Organic Cheesemaking Farmstay in Coonoor, Nilgiris, India.
Organic Cheesemaking Farmstay in Coonoor, Nilgiris, India.
Basic Info
Acres Wild is one of the new trend in family farmstay in India. A combination of a homestay, guesthouse, lodge but on a farm and yes we also live on the same premise. But first things first.
1. We are a genuine farmstay and NOT a resort. Thought we should get that clear at the start. 
2. A farmstay holiday or farm holiday is an unusual and new holiday option. Farmstay accommodations gives people a chance to witness and experience farm life first-hand.
3. We recommend that every guest go through our web site thoroughly in order to check out what facilities are available/ not available at our farmstay before making a reservation.
4. We have 3 guesthouse cottages - Haloumi House (2 room), Cheddar House (2 room) and Colby Cottage (single room).
5. Our farmstay is on a hillside and has 3 levels. Guests should be prepared to do a fair bit of walking up and down slopes. We live on the middle level and the common dining area is next to us. Haloumi House and Colby Cottage are close to each other and are at the upper level. Cheddar House is at the lower level.
6. V. IMP: All meals: Breakfast, Dinner and Lunch are ONLY served in our common dining area which is in the Club House at the middle level. This would require the guests to walk a bit. Please consider this before making a booking with us. Timings are fixed. Breakfast 8 am to 9:30am. Lunch 12:30 pm to 2 pm. Dinner 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm.
7. All Taxes that are applicable on the date of your booking are applicable over and above the Room Tariff.
8. We offer 10% discount (on room tariff) from the 7th night onwards of booking. Please don't request for any other kinds of discounts.
9. For Enquiry/Reservation please call between 9 am to 2 pm and 4 pm to 9 pm on 94432-32621 to speak we with me Mansoor.
10. Accommodation for a driver is available in a common dormitory at Rs 600 a bed. Food is on actuals. Please do no bring any other staff.
11. We have compiled a Welcome Pamphlet of useful information that is placed in your cottage. It has a lot of information about our farm, farmstay, local places to eat, shop, site-seeing, emergency numbers etc. Do read it when you arrive so you can be familiar with things around our farm and also plan your trip around the town and Nilgiris.
Room Tariff
Room Type |
Season | Off-Season |
||
| Weekday | Weekend | Extra Mattress | ||
Colby Cottage |
3,000 | 2,000 | 2,500 | 500 |
Cheddar House (per room) |
4,000 | 3,000 | 3,500 | 500 |
Haloumi House (per room) |
4,000 | 3,000 | 3,500 | 500 |
Note:
Weekend (Fri,Sat,Sun) & Weekday (Mon,Tue,Wed,Thur)
The above rates are inclusive of breakfast and per couple
Govt taxes as applicable at the time are extra and presently include 12.5% Luxury Tax (State Govt) & 5.15 % service tax (Central Govt) on room tariff and all services.
Children below 10 years of age are complimentary.
IN SEASON - 16th April to 15th June
OFF SEASON - 16th Jan to 15th April
Colby Cottage
First Cottage is a standalone guesthouse. It has a studio-style interior with double bed, dining area, kitchenette and attached toilet/bath. Front covered porch. The cottage is made of adobe bricks that we made on the farm.
The view of the valley and the hill range across with pristine forest and some tea estates. In the foreground you can see the roof of our farmhouse and in the left is the lower part of the Cheesemaking Cottage.
Bedroom Space in Colby Cottage
Bedroom side of the cottage.
Room facilities: 2 single beds/double bed, writing desk, dining table with chairs. Attached toilet/shower with solar water heating.
Kitchen and Dining space in Colby Cottage
Kitchen facilities: Fridge, electric kettle, induction heater, aqua-guard, toaster, sandwich-toastie-cum-grill and basic utensils.
360 degree Panoramic View of Interior of Colby Cottage
CLICK ON ABOVE PHOTO for 360 deg view of Interior
You can look 360 degrees around the interior of Colby Cottage by clicking on the photo above. NOTE: Please wait for the complete file to download before using the buttons to look around. Enjoy!
Haloumi House
Haloumi House is in the the same style and layout as our Cheddar House. It is a 2 bedroom guesthouse cottage with a living/dining room and a kitchen. It is located at the top of the property and looks down into the Plains of Mettapalayam.
We will be posting photos of the interiors here soon but you can make bookings for it for the 15th April 2011 onwards.
Living Room & Open Kitchen in Haloumi House
Bedrooms in Haloumi House
Haloumi House Room 1 |
Haloumi House Room 2 |
Bathroom in Haloumi House
Cheddar House
Cheddar House is is our 2-bedroom farmstay guesthouse. You can book individual rooms. The styling is unique with touches of the classic Indo-British architecture that is characteristic of the Nilgiris. We have made with eco-friendly adobe bricks made on our farm. The front full-length porch overlooks the valley with the plains of Mettapalayam far below.
It has a stunning view of the valley and the plains. It is easy to spend a whole day just looking at the scenic, tranquil view and listening to the sound of birds and the little babbling stream that passes below.
Living Room in Cheddar House
The Living & Dining Room in Cheddar House.
A generous and tastefully decorated living and dining room that leads out to the front porch.
The floor is wooden and there is a fire place for the cold and foggy nights that we often get in Coonoor.
This space leads to a walk-in kitchen seen in the background.
Cheddar House Room 1 |
Cheddar House Room 2 |
Room facilities: wooden floors, 2 single beds/double bed, cupboard, writing desk and chair. Attached toilet/shower with solar water heating.
There is a toilet attached to each bedroom.
Solar water heating ensures a continuous supply of hot water.
The spacious kitchen is a walk-in space from the dining room.
