News, New Villas and Natural Settings

News, New Villas and Natural Settings

Albany Cottage's 5 treasures that you won't find at any other homestay

Amidst the lush, verdant backdrop of Coonoor, sits Albany Cottage, a stunning home with plenty of colonial charm. Here, you will find magical treasures and luxurious promises that are hard to find anywhere else.

Majestic views of the Nilgiris. Acres and acres of deep foliage everywhere you look. Albany Cottage situated in Coonoor, is where you can find a little chunk of paradise. Spread across 780 sq metres, this home will take your breath away. Right from its four tastefully designed bedrooms to its sit-outs that let you enjoy your tea with a view, Albany Cottage is where good times begin. Here are 5 things that you will find at this luxurious nest which you won’t find at any other homestay.

1) Albany Cottage is furnished tastefully, using antique furniture and artefacts from palaces and mansions in India and abroad. So you might just be sitting on a piece of furniture that once belonged to royalty!

2) The floors of Albany Cottage are custom designed. What this means is that nearly every room boasts different kinds of floor tiles! So, while the living room offers stone-look tiles with charming gold stripes, the library will surprise you with its beautiful KP tiles in multiple hues.

3) Albany Cottage offers the best of both worlds by providing you with sweeping views of the Nilgiris, all inside a home steeped in colonial charm. It's actually an ode to a British aristocrat who once summered here!

4) Thoughtfully enough, the bedrooms of this property are fully equipped with soft, double mercerised sheets that will wrap you up in luxury even as you settle in for the night. And the satin pillow covers boast an impressive 300-thread count.

5) If you fancy taking in a game of golf, the famed Wellington Golf Course is a mere 5 minute drive away from Albany Cottage. Which other luxurious property sits in such a conveniently accessible spot? Pray, do tell.

Avant gard(e)ns

Be it an enchanted garden or a smaller, more intimate one, Isprava tells you how you can bring your beautiful green spaces to life.

Gardens are wonderful places; sweet smelling flowers, gently swaying plants and an air of stillness. What's not to love? It is as though time stands still when you are spending it in a garden. And that is exactly why it becomes so important to spend some time and work a little towards making your garden space simply flawless. And here are four key landscaping design trends that will elevate any and every kind of garden space.

1) Plant a section for the kitchen

An excellent idea is to have a plot specially crafted to grow vegetables and herbs to be used in your food. From fresh basil and parsley to little tomato patches, you can go ahead and plant your favourites.

2) Say yes to water features

The tinkling sound of water in a garden is endearing, to say the least. It can also act as a meditative element. So, adding in a water feature to your garden space can truly bring it to life.

3) Include soft lighting

Lighting up your garden the right way is an absolute must! You may host a garden party in the late evening, or perhaps, you may have an urge to eat outdoors once the sun sets. Hence, make sure to include soft lighting in your garden. This will not only make it look better but also make moving about in the dark easier.

4) Create a private space

Use long plants that grow close together to build a wall or just go on and build an actual one that divides your garden into parts. You can use one section as a private entertainment area, a reading nook or simply a space devoted to exotic flowers and plants.

CNBC's latest Young Turk - Nibhrant Shah!

Know all about the exclusive interview that CNBC conducted with our Founder and CEO, Nibhrant Shah. It is all you need to know about our journey and story.

We could not be more thrilled to have Isprava featured on CNBC! Our Founder and CEO, Mr Nibhrant Shah, was interviewed by CNBC on his journey so far, and all the exciting things that he has up his sleeve when it comes to the future.

As a part of the Young Turks series, this one was all about the story of Isprava. From taking you behind the scenes to revealing interesting facts and features about the company, this exclusive interview is packed with fun snippets of information on your most loved luxurious vacation home platform - Isprava.

Click here to watch the entire video.

Snack on this 

In conversation with Meher and Matt Taff, founders of Natch snacks on the things that make them tick.

