- Sri Lanka
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A beautiful romantic hideaway, nested along the sandy beaches on Sri Lanka's west coast where beautiful design blends with nature.
www.palagamabeach.com/
12 Palmyra Road, Colombo, Sri Lanka
+94 (0) 777 35 2200
Google map: bit.ly/KJmz4N
Sitas Heaven is a family run guest house that over looks the beautiful mountains of Ella. It's clean, comfortable, and cheap accommodation, and JP, the owner, is fully knowledgable on all things Ella and can provide you with anything from tour information to Yalla National Park to great places to eat in town.
If you don't want to eat out the family offer home cooked meals at the guest house, where you can spend the evening lounging on the balcony with a Three Coins beer, listening to the sounds of the jungle below.
www.sitasheaven.com
Google map: bit.ly/zmpz7c
If you really want to experience fantastic health benefits of Ayurveda, go on an ayurvedic retreat. On your day one an ayurvedic doctor will access your health condition and will prescribe a bespoke programme of various ayurvedic treatments including all sorts of massages, herbal baths, your bespoke diet etc. Even chronic serious diseases can be dealt with, not to mention an overall benefit on your mental and emotional health.
www.barberynresorts.com
Barberyn Reef Ayurveda Resort
Beruwela, Sri Lanka
+94 34 22 76036
If you ever get the chance to visit southern Sri Lanka then deffo drop by Galle (pronounced 'gall') as it's a brilliant place to visit. For the best home-grown and dried spices visit the spice shack by the central Buddha in the veg market. Here you will find the most friendly local guy who will talk you through recipes and tips without ripping you off because you're a tourist! It's truly mouth wateringly fab. Although beware, his hot stuff is HOT!
By the big Buddha near the indoor veg market, NOT in the touristy and not so good spice market area on the sea front. Enjoy!
Google map : bit.ly/mfXOje
An old colonial house converted into a guest house in an absolutely beautiful setting. It is set in a peaceful part of Kandy very close to the station and other attractions. Extremely friendly hosts make your stay pleasant and peaceful. The price is very good for such a beautiful location and level of comfort. At night you can see bats the size of eagles and I even was fortunate enough to see wild boars roaming around the garden. The manager provides travel advice and helps to order tuk tuks at reasonable prices. I did the booking through Red Dot Tours and had excellent service from them and the manager of the cottage.
Kandy Cottage, 160 Lady Gordon Drive, Kandy,
Sri Lanka
kandycottage.com/index.html
Google map: bit.ly/hgQ1uI
The train ride is absolutely beautiful. Although the train can get very crowded, the people are very friendly and helpful. As the ancient diesel train gradually climbs into the mountainous countryside, cool breezes usher in a wonderful feeling to the traveller, not to be missed.
The scenery is breathtaking. Sit on the right hand side of the train for the best view. Takes about three hours and costs about £4.
Go to Colombo Fort Station and get the train to Kandy.
colombofort.com/timetable.htm
Great holiday bungalow. Lots of character. Rented out exclusively by private owners to guests from all over the world. Fantastic, friendly staff who go the extra mile to make your holiday extra special.
A real retreat.
There our some hot contenders for 'most romantic hotel' in Sri Lanka - the other half would go for the Queens in Kandy, or the Oriental in Colombo (something about those old colonial buildings), but I think it's hard to beat the location and the rooms in the Garden Beach. It's just a short walk down the beach to the turtle sanctuary, and holding a day old turtle makes you feel squishy and sentimental anyway. Then there's the amazing view west across the Indian Ocean as the sun sets in a red-gold sky behind the palm trees. The staff will set up a candle-lit table for dinner in the garden. And if you're lucky enough to be in the two-storey suite with the four-poster bed, the setting for a romantic interlude is complete. Complete the experience by travelling by train either to stations about 8 miles north or south of Kosgoda (the Colombo - Galle train doesn't actually stop at Kosgoda station) and get a tuk-tuk to the hotel. Oh yes, and you can choose full board - and the food is good too - for a very competititive price - but that's not romantic - just practical.
