Taramati Baradari Resort — Attraction in Hyderabad

The hotel property, as expected from any government owned establishment, scores high on the size. But size doesn’t matter if the service (and maintenance) is poor. Telangana State Tourism Development Corporation Limited has a gem of a property, but it is very sad to witness a great potential not only being neglected but also being allowed to go waste. ||I had booked this hotel for my family vacation in Telangana after giving it a lot of thought. Hyderabad is not very new to me and what attracted me to this hotel were a few important reasons. I was looking for 2 double bed rooms for 5 nights so I was looking for something not very expensive. I did find many hotels in the city in the same price range but I chose Taramati because I expected it to have sprawling lawns and huge open spaces. And I wasn’t disappointed. Secondly, I was looking for a budget hotel with a swimming pool and I couldn’t find any in the same price range. Taramati has a decent size swimming pool surrounded by lawns. Thirdly, I was looking for a hotel located not too far from the main tourist attractions and yet not too far from highway, as I was on a road trip from out of state. Taramati is not too far from Golconda Fort and the other sightseeing places are also not very far away. But the most important aspect I discovered and enjoyed was the proximity to the Nehru Outer Ring Road or Outer Ring Road, which is a 158 kilometer, 8-lane ring road expressway encircling the city. Driving on the ring road was a pleasure especially since I was able to reach far flung places like Ramoji Film City and Gachibowli without entering the city and facing its crazy traffic. The ring road itself became a tourist attraction for us and we looked forward to every opportunity to drive on it. So, in a nutshell, the three important reasons for me to choose Taramati over other countless options were – budget, swimming pool and location.||We arrived at the hotel close to 3 in the afternoon and straight away headed to the restaurant for lunch. Parking is not an issue, again because of the vastness of the hotel, which, by the way, is located on a main road, so getting in and out is very convenient. Restaurant, and a separate bar, is located on ground floor close the main entrance gate. Restaurant is air conditioned and has comfortable and attractive ambience. The dishes on the a la carte menu are tasty and not very expensive. Our very first meal left us impressed and we had many meals in the restaurant, usually dinner after our day out sightseeing. The breakfast, included in our room stay, isn’t very lavish but we were always able to eat two-three variety of things from a selection of bread toast with butter and jam, dosa, egg omelette, poori sabzi, idli sambhar, etc., with tea/coffee/milk. The breakfast would generally be filling and even when we ordered extra, it wasn’t too expensive. The restaurant is managed by ladies mostly who are sweet but a bit slow. I should point out here that the entire place is quite understaffed – perhaps as a result of the fewer number of guests they receive. But to a one-time visitor like me, it also seems that because of the poor strength of staff, the hotel (and service) is suffering a slow death. The government’s orphan like attitude towards the hotels under its care always fills me up with anguish and Telangana is not unique in that respect in our country. I thought it would be, but sadly it isn’t. ||That became very apparent the moment we went to check out our rooms after the lunch. The reception, a shabby place with an old stone counter, looks aged and utterly neglected with some sofas lying in the lobby that one wouldn’t sit very comfortably in because of the stained fabric. A gentleman at the reception was ready to check us in but we had a great difficulty in selecting our 2 rooms as we figured we would be better off staying on the ground floor rather than on the first floor because of quick accessibility to other facilities in the hotel, and the ground floor rooms weren’t ready. We had to wait for close to half an hour before we could shift into the rooms because there isn’t more than one person in house keeping taking care of the cleaning. Or even if there is more than one person, we never saw/met that person. The rooms are not very large and come with two single beds that were joined together to make a king-size bed. Other furniture in the rooms were lounge chairs and a center table, a dressing table, a mini fridge (that doesn’t work), a cupboard, a side table with the bed and a luggage counter. The bathroom is decent size but the problems in the bathroom began to slowly show up when we stayed and used it. Suffice it to say that the problems were plentiful enough for us to contemplate leaving the hotel after the first night itself. And that wasn’t the only major issue. Mosquitoes are the main occupants of this hotel and swarms of them loiter just outside the rooms, over lawns, in the corridors – so we had to come out and get in the rooms very quickly to prevent them from entering. And the reason for their large numbers we were told is the forest area right behind the hotel. They are a deal breaker for sure. The only reason we lingered on was because we were tourists and needed to use the rooms only for sleeping. Once inside the rooms, the air from the fan and mosquito repellent would pretty much protect us from their song and dance. ||The maintenance of the rooms is understandably poor as it is a government owned property and the staff is not service oriented. Nothing is probably repaired unless it becomes a major issue with the guest. ||Moving on to other important facility – the swimming pool. It is a decent oval shaped with a baby pool attached to it. The water is not blue – it is green usually. I am sure the water is not treated well but hoping that it is not severely contaminated and because of negligible guests using it, I figured it wouldn’t be life threatening if we took a dip once or twice during our stay. Keeping my child away from it was impossible anyways. The shower rooms are falling apart – no hooks to hang towels, broken faucets and showers, no door locks or bolts – again as expected, things are just barely surviving here. ||Apparently, because of the heritage design and style of the property, and the feel of a resort because of its vastness, people like us do get tempted to stay. For the same reason, the hotel is a venue frequented by pre-wedding photoshoot enthusiasts. There is a large amphitheatre in the hotel that is used for cultural shows during some festivals. Also, lot of film/TV crews use this property for shooting. The other facility generously used is the bar – day and night, it has people occupying its couches/seats. ||We booked the hotel online with full payment via the Telangana tourism website. No problem in doing that at all and receive a proper voucher for our booked rooms. ||Overall, I would have rated this property poor but I’m giving it a better score because of the plus points I mentioned at the beginning and also because of the good food in the restaurant, which was served with care, albeit...

