INDIALINE
Complete India Travel Guide

Conference In Style

Samode Palace- Rajasthan

Not only are there meeting places in the state, the added attraction is that there are also sightseeing possibilities, lavish entertainment and food, and a fitting manner in which everything can be accomplished. Whether they are meetings with heads of state or industry, whether annual general meetings or seminars, academic discussions or sales meetings, there is a place for everything and everyone in Rajasthan.

Catching up in the Pink City

Naturally, it is Jaipur, the state capital, where the facilities are the most advanced. Till recently, the hotels provided the only venues in the city, and these were and continue to be respectable, both within the city, or just outside, as in the case of venues such as Samode Palace. However, with the addition of the B.M. Birla Institute in the heart of the city, Jaipur has geared itself for even international meets.
The Institute is a sprawling building with large parking and entrance areas. Inside, there are extensive pre-function areas, ideal for registration, as well as an auditorium (pls. provide seating capacity?), exhibition areas, and a number of smaller conference and boardrooms. At several events, the auditorium has been used for inaugural functions, or for valedictory ones, while deliberations have been conducted at smaller venues, either at the Institute, or at the conference halls in the city`s hotels.

Alternate Venues Around Jaipur

Samode Palace: A wonderful, old fortified palace that is lavishly painted. It has a Durbar Hall where once the feudal chiefs would meet for important discussions, and where you can meet for your deliberations, of no less import.

Bharatpur: The bird sanctuary is disturbed only by birdsong, but there is no reason its old palace cannot be a fitting venue for your seminar of conference.

Sariska: A hunting preserve, with a royal lodge, perfect for a seminar or a sales meeting cum incentive.

Shekhawati: The region of the painted townships is as charming for a holiday as it is for discussing business - after all, it is home to India`s greatest business families! Among the places where you could meet are Castle Mandawa in Mandawa, Mukundgarh Fort in Mukundgarh, and Roop Niwas Palace in Nawalgarh.

Meetings in Jodhpur
The second-largest city in Rajasthan, Jodhpur has a number of small venues where delegates can meet, but its most important converging point, and venue for any business of importance, is likely to be Welcomgroup Umaid Bhawan Palace.

No surprise that there are a large number of meeting rooms here: when built, it was the largest private residence in the world. Even today, no other building can rival that status, though the royal family only occupies one wing of the palace. Delegates can meet and stay at the palace. The in-house team also lays on lavish entertainment, whether within the palace, on its extensive lawns, or on special request for incentives, at the Mehrangarh Fort which perches above the city for one of life`s most memorable occasions.

Meetings in Udaipur
It was not unusual for the maharanas to call counsel meetings of their various feudal and suzerain states. No wonder the arranging of conferences is a simple task. For these, no better venue exists that the palaces in or on the banks of its lakes: Lake Palace, Shiv Niwas, Laxmi Vilas, among others.

The professionally arranged meetings may not run to huge numbers, but the entertainment is truly spectacular, making the hours after the meetings the best - where else can you be entertained in a palace that takes up an entire island?