerly ‘Taj Residency’) is the most lavish high-end hotel in Lucknow, capital of Uttar Pradesh. Situated on the banks of the Gomti amid of 25 acres of landscaped gardens, its grandeur reflects the amplitude of the Nawab era – an elegant 19th-century-style palace surmounted by a soaring grey-green dome.

The interiors are no less opulent. After all the dust and chaos of the city streets it’s a relief to enter the air-conditioned bliss of your modern, minimalist room, whose svelt lines are offset by splashes of pistachio, turquoise and jade-coloured silk. Be sure to have at least one meal in the fabulous Oudiyana restaurant, which specialises in Lucknow’s famously sybaritic cuisine.