WelcomHeritage Shivavilas Palace, Hampi

We stayed at the palace for a night during our recent family trip to Hampi. The palace is situated around a 75mins. drive from Hampi (towards Bangalore on a scenic detour) in a valley surrounded by hills and a striking red soil from the mining activity in the vicinity. Right from the entry gate, as one drives to the palace foyer passing the magnificent gardens, one is set for a royal treat. The architecture of the building, decorated with numerous artifacts of the royal family (including vintage cars, royal throne, weaponry etc.) was worth the tour. Our large rooms on the ground floor were very comfortable. Special thanks to the property manager, Sameer who ensured a smooth booking (and attractive tarriff) and fabulous hosting during our stay. Special mention for the memorable meals we were served! Overall, if you prefer to add a touch of old-world luxury to your Hampi trip, I recommend staying at Shivavilas Palace, Sandur on any side of your drive from/to Bangalore.

THE BEST HOTEL EXPERIENCE I HAVE HAD TILL DATE. it all started with my family needing a room in the middle of night due to long weekend (not my fault). Thanks to Sameer who was able to accommodate my family at such a short notice in the Maharani suite at a great rate. This property is truly majestic! no amount of words are enough. The suite which is also their highest priced but it comes with the value for money. A living room with a king side bed, enough space to host a party and a smaller room with a queen size bed as well as a separate dressing up area, definitely made for a MAHARANI (queen). The property itself is huge and feels like a small world in the middle of Karnataka. The hotel has a vintage car museum which fascinated me, a swimming pool, gym, spa and a great in house restaurant. The food! alright so I am professionally a chef and I do not enjoy restaurant style food anymore as it is often accentuated and that is exactly the part I loved about this place. Great food that tastes like it was made at home, comforting, pleasing just right and very fairly priced. Just wow! Other than above mentioned things the most important part to me was that this place only has 12 rooms and yet we got lucky, it truly is serene and quiet. There were times when I felt that the palace was left truly to us. Having our privacy and yet having someone to assist us, that is the mark of true luxury and outstanding Hospitality. special thanks to Lokesh, Joseph and Vishwajeet, biswa Karan (pardon me if I misspelled anyone's name) and anyone who's name I do not recall, each single person is worth thank for. see attached pictures. Sarish verma

I cannot recommend or praise this hotel highly enough. Not only a beautiful palace in a fairytale setting but all the staff were so helpful, generous with their time & nothing was too much trouble if it made your stay more pleasant. Your every need was anticipated. The food was delicious & we enjoyed every meal particularly the general manager’s menu recommendations. We booked for two nights but stayed for five as it was so relaxing & welcoming. We have to give a special mention for our hotel driver Fayaz. He was amazing, not only waiting an additional three hours for our delayed train he was very attentive & helpful when we did eventually arrive! On subsequent trips out he was a very safe, steady driver happy to stop for picture breaks & very informative about the temples we visited. He always had a bottle of water on hand when we had wilted in the heat!! This hotel will be a hard one to beat in our further travels!!

We spent 2 nights at this place and what a wonderful experience it was!! We really liked the spacious room, very big balcony, the tours to vintage car museum and maharaja's durbar. The property has lots of green cover and is very well maintained. We were bowled over by the hospitality, courteous staff, and prompt room service. The food was always served quick, hot and it tasted incredibly delicious. Highly recommended if you want to pamper yourself with royal treatment in a well-maintained palace.

It is a splendid place for those who want to enjoy serene nature and the best hospitality. Very tasty food. Homely food. Personalized service. Well maintained rooms. Royal stay. Courteous staff. Mr. Joseph, Manager and Mrs. Tejaswini very good.

Arrived here at lunchtime after a long drive and a longer flight before that. Sameer, the ***ager and a charming ***, greeted us warmly. Lunch was a leisurely affair with the the service both attentive and discreet. The meals, soup and main, were a delicious blend of quality, quantity, flavor and spice. The beer (lager) was cold and the juices delicious. Topped off with a tour of the palace and its history, this was a lovely way to utilized a couple of hours.

We have booked the Maharaja and Maharani Suite rooms for 3 days. Awesome place to stay and experience the royal life. Staff is very courteous. Special mention to Tejaswini. Food is awesome. Only mention to the management is to add and maintain few more activities. Regards Krishna Kishore

Shivavilas palace is one of my favourite destinations of all time, and it is not just because it is a palace converted into a luxury hotel. The sheer fact that this is one of the few properties which ticks all the boxes of luxury, hospitality, exemplary customer service and overall satisfaction levels just makes it an amazing place to spend a nice weekend or vacation especially if looking for good stay options around Hampi. The approach to the hotel is very easy, there are well tarred roads all the way to the parking lot, the parking area is safe and secure. The check in and check out process is extremely nice and simple. The staff are always ready to help with a smile on their faces. The property is large and expansive, with plenty of things to see and do. The library was particularly well kept with tons of interesting books. We had booked the deluxe rooms and the rooms are very large and airy, maintained very neatly and all the necessary amenities are well stocked. The bathrooms are large and airy as well. 10/10 score for the way the management has managed to retain the old world charm of the palace whilst ensuring all the modern amenities are provided. The restaurant is fantastic although menu items seemed limited at first, the taste and quality and quantity more than make up for that. Room service was quick and efficient as well. The staff went out of the way to ensure we had a fantastic time. I would like to Arun for the excellent room service of all the delicious food we ordered, Roopesh at the restaurant for amazing service whenever we went downstairs to dine there, especially for breakfast. The front office staff Lokesh, Praveen and Tejaswini were very helpful with the check in and checkout formalities, and very knowledgeable in suggesting us things to do during our stay there. Special mention to Shankar the driver here, who also turns into a travel guide. He has excellent knowledge of the entire region here. He drove us all the way to Hampi and took us to every important historical site and explained to us the tiny little details behind every monument. He also ensured we stopped at the best viewpoints and lunch restaurant, making it a 100% perfect Hampi trip for us. Please do not hesitate to use Shivavilas palace’s taxi services for Hampi sightseeing, it is worth every penny and more. Last but not the least, thanks to the manager here, Ms. Abha who spent time with us helping us curate our sightseeing itinerary on the 3 days that we spent there. Thanks for all the amazing hospitality and excellent customer service, team Shivavilas! Will be back to visit Sandur again in a different season, perhaps in Monsoon.

I visited this hotel in Aug 2022. The experience was horrible from booking date. I booked 3 rooms on a weekend via their corporate office at Delhi. Since it is a ITC hotel, I paid 50 percent advance. I received mail confirmation too. A day before stay, the person calls me and demands additional money. As per him, since it is long weekend, the tariff of hotel has increased from Rs 13000 to Rs 24000. As per him, their sales head refused to take booking. I was shocked and perplexed; how can some one be so unprofessional?? That too a ITC hotel brand. The hotel denied to refund my amount too. It was like a blackmail to pay additional money. After lot of arguments they agreed to honour booking/contract. We travelled almost 700 kms to reach hotel. On arrival, at reception they demanded balance 50 percent payment. Just an unwelcoming gesture. They didn’t even allow to check in luggage. Hospitality was at its lowest standard. The food and staff were good, but the hotel management is totally disappointing. They promised 15 percent discount on food during booking, but denied while paying bill. Please be aware before booking and paying advance! You might be next victim.