Friday, January 24, 2014

FALAKNUMA PALACE a stunning revival !

A painstaking 10 year restoration process has revived this amazing Palace !
A romantic destination if ever there was one.

Falak-numa which translated means
 "Like the Sky" or "Mirror of the Sky" 
is truly dreamy..... 


Brining it back to it's original grandeur was led by princess Asra jah, the first wife of the VII nizam.

The Library : has a walnut carved roof and is a replica of the one at Windsor Castle.  

Amazing ceilings everywhere, and floors of course. 
 The Billiards Room: the company Burroughs and Watts from England designed two identical tables, one of which is in Buckingham Palace and the other in the Falaknuma palace.
 I took a lot of pictures of the chandeliers,Turns out The Falaknuma Palace has the largest collection of Venetian chandeliers. Apparently it would take six months to clean a 138-arm Osler chandelier and the palace has 40 such chandeliers !!
 The Dining room has a 100 seater dining table with carved rose wood chairs! It's incredibly regal.



The Taj Group now runs the property. 
All the staff that I met there were super helpful and 
knowledgeable about the building and it's history.
The little touches like the horse carriage 
ride up to the palace
 (which I thought would be a little cheesy and embarrassing) 
was actually quite fun !
They have a Jiva spa an amazing pool , and little nooks and gardens dotted around the property where they can set up private dinners and special meals.
Cant wait to head back for a holiday instead of work.


The Princess,in her younger days !