Umed Bhawan Palace, Kota

Umed Bhawan Palace lies on the outskirts of Kota and was once home to the city's Maharaja. Early in the twentieth century Maharao Umed Singh II wanted a residence to replace the 17th-century fortified city palace, and he hired Samuel Swinton Jacob, a British engineer working from Jaipur. The ruler moved in during 1905, and the building carries his name. In 1930 the architect George Devon added a wing for the future Maharaja Bhim Singh II and his bride, taking care to match it to Jacob's work.

The design is Indo-Saracenic: European in plan, but dressed with Rajput and Mughal features such as verandas, porches, arches, minarets and chhatri-topped towers. Pink sandstone is combined with white Khimach stone and Italian marble, and the rooms are grouped around courtyards, the largest leading to the state rooms. The palace was sold after independence; part of it now runs as a hotel, the later wing is still used by the Kota royal family, and a large park surrounds it.