Talgahapitiya Rd Kosgoda
phone 0094+91+4924515
www.gardenbeach-hotel.de
I have been to Sri Lanka on two occasions and just love the shopping there!
The high-end boutiques like Barefoot and Paradise Road offer traditional Sri Lankan and contemporary western products. You can find anything here from flamboyant coloured tablecloths to multi couloured sarongs.
'Odel' and 'House of Fashion' are department store-like shopping spaces which hold a range of designer wear (mostly seconds) and other quality products. Look carefully and you might find some hidden treasures among the rows of clothes or homewares.
'A-World' is a huge department store close to the Bandaranayake International Airport and is known to be the biggest shopping space in Sri Lanka. The clothes are slightly more expensive than places like Odel or House of Fashion because they offer original designer-wear.
All these places are well known among the locals, so all you have to do is ask your taxi driver to take you there. However it is best not to go with the regular taxi service as the drivers do not speak English and are not very safe to travel in. The same goes with trishaw's (tuk tuks), you will be lucky to find a tuk tuk driver who speaks english and doesnt rip you off!
Try a tour company like 'Abans tours' (www.abanstours.lk) which has a tour desk in Colombo at the Galadari Hotel as well as the Bandaranayake International Airport. Their rates are slightly more expensive than others, but all their drivers are friendly and speak good Engish. But most importantly they offer a safe and comfortable service.
Colombo
We went here for our honeymoon and despite the recent problems with Sri Lanka, this was the best holiday I have ever been on. We felt very safe in our hotel complex and didn't really need to leave it the whole time.
www.sensesholidays.co.uk/holiday/royal-palms-hotel-quot-5/67/
Two of us took a two week tour of the country with a special emphasis on the Buddhist culture. Amazing insights of the religion, met beautiful people and really good hotels. Very good all round. I am hoping to go back to take one of the Ayurveda tours.
For fantastic views and a slice of Sri Lankan life pick up some provisions at bustling Pettah Market, cross the road, brave the crowds at Colombo Fort Station, and for less than a pound rattle your way down the west coast to Galle or beyond. A stream of temples, houses, workshops show life behind the roads, and the line soon settles into its place between fine beaches creeks and bays, and the fields and forests of the coastal hills. Theres a rickety fan for air conditioning, and people sit in the open doorways reading a paper or gazing at the scene. A trolley and sellers pass up and down the aisle. You can join the train at many of the seaside resorts on route, to finally reach Galle. Straight outside the station here, nestling between dutch fort and the lapping Indian Ocean is the worlds most beautiful test cricket ground and a host of fine buildings to explore. Beautiful bays with bright small boats and stilt fishermen surround the town. And if this journey has tempted you, there are more trains and mountain views if you head for Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, or even up to Dambulla and finally Trincomalee on the distant east coast with its fine open bay and harbour. If crickets your thing you can reach nearly all of Sri Lankas test grounds and experience a riot of enthusiastic and friendly supporters.
Colombo Fort Station in the historic core of the City, Galle Fort Station right by the cricket ground.
Info at 'seat61'
I have been reflecting on some of my travel highlights of 2008 and it would be no exaggeration to say that top of the list came my trip to Sri Lanka in late October – and in particular my visit to Mahatenne House on the Ashburnham estate.
The guest house is situated on a working 70 acre tea plantation on the side of a mountain in the Knuckles Range, close to Elkaduwa. It is run by an ex-City whizz highflier type who (ahead of the credit crunch curve) reassessed his priorities in life and stepped off the London treadmill to go and live The Good Life on the other side of the world.
It is futile to try and convey the magic of my experience in words, but I will attempt to paint a picture with a few broad brushstrokes.
The day typically starts with breakfast served on the verandah while the morning mist and clouds unfurl to reveal the breathtaking view of rolling green hills and valleys, carpeted with tea plantations.
