Cinnamon Stays For The Business Traveler!

A few months ago, when we talked of Ram, our friend who travels frequently on work, he spoke to us about how he was taken in with the concept of staying at a homestay instead of a hotel. His idea of having a Workcation seems to be “working” for him. Having stayed in a few homestays across the country in the past couple of months, he is now a happy business traveler!

We decided to list a few reasons as to why you may want to consider Cinnamon Stays as your preferred choice of homestay whenever you are traveling on business (or on workcation) to Gurgaon.

1. A Homestay compatible with a Business Traveler.

We understand what it means to be traveling on business all the time. While you may be looking for home-like comfort, you desire consistency of service as well. We at Cinnamon work towards making that experience special for you. We are NOT A REGULAR guest house. We are a premium homestay with rooms that are spacious, homely and comfortable. Each of our rooms are themed and every element in the house is curated to serve the sensibilities of the Indian corporate executive.

2. Safety and Security : Gated campus

The homestay located in Sector 48 on Sohna Road and Sector 50 ( Golf Course Ext), is a gated society. With 24 hours security and CCTV surveillance, it is absolutely safe. Ideal for single women business travelers. It is also a great option to bring your family with you while you are on a business trip. 

3. Close to Business Towers & Corporate parks

A stone’s throw away from the business and corporate parks of Gurgaon, it saves you travel and traffic woes. Located on Sohna Road, the homestay is easily accessible to all amenities - corporate or family requirements available on Sohna Road

(Picture Courtesy - stayiningurgaon.com)

 

4. Fast Billing and Payment

In the fast world of corporate travel, Cinnamon makes it easy for you to Fast track the process of billing and payment. The Express option helps you immediately close the account of your stay at flexible hours (considering late night flights or odd hours of travel).

(Picture Courtesy - kbelloncall.com)

5. Company payment option

The homestay can tie up with your Company directly so you have a cashless transaction while staying at Cinnamon.

6. 0% escalation to HR /Admin of your Company

We are the No.1 B&B on Trip Advisor for the past 7 years! One of the main reasons why corporates choose us is there is ZERO escalation of any sort to the HR / Admin department with regards to the quality and stay experience.

7. 
   Empathic Hosts - Cinnamon is managed by Manish ( > 20 yrs of corporate experience) who understands what the corporate traveler needs. Shilpi - an HR professional & Executive Coach gets the pain points of employee travel thereby handling this area very well. The hosts have even handled medical emergencies for guests in the past.
   
   

8. Business Amenities

Cinnamon is not just about a few rooms to stay. Cinnamon allows a work environment to thrive (after all, the hosts work from here!). There are enough work tables, Free wi-fi internet and a spacious meeting space for business huddles. The sit outs allow the working mind some fresh thinking. Cinnamon allows a unique opportunity to network with other business travelers from across the world.

 

9. Flexibility

Cinnamon is flexible with breakfast timings, check-ins and check-outs. Corporate travellers can host small meetups, business lunches and do brainstorms. Of course all within the limitations on a homestay.

10. Serves Home-made and Nutritious food

For the modern day health conscious professionals, Cinnamon prepares delicious yet healthy home cooked food. We customize food requirements as per the traveler’s medical or gastronomical needs. 

Cinnamon Stays is the perfect ‘Unhotel’ for the business traveller in Gurgaon! We look forward to hosting corporate events, single women business travelers and off-sites. Check out  www.cinnamonstays.in or write to us at cinnamonstays@gmail.com  Shilpi - 9560550015, Manish - 9650400466  @cinnamonstays facebook.com/CinnamonStays

5 Reasons Why You Must Try Airbnb While Travelling

Airbnb.com is a huge success story in online travel. Yet many of us in India have either never heard of this sharing economy company or else never tried.

Since Shilpi and I (Manish) have been running Cinnamon Stays for the past 5 years and now Granny's Inn in Varanasi we have had the opportunity to use airbnb for getting guests at our place.

We also used airbnb extensively when we travelled to Europe this summer. Most places we visited, we booked the room / apartment through airbnb. 

It was a great experience. So, here we share why you must try this fascinating concept which is redefining stays & travel around the globe.

