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The world’s largest private residence is in India… and it’s not Mukesh Ambani’s Antilia
While Antilia is among the world’s largest and most luxurious private homes, the top spot belongs to a heritage residence in Vadodara.
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Talk about the world’s largest private residence and most Indians will immediately think of Antilia — industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s towering abode in Mumbai. That, however, would be incorrect. While Antilia is among the world’s largest and most luxurious private homes, the top spot belongs to a heritage residence in Vadodara. The Laxmi Vilas Palace is actually the world’s largest private residence, and it dwarfs modern-day palatial residences like Antilia as well as iconic symbols like the British royal family’s Buckingham Palace.
Laxmi Vilas Palace: A grand royal residence
The Laxmi Vilas Palace, seat of the Gaekwad royal family of Baroda, sits on a 500-acre compound that also houses a 10-hole golf course, a cricket stadium, an ancient stepwell and multiple gardens.
Located in Gujarat’s Vadodara, the palace itself has over 170 rooms and three courtyards, along with an armory (shastra ghar), a badminton court, a tennis court and the royal darbar where Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in 2024.
The palace complex encompasses the Gaekwad Baroda Golf Club, the Moti Bagh Cricket Stadium, the Maharaja Fateh Singh Museum building and the offices of the Baroda Cricket Association, according to Lifestyle Asia.
(Also read: Step inside Maharani Radhikaraje Gaekwad's Lukshmi Vilas Palace, the largest private residence in the world)
Who lives at Laxmi Vilas Palace?
The Laxmi Vilas Palace is home to Maharaja Samarjitsinh Ranjitsinh Gaekwad and his family. Samarjitsinh Gaekwad is married to Radhikaraje Gaekwad, and they have two daughters – Padmajaraje and Narayaniraje.
Samarjitsinh is a descendant of Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III, who commissioned the palace in the 1880s. Construction was completed around 1890.
The heritage home is built in the Indo-Saracenic architecture style, combining elements from Indo-Islamic and Renaissance styles. It was built at a cost of 6 million rupees — a staggering amount even today, but more so back then.
Samarjitsinh, the current maharaja of Baroda, is the only son of Ranjitsinh Pratapsinh Gaekwad and Shubhanginiraje. Upon his father’s death in 2012, he was "crowned" in a traditional ceremony at Laxmi Vilas Palace.
He married Radhikraje in 2002. Radhikraje is a former journalist and a descendant of the erstwhile royal family of Wankaner State.
Together, the royal couple have opened the doors of Lukshmi Vilas Palace to the public. The palace grounds host annual dance festivals and vintage car shows, while the Durbar Hall serves as a venue for music performances and the public spaces regularly host craft fairs.
“Lukshmi Vilas Palace is ultimately for the people of India,” Radhikaraje told the Architectural Digest. “We are lucky that we get to call it home.”
