Perched on a 6600 ft. hilltop Taara House Luxury Cottages is located 3 kms from Manali city and looks out on an ambling pine forest. This two bedroom cottage is complete heaven for those who love tasteful woodwork, as the home is built out of an assortment of reclaimed Burma Teak, English Oak, and Teak. The only issue guests have to face is whether to stare slack jawed at the view or the beauty of the home.
This Airbnb stay is so loved by travellers that the Delhi father-daughter duo that built this magnificent mountain retreat can’t escape their city’s heat for another two months due to chockablock bookings. The popularity of these cottages not only has to do with their desirable location. The design and feel of the abode emanate careful forethought and unique conception; and with a forest reserve separating this wooden masterpiece from the cacophony of blaring buses and traffic jams that cloud the congested tourist epicentre, there’s nothing to stop guests from popping open a bottle of bubbly atop this tranquil locale and drinking in the peace.
Eight years ago Tanya and her father built this home and have been adding to the property ever since. Creating something with your parent is an arduous, albeit rewarding process, and most of the time the outcome involves a couple of good meltdowns on the road to a collaborative quilt, garden or car restoration - creating a little bit of paradise, however, is not the usual target. That being said, Tanya and her father hit the bull’s eye with Taara House Luxury Cottages.
While Tanya’s dad is drawn to a more ‘old school’ aesthetic, in Tanya’s words, he has a deep appreciation for European design, which is heavy on furniture and borrows from the Chalet style of building. Tanya, on the other hand, has “a penchant for minimalism”. Her affinity to Scandinavian and Mid-modern styles coupled with her father’s older reference of design strike a surprising balance in this mountain abode, giving it a look that even the most persistent copy cat would be hardpressed to replicate.
Just last year they added one of the cottages’ most important features, an expansive glass room. This viewing deck makes for the best morning cup of tea as guests can warm up next to an antique heater and take in the panoramic vista. Tanya explains, “My father grew up in a time where everything had to be wooden. And for the house he wanted more of a Chalet look. However, I find using too much wood can make the space feel claustrophobic. That’s why I decided to add the glass house, to open things up.”
And that’s what makes this place so special! They have never used an architect or contractor, and every design element permeating from this abode extends from Tanya and her father’s sense of creative collaboration. The entire interior of the cottages is made up of her father’s homemade furniture, which is upholstered by Tanya. Moreover, all the art in the home was created by Tanya who is a photography. Now you see where her keen eye for the picturesque comes from.
When asked what was her ideal time to relax in her mountain refugee Tanya explained that she prefers spring, citing that nature is in full bloom and there are no traffic jams. Otherwise, Tanya finds Autumn to be nearly as beautiful. Whenever Tanya and her father visit, they live by one motto, “When we are there we don’t even step down.” If you want to know what that level of content feels like, go ahead and check Taara Luxury Cottages out on Airbnb.