Step into the breathtaking Taj Falaknuma Palace, where luxury meets history, offering spacious, elegant rooms, top-notch dining, and an unforgettable royal experience.
Engine Bowli, Falaknuma, Hyderabad, Telangana 500053, India Get directions
"With its dreamy frescoes, Corinthian columns, and Ostler chandeliers, Hyderabad’s storied Taj Falaknuma Palace had been a beloved residence of the ruling nizam—one of whom was famously depicted on a 1937 Time magazine cover as the “Richest Man in the World”—before falling into disrepair for decades. The hilltop aerie has been a fixture of my annual vacations in Hyderabad, from a childhood visit when it was still shuttered and shrouded in cobwebs to countless intimate dinner parties, afternoon teas, qawwali concerts on the gardens at sunset, and a memorable 75th-birthday celebration for my father last winter—complete with a flute serenade of “Happy Birthday” at breakfast under the stained-glass dome of the Gol Bungalow terrace. For the special way it brings Hyderabad’s rich history and traditions to life at every corner, Falaknuma will always have my heart. From $450. —Sarah Khan" - CNT Editors
"In Hyderabad, India, breakfast includes a mix of global dishes, with highlights like tiered pastries and fresh juices, enjoyed on a veranda overlooking the Old City."
"At this palatial 32-acre hilltop estate with fragrant gardens and views of Old Hyderabad, all guests get an unforgettably personal welcome: Because cars aren’t permitted beyond the front gate, visitors arrive at reception in a golf cart or, for VIPs, a horse carriage. In lieu of a formal check-in desk, a standard bearer greets guests by militarily clicking his heels before leading them under a shower of rose petals and into the former ruler of Hyderabad’s neo-Palladian palace. The museum-quality reception rooms are furnished in late-Victorian style, gleaming with burnished wood and leather, glittering with chandeliers. Beyond, the gracious garden courtyard with trees and fountains is flanked by two wings housing most of the 60 rooms. (Just beyond one of the wings, the suites faithfully decorated in a grand Edwardian manner surround a smaller, star-shaped courtyard.) Two accomplished restaurants sit at the other end of the main courtyard, one the Mediterranean Celeste, the other Adá, whose forte is highly refined Hyderabadi slow-cooking. Between these, on a terrace under the colored-glass canopy of the belvedere, guests take cocktails as the sun sets, appreciating the subtly shifting colors of the palace and sky—witness the meaning of falaknuma ("mirror in the sky" in Urdu)." - Sarah Khan
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