Usha Kiran Palace

    Sharing the same grounds of Jai Vilas Palace is the Usha Kiran Palace Hotel. Built and designed by Jayaji Rao Scindia himself along more traditional Indian lines with no partiality to the British influence, this palace was originally called Nao Talao or nine tanks, for the ponds interconnected on the grounds. The palace is a merger of Eastern and Western design ideas with the carved jaalis (screens) and sandstone giving an indigenous Gwalior touch. Later, when his grandson Jivaji Scindia made it his residence, he renamed the palace after his second daughter Usharaje, to Usha Kiran, meaning 'sun rays'. This gleaming art deco structure has as its backdrop the imposing Jai Vilas Palace, and served as the official royal residence till 1961. It became a palace hotel in 1969, managed by the Scindia family and the Welcomegroup.

Most of the rooms in the hotel, like the Maharani suite and the Maharaja Jivaji Scindia suite, have been renovated keeping in mind the original ambiance and usage of the room. There still remains a sweeping staircase with the Scindia's crest - a snake saving the sunrays. It is said that a snake had saved a Scindia child - a symbol of the sun