Taj Falaknuma Palace

The award-winning Taj Falaknuma Palace was voted as one of the top five hotels in the world by the readers of Conde Nast Traveler magazine, and was once the luxurious residence of the Nizam of Hyderabad. Built in the shape of a scorpion and perched on a hillock, the Falaknuma, meaning ‘mirror of the sky’ was designed by the British architect William Mard Marret and was completed in 1894. It is rumoured that it took the Nizam 22 years to perfect the building, but despite its magnificence, the Nizam was rarely in residence, and the Falaknuma Palace mainly served as a banqueting venue and royal State guesthouse which numbered the King and Queen of England, the last Russian Tsar, and the Governor-General of India amongst its guests. After ten years of painstaking restoration under the supervision of Princess Esra, the first wife of the last Nizam, the Falaknuma Palace was converted into a 60 room hotel in 2010. This sumptuous hotel brims with nostalgia and offers a taste of royalty complete with Italian marble flooring, valance curtains, colonial furniture, Egypt cotton linen sheets, and Ploh bathrobes. Dining at the Taj Falaknuma is equally inspirational. Inspired by the royal feasts of the bygone era; the chef and his team at Taj Falaknuma Palace have created a range of mouth-watering culinary experiences including traditional Hyderabadi cuisine in the specialty Indian restaurant, and a connoisseur’s selection of Italian and Mediterranean dishes in the main restaurant. For a traditional afternoon tea there are few more regal venues than the Falaknuma’s Jade Room. Facilities at the Taj Falaknuma Palace include the Royal Jiva Spa offering holistic wellness massages, a library with a carved roof featuring a collection of 6,000 valuable manuscripts and books and an outdoor pool set amongst the lush royal gardens.

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