1) You moved from NYC to India to start a nutritious snack empire, tell us about this big shift and how you adapted?

Before we moved to India, snacking was an everyday ritual for us, and being in NYC we found ourselves very spoiled for choice. There was always some new health fad that people were obsessing over, sometimes tasty and sometimes not so much. For us, we always gravitated towards snacks that were both simple and delicious. We avoided things that were overly processed. No matter what you were into, there was always an abundance of options to meet your craving.

When we got to India, we were surprised by how few options we found for the type of yummy, guilt free snacks that we love. Most of the things we found were processed or full of chemicals. Both of us, entrepreneurs at heart, knew we wanted to start a company together, and healthy snacks felt like the perfect fit. From there, we laid out our criteria of what an ideal snack should be and began our search.
We wanted our products to be natural, minimally processed, vegan, gluten free, lactose free and 100% delicious. We also wanted to be true to our audience, so we tried to incorporate fun twists on traditional favourites like our chilli flavoured coconut chips or dried mango slices. We launched Natch to bring snacks that we personally love to munch on, keeping in mind the Indian palette and love of fresh, bold flavours.

2) Has travel ever inspired any of your nutritious snack offerings? If so, how?
The love for travel is shared by us both and has been a huge influence on us as well as for Natch. In fact, a lot of the products Natch offers were inspired by our travels, particularly to parts of America and Asia. A majority of our products come from Thailand, which is where a lot of the inspiration for Natch was firstborn. Very early in the process, Meher and I visited a snack exhibition in Bangkok and were blown away by the incredible variety and selection of snacks. It was on this trip that we first began to explore the type of products that we believed would be a great fit for India, while still maintaining our commitment to being good, and good for you.

Beyond just the products themselves, Natch aims to create a laid back, travel-friendly culture. All of our products are natural, with real, simple ingredients, offered in bright and accessible packaging. We know that people's lifestyles are evolving, so we have created snacks that can be enjoyed on-the-go. Everything is bite sized and packed fresh, perfect for road trips, hammocks, or waiting for the train. We love to explore new places and believe Natch is the perfect travel companion for any adventure.

3) What would we find in your Isprava kitchen? What is your prime indulgence?
In our Isprava kitchen, you would probably find lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, yummy snacks, and lots of things that go well with a cold beer or a cocktail. We are both snackaholics, and would each rather have 9 small meals in a day than 2-3 big ones. We love all types of appetizers, dips, and tapas type snacks, things you can munch on all day for a quick bite.

Neither one of us has much of a sweet tooth, so our prime indulgence is usually more of the savoury variety. Matt loves sharp cheeses, salted snacks, and prosciutto pizza, while Meher is a sucker for pate, a good cheesesteak, or just about anything doused in butter. While its true neither of us love sweets, we have yet to meet a piece of fried dough we do not like.

4) If you could carry only five things on your next escape, what would they be?
Firstly, our Natch snacks, of course ;). Not only do they serve as great munchies on a trip but also provide us with good images for our social media marketing. We would each have to bring a bathing suit because we love the warm sunshine so have most likely picked a place that is beachside. To accompany that would have to be our favourite pair of flip flops and sunglasses. Sadly, I must admit we would probably want to bring along our iPhone, allegedly for navigation and communication, but really just to browse the internet and look at Instagram. Our phone would also be key; helps in snapping a lot of great photos.

5) In a world where even snacks get categorised as luxe or premium, what does luxury mean to you?

We would categorise Natch as a premium snack company. We use only the finest natural ingredients in all of our carefully crafted products, resulting in an exceptional snack that is unparalleled in taste and quality. In this regard, premium is the perfect way to describe what we are going for.
"Luxury" on the other hand can be misleading. It denotes something you treat yourself to on a special occasion, and at a big expense. Natch products, however, are meant to be enjoyed all the time! Our natural, better-for-you products should not be considered as an occasional indulgence, but rather an everyday snack that you can eat guilt free.