The New Taj Falaknuma Palace

Historically,  Falaknuma Palace is known to be one of the finest places in all of Hyderabad, India. The palace lives on 32 acres and sits 2000 feet above the city, the name Falaknuma literally means “mirror of the sky.” The Palace was recently renovated into a boutique hotel by Taj Hotel Group, re-dubbing the name to be the Taj Falaknuma Palace.

The palace dates back to 1884, designed by Italian Architect William Ward Marret with a layout  shaped to resemble a scorpion with two stings spread out as wings on the north, with 200 lavishly decorated rooms, and 22 grand halls. Fast forward to the year 2000 when Taj Hotel Group leased the palace from Royal Family of Hyderabad and spun it into the 10 year luxurious renovation that you are viewing in these images.

The lavish renovation is fully loaded with large Venetian chandeliers, rare furniture, grand marble staircases and gurgling fountains, priceless statues, and objects d’art, stained-glass windows, unique sketches and murals encased in ornate frames, a world-class collection of crystal as well as the Mughal, Rajasthani and Japanese gardens personally conceived by the Nizam, a previous owner of the palace.

Each portion of the renovation was personally approved by the Royal Family, which leaves it’s visitors with a feeling that they are sleeping, dining, and dancing, in a palace fit for a king, making this spot one of the most luxurious travel destinations in the world. Where billiards rooms, smoking rooms, pools, ballrooms, croquet lawns, private gardens, a dining room to seat 101 guests at the world’s largest dining table, a library, turret rooms, stables, terraces with views of the city, a private petrol pump and royal garages filled with a fleet of vintage cars serve to be just some of the known pleasures and comforts of this sumptuous royal abode.