Royal Oasis in

Wankaner Wankaner is a city and a municipality in Morbi district in the State of Gujarat. Until 2013, Wankaner was part of the Rajkot district. Etymology The city was named after its location on the Machhu River, "Wankaner" translating to "riverbend" ...

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, was the former summer residence of the erstwhile royal family of

. It now operates as a heritage hotel.

History

The history of the Royal Oasis begins in the 1870s when Banesinhji erected a single-storey

bungalow A bungalow is a small house or cottage that is typically single or one and a half storey, if a smaller upper storey exists it is frequently set in the roof and Roof window, windows that come out from the roof, and may be surrounded by wide ve ...

in colonial-style architecture for resting and named it Garden House. After Banesinhji, his son and successor, Amarsinhji continued using it for the same purpose and would host his guests there. In 1917, when Amarsinhji's daughter married Purna Chandra Bhanj Deo, the

Maharaja Maharaja (also spelled Maharajah or Maharaj; ; feminine: Maharani) is a royal title in Indian subcontinent, Indian subcontinent of Sanskrit origin. In modern India and Medieval India, medieval northern India, the title was equivalent to a pri ...

Mayurbhanj Mayurbhanj district is one of the 30 districts of Odisha state in eastern India and the largest in the state by area, nearly equivalent to Tripura. The district's headquarters is located in Baripada, with other major towns including Rairangp ...

, he hosted them there and named it Purna Chandra Bhawan after his son-in-law. Purna Chandra Bhawan means full-moon house. In the 1930s, Amarsinhji commissioned the Chief Engineer of

Wankaner State Wankaner State was one of the princely states of India in the historical Halar region of Kathiawar during the period of the British Raj. It was an eleven gun salute state belonging to the Kathiawar Agency of the Bombay Presidency. Its capital ...

to build an extension to the original building, which consisted of two large suites, four other bedrooms, and additional rooms. Afterward,

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

furniture was imported for it. It is decorated with hunting trophies, weapons, and vintage cars. The family used it as their retreat during summer. In 1972, Pratapsinhji gifted it to his son, Digvijaysinhji, who opened it as a hotel. It is now a two-storey block in cream and white stucco with Corinthian plaster details. It also has a

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming and associated activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built abo ...

and spans an area of 225 acres.

References

{{coord, 22.62466, 70.93265, format=dms, type:landmark_region:IN, display=title Royal residences in India Palaces in Gujarat Tourist attractions in Gujarat Heritage hotels Heritage hotels in India Buildings and structures completed in the 19th century Houses completed in the 19th century