1. From hassle to play. In the pre-airbnb days, finding a room was a hassle, a task; but with the millions of beautifully curated pads around the world, searching a room/ apartment/ villa on airbnb is a playful, joyous activity. We found an artistic studio in Interlaken, Switzerland in June this year. These 2 nights spent there were infinitely better than a bland hotel room in our budget!

2. The wisdom & warmth of local hosts. To really know a place when time is at a premium you got to lean on the local hosts. And most are better than the majority of hotel employees. In our own trip, the airbnb hosts volunteered to pick us up from airports and tube stations. They took us out for authentic Italian meals; gave access to private beaches. Cooked for us. Helped plan a day shopping trip in Zurich. Even found us a Saravana Bhawan in Paris :-)

You can get tons of local tips - from bus and metro timings, to which restaurants to eat, the coolest pubs, where to shop for veggies and where to shop for moments and gifts! You get all this information and more over a beer or if you are lucky even a home cooked meal. 

 3. Having the flexibility to cook. With our non experimentative, almost vegetarian food habits, having access to a kitchen where we could make simple daal, rice every alternate day was a big boon:-) Sometimes after a tiring day, just the comfort of making maggi in your own apartment far outweighed meals in a fancy restaurant. Almost all the apartments had very clean kitchens with cooking utensils and cutlery. This made our trip very comfortable and enjoyable. 

4. Safe & convenient. As a first timer, we would recommend that you only book the place which has a few reviews. Airbnb reviews are invariably genuine and give you a fair idea of the place and the host.

Google maps gives you an accurate idea of how to reach the B&B. In fact in many listings, past guests mention bus and tube routes, landmarks and other tips which makes life a lot easier for travelers. 

5. Mobile app is awesome. The airbnb mobile app now makes it possible to book a room, apartment on the move. You can make a booking or accept one 

(if you are a host) on the go. Clean interface, intuitive navigation makes it a very friendly app! 

As hosts of B&B and avid travelers, we would urge you to try airbnb on your next vacation. We are convinced, like us you will get hooked onto this new way of booking a stay and traveling. You may never go back to the standardized and expensive hotels which have all the amenities but often lack soul and a story, essential to make travel memorable.

7 Reasons Why Corporate Travelers Prefer A Homestay

Unlike in the past when company executives either stayed at a fancy but expensive hotel or a basic guest house with inconsistent service, today there is another option of a homestay / bed & breakfast.

And Tripadvisor makes it easy to find these special places hidden in a city's landscape. With ratings and detailed guest reviews you can be assured of a safe and comfortable stay at this non hotel option!

So why should a busy corporate traveller stay at a homestay. Here are 7 good reasons. 

1. Do you remember the last hotel room that you stayed in 5 years ago on a business trip? Most probably you don't.  But people who stay at a homestay/ bed & breakfast invariably remember, because their experience is so unique and special. You may be a busy executive, but you still remember the delicious home cooked food, the quirky room with some beautiful painting; the chat over breakfast on local city tips and much more.

2. The Warm Human Touch.  Unlike a B&B,  a hotel doesn't have hosts who blend the skills of a cook, waiter, tour guide, housekeeper, conversationalist and much more to make every guest's experience a delight.

3. For the budget conscious corporate traveller, the SME owner, the entrepreneur with a tight wallet, often the homestay works far economical than a hotel. The food costs are less and you avoid luxury tax.

4. Many a time the corporate traveller travels with his/ her spouse or family. In these cases, the home like environment of a B&B is much better than the confined space of a hotel room. 
Of course you need to check the reviews on Tripadvisor before you make the booking.
In the connected economy, the good places are easy to book and the bad places can't hide themselves!

5. If the stay is for more than a few days, hosts at a B&B can give valuable tips on shopping, eating out, the coolest cafes and pubs. These local tips are invaluable when you are in a  new city for a few days. It saves you valuable time and you gain from their expertise!

6. Hotel food, no matter how fancy can get on your nerves and palate after a while. Especially for the widely travelled corporate traveller, hotel food is no longer a big draw! But a well prepared, delicious home cooked meal at a homestay is a big hit with travelers. Often the odd pickle, a special recipe, a local sweet or ice-cream is a gentle balm for the wearied corporate traveller.

