IHCL announced on 25 March 2025 that it had signed Palitana Palace under the Taj brand in Palitana, Gujarat. The hotel will have 65 keys after restoration. Owner Trident Developers Private Limited is represented by Thakore Saheb Mandhatasinhji Jadeja of the Jadeja royal family of Rajkot. Planned facilities include an all-day diner, a specialty restaurant, a lounge, a gym, a pool, a spa, a 3,000 sq ft ballroom, meeting rooms and outdoor lawns. At signing, IHCL said the deal took its Gujarat count to 29 hotels including those under development.
Palitana in Bhavnagar district is a major Jain pilgrimage centre. IHCL pitched the palace for spiritual tourism and for weddings. A collection of royal art and historical objects is planned for display after restoration. This was a management or brand signing of a heritage palace, not an opening. No public opening date was set in the March 2025 release.
Our view is that IHCL extends Taj’s palace portfolio into a pilgrimage town where upper-end branded rooms were scarce, while the Jadeja family gains a global brand for a restored palace. Local mid-scale hotels that serve pilgrims will keep volume traffic, but wedding planners may shift high-spend events to the palace once it opens. The signing is more than a year old, so readers should not treat it as new. Palace restorations in India have often taken several years after the brand signing. We expect Taj Palitana to open only after a multi-year restoration, and IHCL to keep adding Gujarat signings in the meantime. Confidence: medium.
This is important for our readers because a Taj palace hotel is planned for Palitana, even though the signing dates to March 2025. If you plan pilgrim or wedding travel to Palitana, ask IHCL for an updated opening window. If you run a hotel in Bhavnagar district, watch for construction milestones before you change rates. If you restore heritage properties, note IHCL’s model of pairing royal owners with the Taj brand.
Sources:
IHCL press room, 25 Mar 2025
Hotelier India, Mar 2025
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