Hyderabad, november 08: What if you could live like the late Nizam Mehboob Ali Khan in the splendid Falaknuma palace? It can be possible if you are willing to shell out a whopping Rs 5 lakh a day. Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces will finally open the doors to the Taj Falaknuma palace on November 13.
You can get a royal welcome with a horse-driven carriage and showers of rose petals as you enter the Falaknuma (mirror of the sky) palace, which used to be a guest house of the Nizam Mehboob Ali Khan. “It is a beautiful palace made in the Judeo-Italian style and resembling the shape of a scorpion,” said Mamta Singh, director of sales.
The palace is a testimony to the opulence of the Nizams and houses many original artifacts from that period. The soon-to-be opened hotel consists of 60 suites with two restaurants, swimming pool and a spa spread across 32 acres.
“We expect both leisure and business travellers,” said Ranjit Phillipose, general manager. He, however, refused to divulge the duration of the lease and the restoration cost. The grand opening ceremony is expected to be attended by Princess Esra and Ratan Tata among others. He added, “Around 800 people were involved in restoration work. Now it is Hyderabad’s turn to rival destinations like Goa and Rajasthan.”
“Restoration work has been very detailed. For instance, around 5900 rare manuscripts and books in Persian, Arabic and English in the palace library took us 11 months to catalogue,” said Mamta Singh adding, “The Zenana wing is the oldest part of the building and the Begum’s suite was just overflowing with artifacts.”
The Durbar hall, Jade terrace, hookah and billiards rooms give a glimpse of the extravagant Nizam lifestyle. Singh said, “Everything is custom-made at the palace for our guests. We have chosen jasmine as the signature scent to reflect the flavour and essence of Hyderabad.” The palace will have two restaurants- Adaa and Celesta, serving Indian and Mediterranean cuisine respectively.
“This palace is exclusively for guests and we won’t allow any film shooting,” said Phillipose adding, “We have tried to bring back the essence of the palace. Even the carpet yarns were dyed 300 times to get back the original colour.”
“We also have the world’s longest dining table. It is 33 metres long and can seat 101 people. Apart from the lovely chandeliers and woodwork, the acoustics in the room is great, as the smallest whisper at the farthest end of the table could be heard by the Nizam whose chair was a little higher than the rest,” said Singh adding the quorum in the room would be 40.
Grand imposing staircases, exquisite flooring, ornate tapestries and furnishings along with the spectacular Gol Bungalow make for a breath-taking view of the city. “This palace was first in the country to own a GE refrigerator,
and a telephone exchange. We also have an original bath tub of the Nizam period,” said Singh. The hotel authorities are also restoring a custom-designed 2-tonne musical orchestreone that used to play 36 different types of music to entertain guests.”
–Agencies