7. A homestay is also a place where you chance upon other interesting travelers. At Cinnamon Stays - we have hosted amazingly interesting people from almost 60 countries - artists, entrepreneurs, corporate honchos, VCs, musicians, social media gurus, NGO heads and even students in their gap year! 

The homestay with it's unassuming and open space allows corporates to mix and unwind with this diverse lot. The free flow of ideas and conversations is enriching for all. 

The world is opening up. Businesses like airbnb.com have made B&B accessible and available to all. Tripadvisor and guest reviews have made finding great non hotel places far easier. 

So, in case you have never tried a homestay / bed & breakfast  you may want to give them a try after reading this. Believe us; after 5 years of running Cinnamon, our lives have been transformed by this experience.

(The hosts and writers Manish and Shilpi have had a corporate career in media and HR respectively. They took the plunge 5 years back to create cinnamonstays.in - the No.1 B&B in Gurgaon. They also manage the bookings and marketing for Granny's Inn - www.grannysinn.in in Varanasi run by their aunt and mother!

10 Reasons Why You Should Stay At The Granny's Inn, Varanasi

Varanasi, Banaras or Kashi is amongst the oldest living cities of the world - a holy city for the Hindus and a spiritual, music, sanskrit learning and yoga learning destination!

To experience the sights, sounds and the flavour of Banaras, one must ideally stay in a homestay. A standardized hotel - even a star one does not add much to the experience of Varanasi. Granny's Inn is one such comfortable homestay run by two feisty grannies in their 60's - Asha & Aruna. They started this homestay in December 2013 and in about 9 months, they are already No.10 on Tripadvisor amongst 140 odd B&B's & Guesthouses in Varanasi!

Here are 10 reasons why you must stay at the Granny's Inn 

1. If you are bored with the standardized and bland rooms of a hotel, the Granny's Inn offers double rooms with AC/ non AC options with character. Set in a house with old architecture and a courtyard, it will charm you with it's decor and quirkiness.

2. You get to sample authentic Indian vegetarian food. Prepared by the grannies and their man-friday - Kashi. Even though the street food in Varanasi is amazingly diverse and tasty; many of our guests still prefer the Granny's Inn meals.

3. The Grannies are obsessed about cleanliness. You will find the rooms very neat and clean. Besides all the rooms have en suite modern bathroom. 

4. You are less than 10 min walk from the main Kashi Vishwanath temple. 
This is a boon in the city of Banaras as you avoid the traffic and save time.
It's easy to do the early morning Mangla aarti at the temple!

5. The ghats are also a mere 10 min brisk walk from the Granny's Inn. It's very convenient to attend the evening aarti or the morning boat ride(must do's on the tourist/ pilgrim check-list)

6. The Grannies will also guide you in case you have a taste and the stomach for Banaras street food. It's tasty, unique and a riot of flavors. Dina Chat Bhandaar is the closest and quite good(although you may want to order and eat at the homestay). They will also tell you where to have pan, lassi and baati chokha. 

7. Banaras is known for it's intricate Banarasi silk sarees. The grannies will help you with tips on (a) where to buy, (b) the best shops to visit. You may persuade them to accompany you on a shopping spree. They love shopping!

8. The grannies make some amazing pickles - mango, chilly, lemon etc. 
Depending upon the season and what's available you can sample their finger-licking pickles. Difficult to find in any hotel or a standard guest house. 

9. Safety is a big concern for independent women travelers and senior citizens. This homestay is amongst the safest in the city. It's family run with trustworthy staff. One of the two grannies is always there to help and support. Women travelers feel very safe at our homestay. 

10. The Granny's Inn has loads of local Varanasi flavour. The furniture is made by the local Khadi Gram Udyog (cottage industry). Many of the artifacts, wooden mirrors and clothes hangars in the bathroom and are made by the local toy maker - Sharmaji. 

Whether you are a foreign tourist wanting to savor Varanasi in an authentic way, an Indian tourist with or without family, an elderly pilgrim, the granny's inn is a good option for experience Varanasi - very safe, cosy & delightfully homely. Drop us a mail at namastey@grannysinn.in for booking or queries!