The hotel property, as expected from any government owned establishment, scores high on the size. But size doesn’t matter if the service (and maintenance) is poor. Telangana State Tourism Development Corporation Limited has a gem of a property, but it is very sad to witness a great potential not only being neglected but also being allowed to go waste. ||I had booked this hotel for my family vacation in Telangana after giving it a lot of thought. Hyderabad is not very new to me and what attracted me to this hotel were a few important reasons. I was looking for 2 double bed rooms for 5 nights so I was looking for something not very expensive. I did find many hotels in the city in the same price range but I chose Taramati because I expected it to have sprawling lawns and huge open spaces. And I wasn’t disappointed. Secondly, I was looking for a budget hotel with a swimming pool and I couldn’t find any in the same price range. Taramati has a decent size swimming pool surrounded by lawns. Thirdly, I was looking for a hotel located not too far from the main tourist attractions and yet not too far from highway, as I was on a road trip from out of state. Taramati is not too far from Golconda Fort and the other sightseeing places are also not very far away. But the most important aspect I discovered and enjoyed was the proximity to the Nehru Outer Ring Road or Outer Ring Road, which is a 158 kilometer, 8-lane ring road expressway encircling the city. Driving on the ring road was a pleasure especially since I was able to reach far flung places like Ramoji Film City and Gachibowli without entering the city and facing its crazy traffic. The ring road itself became a tourist attraction for us and we looked forward to every opportunity to drive on it. So, in a nutshell, the three important reasons for me to choose Taramati over other countless options were – budget, swimming pool and location.||We arrived at the hotel close to 3 in the afternoon and straight away headed to the restaurant for lunch. Parking is not an issue, again because of the vastness of the hotel, which, by the way, is located on a main road, so getting in and out is very convenient. Restaurant, and a separate bar, is located on ground floor close the main entrance gate. Restaurant is air conditioned and has comfortable and attractive ambience. The dishes on the a la carte menu are tasty and not very expensive. Our very first meal left us impressed and we had many meals in the restaurant, usually dinner after our day out sightseeing. The breakfast, included in our room stay, isn’t very lavish but we were always able to eat two-three variety of things from a selection of bread toast with butter and jam, dosa, egg omelette, poori sabzi, idli sambhar, etc., with tea/coffee/milk. The breakfast would generally be filling and even when we ordered extra, it wasn’t too expensive. The restaurant is managed by ladies mostly who are sweet but a bit slow. I should point out here that the entire place is quite understaffed – perhaps as a result of the fewer number of guests they receive. But to a one-time visitor like me, it also seems that because of the poor strength of staff, the hotel (and service) is suffering a slow death. The government’s orphan like attitude towards the hotels under its care always fills me up with anguish and Telangana is not unique in that respect in our country. I thought it would be, but sadly it isn’t. ||That became very apparent the moment we went to check out our rooms after the lunch. The reception, a shabby place with an old stone counter, looks aged and utterly neglected with some sofas lying in the lobby that one wouldn’t sit very comfortably in because of the stained fabric. A gentleman at the reception was ready to check us in but we had a great difficulty in selecting our 2 rooms as we figured we would be better off staying on the ground floor rather than on the first floor because of quick accessibility to other facilities in the hotel, and the ground floor rooms weren’t ready. We had to wait for close to half an hour before we could shift into the rooms because there isn’t more than one person in house keeping taking care of the cleaning. Or even if there is more than one person, we never saw/met that person. The rooms are not very large and come with two single beds that were joined together to make a king-size bed. Other furniture in the rooms were lounge chairs and a center table, a dressing table, a mini fridge (that doesn’t work), a cupboard, a side table with the bed and a luggage counter. The bathroom is decent size but the problems in the bathroom began to slowly show up when we stayed and used it. Suffice it to say that the problems were plentiful enough for us to contemplate leaving the hotel after the first night itself. And that wasn’t the only major issue. Mosquitoes are the main occupants of this hotel and swarms of them loiter just outside the rooms, over lawns, in the corridors – so we had to come out and get in the rooms very quickly to prevent them from entering. And the reason for their large numbers we were told is the forest area right behind the hotel. They are a deal breaker for sure. The only reason we lingered on was because we were tourists and needed to use the rooms only for sleeping. Once inside the rooms, the air from the fan and mosquito repellent would pretty much protect us from their song and dance. ||The maintenance of the rooms is understandably poor as it is a government owned property and the staff is not service oriented. Nothing is probably repaired unless it becomes a major issue with the guest. ||Moving on to other important facility – the swimming pool. It is a decent oval shaped with a baby pool attached to it. The water is not blue – it is green usually. I am sure the water is not treated well but hoping that it is not severely contaminated and because of negligible guests using it, I figured it wouldn’t be life threatening if we took a dip once or twice during our stay. Keeping my child away from it was impossible anyways. The shower rooms are falling apart – no hooks to hang towels, broken faucets and showers, no door locks or bolts – again as expected, things are just barely surviving here. ||Apparently, because of the heritage design and style of the property, and the feel of a resort because of its vastness, people like us do get tempted to stay. For the same reason, the hotel is a venue frequented by pre-wedding photoshoot enthusiasts. There is a large amphitheatre in the hotel that is used for cultural shows during some festivals. Also, lot of film/TV crews use this property for shooting. The other facility generously used is the bar – day and night, it has people occupying its couches/seats. ||We booked the hotel online with full payment via the Telangana tourism website. No problem in doing that at all and receive a proper voucher for our booked rooms. ||Overall, I would have rated this property poor but I’m giving it a better score because of the plus points I mentioned at the beginning and also because of the good food in the restaurant, which was served with care, albeit...

