Udaipur, Rajasthan, India

Part of the Maharana of Udaipur’s City Palace complex, Taj Fateh Prakash served as a guest wing in times past. Now hosting a glittering five-star heritage hotel, this living museum is furnished in suitably regal style with original antiques and other fine art objects culled from the royal storehouses. The lakeside location is sublime. Most of the rooms have uninterrupted views over the water to the Lake Palace, with its backdrop of rippled desert hills. Dine at least once at the acclaimed Sunset Terrace restaurant for its panoramic lake vistas; and don’t miss the chance to visit the hotel’s famous Crystal Gallery, containing 600 items fashioned from solid quartz, including four-poster beds and dining tables.