You will not be short of things to do during the day (children and adults alike): go for an exploratory wander around the estate – the ultimate Swallows and Amazons fantasy; take a power shower under the most beautiful 60ft waterfall at the bottom of the estate, reached by a 400 step path; anyone for a game of tennis on the newly refurbished court?; go and watch the daily weighing of tea; enjoy a refreshing dip in the swimming pool and lounge by the poolside catching up on all that holiday reading; or just sit on the verandah and breathing in the intoxicating air whilst contemplating life in peace and serenity. For Doctor Doolittle fans there are four resident dogs, a lake full of fish (which also yields some great meals), wild chipmunks that scurry through the trees, an array of beautiful birds and butterflies scattering a kaleidoscope of vivid colour everywhere (as far away as you can get from London’s monotone shades of grey), but most delightfully of all, Menike, a beautiful female elderly elephant, enjoying a peaceful retirement on the estate, her most arduous task these days carrying the occasional bare back passenger down to the waterfall. Sitting out after dark in planters’ chairs listening to the nocturnal chorus of cicadas under a canopy of glittering stars is mesmerising – the perfect lullaby.
The host is a very gregarious and generous character, and the staff are incredibly friendly and attentive (but unobtrusive) – you will be left wanting for nothing. The home-cooked meals are delicious and the (few) rooms are clean and quiet – not aiming to be top notch “boutique hotel” but very comfortable, and the rates are a real bargain.
This place really made an indelible impression on me – the memories of my trip will stay with me forever. Whether you are a lone traveller in search of something slightly off the beaten track, or a family looking for a package that will keep the children entertained whilst giving adults a peaceful break, I urge you to seek out this piece of paradise and complete the picture for yourself (apologies for plagiarising the previous submission).
Note: All the clichés contained in this account are statements of fact; all the superlatives are an understatement
Elkaduwa | 40 kilometres North of Kandy, Elkaduwa, Sri Lanka
email: mahatennehouse@yahoo.com
tel: 0094 (0)66 4920206
Maybe only a sentimental old fool like me would be moved by Saint Andrews Anglican Church in Haputale (and dozens of similar Anglican Churches across Sri Lanka) but the Tamil community who this church still serves really care about this place and it tells a real story about the British in Sri Lanka.
I am not a religious person and I will not attempt to defend imperial rule but Saint Andrews, set in its neat little graveyard, with its well polished brass plaque in memory of the Haputale planters who fell in the Great War of 1914 to 1918 brought a lump to my throat.
If I should die, think only this of me - and all that.
In the township of Haputale, which is on the railway in the south of the Sri Lanka Hill Country
Dias Rest (AKA the White Monkey Guest House) is maybe not the most accessible of places but it is an ideal base for the independent traveller and for anyone who really wants to get away from it all, this has become my favourite Rest House in Sri Lanka and if I had a book to write I would write it here.
Due to a derailment I arrived at the Guesthouse quite late but I had telephoned ahead and Dias was waiting with the warmest of welcomes and dinner was ready. Because I arrived in the dark I was totally unprepared for the sight that hit me when I emerged from my room on that first morning. I like my superlatives but I was honestly lost for words to describe the views from this place.
There is a cottage with two double beds and a lived-in feel to it, I preferred the simply furnished family rooms (also two double beds) all have bathrooms with shower and toilet. It is incredible value for money - I questioned the bill because I thought Dias had simply not charged me enough.
It's not the Ritz and the mountainside position makes access difficult for anyone with heavy luggage or mobility problems but I cannot speak highly enough about this place.
Tell them Mark sent you!
Clinging to a steep mountainside 3km outside the hill town of Haputale, if you are travelling light the walk from Haputale is worth the effort, otherwise a three wheeler from the town will cost around Rs 200.
people.freenet.de/diasrest/
Relax after a walk in the beautiful hillside or start your day with a big glass full of delicious curd served with as much runny honey as you want
Situated on the little main road through Ella just where the bus drops you off
A lively bar / restaurant / cafe right on the beach with extremely friendly staff serving amazing tuna steak with chips, great big pots of tea and mmmm lemon juice. Beach parties on Saturday nights - buy a bottle of Arrack and enjoy the spectacular sunset.
Just walk down the beach to where all the people are!
This family run guest house is one of the best value places I've ever stayed. Beautiful house with fantastic rooms for $10 a night. Mrs Amarasinghe's rice and curry are also top notch - some of the best in Sri Lanka.
057-226-8175
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