TARAMATI BARADARI HISTORY

Taramati Baradari, Built about 1625 A.D a Persian-style wonderful edifice erected on the banks of the river Musi (Muchukunda) in Hyderabad, is regarded as one of the greatest pieces created by Ibrahim Quli Qutub Shah, the Qutub Shah Dynasty's fourth sultan. Baradari, also Bara Dari, is a building or pavilion with twelve doors designed to allow free flow of air. It is mostly recognised for its acoustics in the middle of the gorgeous and artistic ambience of the Ibrahim Bagh, and it is primarily

associated with romantic tales of a prince falling in love. Why was Taramati Baradari built?

Kings who fell in love with people who were not royal family members always found a place in history, and if it was with a courtesan, it was filled with numerous fables. Medieval history is replete with various buildings and constructions that are closely related to these types of love episodes, which stand tall to this day and pique the interest of visitors who want to learn more. There are numerous incomparable histories of Hyderabad's past, and this specific construction of Taramati Baradari is no s exception.

Ibrahim Bagh, a Persian-style park established during the time of Ibrahim Quli Qutub Shah, the second Sultan of Golconda, has a historical site known as "Taramati Baradari, named for a courtesan. According to folklore, the emperor used to listen to Taramati's melodies sung for travelers at the Sarai from Almost every day. his fort some distance away. he heard her lovely, calming voice brought to his fort by the soft breeze. The Emperor was captivated by her exquisite voice, which was both melodious and mesmerizing.

However, like his grandfather Mohammad Quli Qutub Shah, the founder of Hyderabad, who had courtesan Bhagmati as his favorite, Ibrahim Quli Qutub Shah had Taramati as his favorite courtesan. Being unable to bear the pangs of love, he fell in love with her, who happened to be a Hindu woman.

He was so taken by Tamarati's singing that he built a palace where her melodic voice could be carried away by the ait and mach the prince's ear who was seated at the fort, a couple of kilometers away in Golconda Fort, without any disruption in the acoustical music. The Baradari was created with a specific acoustic construction that allowed the wind to transmit Taramati's lovely voice to the Fort. Even a clap on the Baradari's balcony could be heard in the Golkonda fort. Her voice was well complemented by the building's and fort's excellent acoustics

TIMINGS FOR VISTING TARAMATI...