Hyderabad: A glittering feather is about to be added on the cap of Hyderabad, the city of palaces, minarets and monuments, as the Falaknuma Palace prepares to welcome its first guest at its new Palace Hotel and luxury resort.
The Taj Falaknuma Palace, owned by the royal family of Nizam, has been restored and readied by India's leading Taj Group of Hotels. A Nizam family spokesman said the painstaking work took hundreds of artisans and experts 10 years to complete.
Vijay Shankardas, lawyer of eighth Nizam, Mir Barkat Ali Khan Mukharram Jah, said that the Taj Falaknuma Palace was India's finest hotel and resort and it would be formally opened in November.
The Nizam himself would be in the city to mark the occasion.
The property, perched on a hill on the southern tip of Hyderabad, gives a breathtaking, bird's eye view of the city, and has been leased out to the Taj Group.
The family and Taj Group declined to release details of the long-term lease.
"Everything is ready for the inauguration. Trials are on," Shankardas said. "It will put Hyderabad on the international luxury resort map", he said.
It was the relocation of the Hyderabad airport which finally prompted the transformation of the Falaknuma Palace into a hotel and luxury resort.
The plan had been on the cards for almost two decades.
The hotel would be just 20 minutes away from the new airport in Shamshabad. Sources said the Taj Falaknuma Palace would be one of the most expensive hotels in the country.
The grand presidential suite at the top has its own private swimming pool.
Falaknuma Palace, built by Prime Minister Viqarul Umra in 1893, was given to the sixth Nizam, Mir Mahboob Ali Khan. It has a colourful past.
During the reign of the last Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan, the palace hosted British kings and queens, and other high profile dignitaries.
However, after Hyderabad was merged into the Indian Union in September, 1948, Falaknuma — like many other palaces — fell on hard times and suffered extensively due to neglect and the vagaries of weather.
The palace is built from Italian marble and has a sprawling courtyard.
It has 60 rooms, two restaurants and spas. Its long dining table, a library filled with the classics, and billiard rooms, give it the royal touch.
Major achievement
For Nizam's family, the restoration of Falaknuma Palace is another major achievement after the building suffered through decades of neglect and indifference.
Falaknuma is the second property to be restored to its former glory, after Chowmohalla Palace which was also brought back to life and turned into a museum.
The family attributes the success of these transformations to Princess Esra, the former wife of Prince Mukarram Jah, who has taken a keen interest in these historic properties.