Kitchen facilities: Fridge, microwave, induction heater, electric kettle, aqua-guard (for water purification), toaster, sandwich-toastie-cum-grill and basic utensils.
Food
Breakfast: is part of the tariff. Non Veg we have your choice of eggs. For vegetarians we have either upma or poha. This is accompanies with farm-made fresh bread, butter, farm-made jam & fresh fruit.
Lunch and Dinner: are as per our fixed menu (same food that we eat in our home). Usually 2 veg dishes, daal and rice, dessert for vegetarians. Chicken dish for non-veg along with the rest.
The rates are Veg Rs 300/- per person over 10 years of age and Non-Veg Rs 350/-.
Children under 10 years are charged 50% of above rates.
You need to inform us a day before on you plans for lunch and dinner.
Coffee and Tea: We have kept all things necessary for making coffee and tea in the cottages. Kindly help yourself.
Farm Activities
Cheesemaking
 |
Cheesemaking is our prime activity at Acres Wild. It takes the whole day but you are welcome to see how it is done. In case you want to learn formally then you can enroll for our cheesemaking course. Please talk to Tina about that at 94430-37401. |
Breadmaking
 |
Guests are welcome to help us make breads that we make daily for ourselves and our farmstay guests.
|
Making Soap
 |
Guests are welcome to help us make soap from scratch by the cold process. These soaps are gentle on the skin quite unlike the ones that are normally available in the market. The finished soaps we intend using for ourselves and the farmstay. Guests are welcome to buy the finished soaps. |
Making Jams
 |
We try to serve as many food items that are locally grown or made. So jams is one activity that allows us to use the local seasonal fruits either from our farm or from the area. You can help with this activity as and when we are doing it. There is no fees for participating in making jams. |
Planting vegetables and trees.
 |
We welcome you to help us plant vegetables and saplings or help us pick what is growing whatever is growing in our vegetable patch. If you wish we can cook it for you. |
Milking & Bathing Cows
 |
Something the kids love and is great fun to try. The milking timings are 8:30 am in the morning and 4:30pm in the evening everyday. |
Feeding farm animals.
 |
You can help feed the ducks, geese and fish near our pond area. |
Fishing
We have a simple fishing tackle with which you can do some angling in our pond. There are 3 types of major carps to catch. You can toss them back if you are not interested in eating them or if they are too small to eat.
Birdwatching
We suggest you bring a pair of binoculars and settle down in quiet corners of our farm to watch the different kinds of birds we have. Here is a list of one I have spotted personally.
Kingfisher, Woodpecker, brahmini kite, bulbul, swift, water hen, babbler, Malaber parakeet, pied bush chat, shrike, spotted dove and black kite. There are some others I have seen but not identified.
Pets, Laundry, Driver Accommodation.
Pets
We are open to guests bringing their pets but please do discuss with us so we can advise suitably as this is a wild and open area.
Laundry
You can have your clothes washed and ironed at Rs 25/- per piece. Usually takes about 24 hours.
Driver Accommodation
Accommodation For Driver is available in a common dormitory @ Rs 600 a bed. Food will be on actuals. The accommodation has a bed, mattress, blanket and an adjoining toilet.
The other option is to lodge your drivers in the main town near the bus stand whcih is 3 km away.
Please don't bring any other staff.
Booking Rules
Booking Confirmation Rules
Bookings only confirmed on full payment.
Cancellations
In-Season: at least 14 days notice prior to date of arrival for cancellation. Rs. 500/- will be deducted from the total deposit as cancellation fee. If less than 14 days notice is given, the deposit is forfeited.
Off-Season:at least 5 days notice prior to date of arrival for cancellation. Rs. 500/- will be deducted from the total deposit as cancellation fee. If less than 5 days notice is given, the deposit is forfeited.
CHECK IN/OUT Timings
Check-in: Noon.
Check-out: 11:00 am.
Go to FARMSTAY BOOKING to make a booking request.
Payment Instructions
Bookings will be considered confirmed only after you transfer 100% of the room tariff that is reflected in our email to you. Confirmation will be sent by email or SMS upon receipt of advance payments.
Payments within INDIA.
Transfer through NEFT, as per the details below:
Account Name : MANSOOR HUSSAIN KHAN
Account Number : 035401505354
Account Type : Savings Bank Account
Bank Name : ICICI Bank Ltd
Bank Address : 89/1 A 9, Gandhigiri, Grays Hill, Bedford, Coonoor, The Nilgiris - 643101, India
IFSC / RTGS / NEFT CODE : ICIC0000354
For Foreign Remittance (ANYWHERE ABROAD)
Swift Code : ICICINBBCTS
Account Name : MANSOOR HUSSAIN KHAN
Account Number : 035401505354
Account Type : Savings Bank Account
Bank Name : ICICI Bank Ltd
Bank Address : 89/1 A 9, Gandhigiri, Grays Hill, Bedford, Coonoor, The Nilgiris - 643101, India
Welcome Pamplet.
Please read this Welcome Pamphlet here on the internet before planning your trip to our farmstay.
We also keep a copy of this pamphlet in each room for your information.
It will help you understand our facilities, rules at the farmstay
It will help you with local places like restuarants and shopping places around the Nilgiris
It has important numbers like doctors, hospitals, police etc.
And lots more.
Weather in Coonoor
Summer: Nights at about 20 deg C. Days can go upto 30 deg C.
South West Monsoon - June to Aug - Medium amount of rain.
North East Monson - Oct mid to Nov end - Heavy bouts of rain.
Winter - Nights 12 to 15 deg C. Days around 20.
Please keep in mind that weather is very mercurial in the hills and so it can be cloudy, foggy or rain in just about any month.
