Stepping into Villa Palladio is like walking in onto the set of a Wes Anderson movie. Candy stripes, deep scarlet, uniquely maximalist and strikingly gorgeous. Not for nothing did the nine-room resort outside of Jaipur, Rajasthan, become a coveted address for the rich and famous of the world. Today, three years since it threw open its doors, the resort has been sealed.
Why Villa Palladio Has Been Sealed
On September 15, Monday, the enforcement wing of the Jaipur Development Authority sealed the resort for illegally encroaching on three bighas of government land.
The resort had built illegal structures on two bighas of land belonging to the Jaipur Development Authority, and one bigha of land vulnerable to Kanota Dam land filling area. All the illegal structures have now been demolished by the JDA.
Inside Villa Palladio. Photo: Hotel website
On Sunday, the JDA issued a notice to Villa Palladio for illegally running the property on authority land and blocking the Kanota Dam land filling area.
Rahul Katakey, DIG of the enforcement wing of the Jaipur Development Authority, stated, "Against the earlier notices of the enforcement wing, the operator filed a suit in the JDA appellate tribunal. JDA strongly presented its side in the appellate tribunal and got the suit dismissed. As per the court's decision, the operator was given time to remove encroachments. On Monday, we demolished all structures encroaching on the government land and sealed the entire property," reported the Times of India.
According to JDA officials, Villa Palladio encroached on government land by illegally constructing a path made of stone, erecting stables where the resort's horses stayed, an entrance gate, and several kiosks; all of which have now been demolished.
NDTV tried calling Villa Palladio, but received no response.
On its website, the Villa says it is not accepting bookings till October 7.
From October 8, the website allows bookings. One night at the property on October 8, for example, shows up a price of Rs 42,250, plus Rs 7,605 in taxes.
Screenshot: The website of Villa Palladio
There is nothing on the website or Villa Palladio's Instagram page about the JDA order on sealing of the resort.
A Maximalist Dream In Rajasthan
When Villa Palladio threw open its doors for guests in September 2022, leading travel publications from around the world queued up for a glance of the most posh boutique resort in Rajasthan.
Villa Palladio was unlike anything Rajasthan had seen so far. The location was just outside of Jaipur, in Kanota, on a road that linked two of India's ancient kingdoms - the Mughal court in Agra and the Royal court of Jaipur.
The linens at Villa Palladio came from Lake Como. Photo: Hotel website
The resort, half an hour from Jaipur, stood out for its explosive maximalism. The structure has walls in a shade of scarlet that looked stunning on Instagram and even better in real life. The scarlet borrowed from Roman Catholic cardinals, along with pomegranates inspired by Botticelli's paintings, formed the inspiration behind Villa Palladio's colour scheme.
Once a home of the royal family of Kanota, the Villa was converted into a boutique hotel by Italian entrepreneur Barbara Miolini and Dutch designer Marie Anne Oudejans.
CNN Travel called it a place where India met Italy.
Conde Nast Traveller listed it among the best hotels in and around Jaipur. Quite a feat for a new property in a city known for housing the best hotel in the world, Rambagh Palace.
How Villa Palladio Came Into Being
In 1960, Villa Palladio was built by Kanota nobleman Abhay Singh. The villa reflected Rajasthani heritage, with open pavillions, scalloped arches, turrets, fort-like walls and courtyards.
The structure was in great shape when it caught Italian-Swiss entrepreneur Barbara Miolini's eye. She told CNN Travel in 2023, "This place had a sense of Italian nostalgia for how one would encounter abandoned homes and castles on once-historical routes. I wanted to keep the structural interventions to a minimum."
Villa Palladio is known for its striking scarlet. Photo: Hotel website
Her collaborator, Jaipur-based Dutch designer Marie Ann Oudejans, added her bit on how Villa Palladio began taking shape, "The countryside has given me visual inspiration: the women in the fields, the royal princesses in their finery and veils. I mixed it with the exuberance of Italian flair."
The castellated watch towers became guest rooms painted in scarlet candy stripes and a 43-feet Mughal-style swimming pool was added.
"Italian-meets-Rajasthani flair" was the New York Times Magazine's takeaway from Villa Palladio.
Miolini got the umbrellas for Villa Palladio from Venice, the linens came from Lake Como, and block-printed bedding and lamps were from Japiur's local artisans.
"Villa Palladio was a personal fairy tale," Oudejans told Architectural Digest in 2023.
Two years later, that fairy tale has been met with reality: of illegal construction and encroachment issues.
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