Khaike Paan Banaras Wala, Khul Jaye Band Akal Ka Taala

This famous song from the Amitabh Bachchan starrer - ‘Don’  has made the Banarasi paan a part of our national psyche. This betel leaf Banarsi wonder - Paan - is a trademark of the holy city of Varanasi.

One associates the ubiquitous paan with the brick-red stains that cover the facades of Banarsi structures—old and beautiful, modern and shiny.

But Paan is also associated with the best of Banaras—with musical sittings called baithaks - in which paan is offered graciously to listeners for aesthetic enhancement; with strolls at sunset by “Gangaji” and with family gatherings and festivals.

In Banaras the ‘paan’ is savoured as a treat at odd moments and often to mark even the smallest of special occasions. The Banarasi paan is inseparable from 'Banarasipan', which is the ethos that is associated with Banaras, a joie de vivre that the locals called mauj and masti or abandon and revelry.

For the people of the city, Banarasipan is embodied by a dip in the Ganga, a nap under a tree, an unannounced stop at a friend’s place, an open-air music session, a trip to a local saint’s tomb—or, indeed, savouring a paan.  

The Banarsi paan has many stories built into it. The elders say, in the decades before India’s independence, members of the Indian National Congress would secretly exchange messages hidden in the ubiquitous paan.

Bismillah Khan - the famous shehnai player who lived in Banaras, in the neighbourhood of Beniabagh used to relax at Chaurasiya paan bhandaar (in Chowk area). A simple, poor man, a pakka Banarasi. His biggest joys were playing his music and enjoying his paan.

The ingredients of a typical paan are :

8 beetle leaves (paan)

4 tsp small fennel seeds (saunf)

2 tsp betel nut slivers

2 tsp coloured sugar coated

1/4 tsp cardamoms powder

1/4 tsp nutmeg (jaiphal) powder

1/4 tsp cloves (laung / lavang) powder

1/4 tsp cinnamon (dalchini) powder

1 tsp grated dry coconut (kopra)

2 tsp tutti fruity 1/4 tsp menthol powder

1/4 tsp camphor powder

2 tsp gulkhand  

1/2 tsp slaked lime

Though we (at the Granny’s Inn) are still quite new to Banaras and therefore far from an expert on where to get the best paan. But would recommend paan at these two places. (a) Near Diamond hotel in Bhelupur and (b) the famous Prahlad Prasad Chaurasiya Pan Bhandaar at Chowk!

The blog post content has been excerpted from this Live Mint article

June - One more small step!

For those of you who don't know us, we are a cosy bed & breakfast( that's a guest house in local parlance) in Gurgaon(Delhi NCR). Our website is Cinnamon Stays!


We have been running now for close to 1.5 years! Run by my wife (Shilpi) and myself(Manish). And a hard-working dedicated team of Gumaan(our manager), Yugen(okay asst manager), Zafar(the cleaning captain), Ravi(the temp help) and Rashmi(the lifeline) and of course our son Neo(in the picture with glasses and a smile, who in the beginning hated Cinnamon as it stole time reserved for him, but who now is a very enthusiastic evangelist of Cinnamon:-). If you ever drop in, do ask him to show the Cinnamon rooms!


Frankly, running a mom-an-pop service, we were/ are too busy to blog! Facebook with it's shorter, crisper updates was good enough. But a blog is better to log the small business journey, guest stories and our own diary of everyday exeperiences... So here we are!


Coming back to the story of June - this is our newest room...still under wraps:-) You can see Yogi - my partner in Jugaad Studio and Neo busy designing June - the name suggested by Amruta - one of Cinnamons facebook friends...


Check out our other rooms here and our guest reviews on Trip Advisor! In case you plan to stay in Gurgaon in the near future, give us a try! Some people find us a bit expensive than the 'run-of-the-mill-guest-house' but then we aren't one:-)


If you live in Gurgaon drop in for a cup of coffee; we also do theme brunches and support artists and causes from time to time...Okay quite a mouthful for a first post! cheers and stay tuned!