Opulence and Luxury, the superlative kinds – the words that immediately come to my mind as I go back to the many occasions I visited Palladium Hotel, located around the periphery of Palladium Mall, in the heart of the city at Lower Parel. Today, however, I, the girl-on-a-mission will evaluate the hotel as an ideal or not-so-ideal wedding venue and envision planning a complete wedding at this venue in South Mumbai.
This hotel boasts of being the tallest luxury hotel in the country with 296 elegantly appointed rooms and 28 impeccably appointed suites, around six award-winning restaurants and lounges each with a different cuisine to indulge at, and a couple more in the offing, two floors with around 23 opulent banqueting spaces dedicated to weddings and events, a wellness floor with a spa, a health club, pool and deck area, spread over a 38-storey all-glass tower structure. And if that weren’t enough, it also has various signature private dining spaces and lounges to entertain your guests for every occasion. Yes, all of the above is true! Basically, Hotel Palladium is a turnkey hotel with the potential to host a complete wedding in its premises. Also, its proximity to Phoenix Mall allows one easy access to shopping, entertainment and more dining options.
Lets do a worded recce of the hotel, to identify all the spaces it offers and what these spaces can be used for.
Ideal For – Baraat Procession / Welcoming
As you enter the hotel premises, there is a long pathway that circles up to the baggage check-in and drop-off point. On the other end of this main entry gate is an alternate entry and exit point, which is ideal for a small baraat procession. Although it’s not really a long stretch, but for those of you who absolutely must have the customary baraat procession, this small winding space would suffice for that once-in-a-lifetime waltz down the aisle. The streamlined entry doors may make entry look intimidating if you have a lot of guests coming in all at once, however, to counteract this, the wide waiting area at the valet point and the beautiful grandeur one enters into more than makes up for the trivial wait. Also, the hotel has a dedicated entrance to take your guests directly to the banquet levels. I think that’s really smart thinking, to avoid the muddle it could create otherwise for the resident guests as also the ones who would visit the hotel for dining purposes.
Coming up to the level where the indoor and outdoor banqueting spaces are, the hotel has eleven banquet options to cater to on Level 8, apart from the main Ballroom and outdoor Terrace Gardens on the upper level.
Ideal For – Buffet Layout / Pre-Function / Photobooth
As you enter Level 8, and the elevator doors open, you see a carved mirror panel backdrop with two golden beige Chester chairs on an inlaid marble floor in shades of grey, gold and black. All colours reflecting class and royalty. This leads up to the Grand Hall, which is the lobby area with an impressive perspective of crystal chandeliers. The Grand Hall can accommodate around 400 guests in an area of 440 sq. mt. and can be used as the pre-function area for the buffet spread to be laid out. You probably wouldn’t find the need to decorate this area as it’s so beautiful in itself.
We have the Palazzio, Imperial Hall, Grand Cru Salon and Alhambra as the closed door banquet halls around the Grand Hall.
Ideal For – Welcome Dinner / Roka / Engagement / Cocktail Dinner / Mehendi / Pooja / Haldi
This is an exquisitely decorated banquet hall spread over an area of 380 sq. mt. that can accommodate around 350 guests. The two features that really stand out are its contemporary circular chandeliers in the ceiling grid and the black-and-white damask carpeted panel enclosed within an in-lit frame. This venue also boasts of large glass windows on one wall that let natural light in.
Ideal For – Bachelorette / Cocktail Dinner / Engagement / Sangeet (for a small group)
I would say this hall outshines all the other banquet spaces on this level mainly due to its gold themed décor. Décor elements include ornate chandeliers, mosaic-tiled wall-coverings, bold frames with crackled-mirrors. It might well be called The Imperial Bling. I do love the drama this space creates. This hall can accommodate around 400 guests in an area of 430 sq. mt.
The walls of this banquet space are literally be’jewelled’ with Brazilian Onyx and crystal mosaic panels. It is again a smaller space with natural lighting and walnut wood finishes. It makes for a sober and cosy hall of 126 sq. mt that can easily accommodate close to 115 guests.
Ideal For – Formal Dinner / Welcome Dinner / Engagement / Roka / Pooja
Alhambra is a warm, well-lit space, with elaborately inlaid marble panels, wood-carved mirrored walls and a cream toned triangular grid ceiling. If I were to compare this space to a personality type, I would think of words like sober, tranquil, well-dressed and clear-headed. This hall can accommodate 200 guests in its 239 sq. mt. space.
These would be the venues that I may quote as being ideal for wedding functions. Apart from these main spaces on Level 8, there are four State Rooms that can individually accommodate around 24 guests, and three Board Rooms, two of which can accommodate 12 guests individually and the third can accommodate 6 guests. Now these rooms can be used for ‘Sajjankot’ or other private dining spaces if such an occasion arose.
Ideal For – Sangeet / Wedding / Reception
This venue is a completely pillar less space with quite a high ceiling at 23 ft.. The plus point of such a height is that you can play around with the décor to add greater beauty to it. The hall spans an area of 597 sq. mt. and can easily accommodate 600 guests. Also, you can divide this space into three smaller baby halls, as per your requirement to accommodate 200 guests in each. It happens to be one of the biggest banquet halls in the city.
Ideal For – Mehendi / Haldi / Wedding / Cocktail Dinner / Welcome Dinner
Not every hotel has the luxury of an open terrace space with spectacular views and a garden-like ambience. And don’t we all know how difficult it is to find an open air scenic venue in a 5-star property in our city? Maybe we get lucky and do find a terrace space elsewhere, but none as big and beautiful as this one. Just the idea of an open space takes your wedding many notches up. This magnificence spreads over an area of 929 sq. mt., the largest of all the other spaces in the hotel and can accommodate up to 500 guests.
The cherry on the cake would be the convenience of demarcating the entry of guests to this venue by the provision of a different elevator and subsequent separate entrance.
And how much are we looking at spending? Well, that’s a combination of a couple of elements, such as the menu decided upon, the inclusion of alcohol, the day and time of the year and the minimum revenue model of each of the spaces. The minimum revenue may not be a rental cost though, it is generally adjusted towards the F&B spend.
Bridal Suite
Many-a-times, the wedding and reception is held back-to-back with a time interval of hardly 30 minutes or less. The bride maybe required to change attire two to three times on her wedding day. A minor touchup is required maybe. Or maybe she needs a moment alone to herself to soak in the joy and shrug the anxiety. The Bridal Suite, a novel conceptual space, attached to the ballroom comes to the rescue of the bride in such situations. It is exactly what the name suggests, a suite for the star of the day – the bride, to prepare to shine on her wedding day. Apart from the bride and her entourage, this space can also be used as a VIP holding area or a Green Room. This fully furnished space has a living room, dressing room and rest area, a shower and an in-room locker.
