Helgas Folly Sri Lanka

Customer Rating
      
Our Customer Rating is an independent average score based on the judgement of Red Dot travellers who have stayed at the property during the last two years.Satisfaction levels can be influenced by expectations, price, weather and other factors.
Media Reviews
"'Utterly maverick and magical place, set high above Kandy in the palatial former home of Sri Lankan independence here George E. de Silva – former house guests have included Gandhi,, Nehru, and Laurence Oliver. The extraordinary interiors is a riot of colourful invention, with each room decorated in a different theme and colour, from the eye-popping yellow lounge, with petrified dripping candles, deer heads, Indonesian puppets and colonial photos, to the individual bedrooms each with a unique design featuring any combination of wacky murals, colonial "
Gavin Thomas' Rough Guide t Sri Lanka
November 2006 More »
Helgas Folly, Kandy
Price Guide: £££££
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Location
Helga's Folly (formerly known as The Chalet Hotel), is a thoroughly individualistic slice of art nouveau overlooking Kandy Lake. Here is Sri Lanka at its most eccentric. "Some come for a night and stay for a month," says its flamboyant owner, Helga de Silva Blow Perera. The staid may flee at first sight, in search of normality, but for all that, this is a warm and welcoming place, dancing to the unique tune of a family with a rich and varied artistic and political history. Kandy is about 3.5 hours drive from Colombo.
Introduction
Helga's Folly, in the eyes of its owner, Helga is not a hotel but "an anti-hotel." Helga's grandfather, George de Silva, architect of Sri Lanka's independence, would never have imagined that the family hotel would turn out like this. Its heady blend of Sixties flower-power and high-camp will appeal to those seeking an imaginative alternative to routine hotel life. They will find it an enchanting and alternative place, decorated by antiques, family heirlooms, wax-laden candlesticks straight out of a Gothic novel, and endless flights of fancy. A restaurant meal can be a minor event and breakfast has been known to be taken at 2pm. Helga is described by The Times as “a benevolent Cruella DeVil,'' complete even with a pet Dalmatian. The Stereophonics once wrote a song in praise of Helga and to extend the arty theme, Peter Finch and Vivien Leigh had such a theatrical row here that Leigh shredded a bible in fury over Finch's lack of long-term commitment.
Photo Gallery
Accommodation
There are 40 rooms – Standard, Deluxe, Superior Rooms and the Nutcracker Suite all with a/c, overhead fans and private balconies over looking the Kandy Valley. Plenty of monkeys do frequent the area and guests are warned to keep their balcony doors shut when not in the room. The hotel traditionally warns: "We are not able to take responsibility for monkey's antics." All rooms have attached bathrooms with h/w showers. No two rooms are alike with interiors decorated in a fusion of colours, soft flowing fabrics, and mood lighting. Most rooms are furnished with Dutch period antiques including four poster beds dressed in flowing, coloured mosquito netting. The spacious Nutcracker Suite has a living and private dining area and is furnished with a large four poster bed with a crystal chandelier providing mood lighting.
Facilities
Helga's does not do "facilities," Helga's does moods. Each of the areas in the hotel is decorated from floor to ceiling in a style that is unique – murals, tapestries, old photographs, and framed articles that tells of Helga’s life experiences, are set in colourful backgrounds. Chandeliers, tall candelabras laden with wax, a hand-wound phonograph playing sounds of Cole Porter, antiques, a profusion of ornaments and pieces of art are scattered throughout creating a different mood in each area including the lounge, restaurant, bar, private dining room, library, and writing room. The hotel also has a large collection of 1930s movies which enhance its recreation of a bygone era which is screened at the in-house cinema equipped with an 11 ft screen. There are no meal times at Helga’s Folly and creative and fusion cuisine is served anywhere that guests desire – in the main dining room, by the pool or in your room. Complementary home baked cake or cookies are served with afternoon tea. The tropical garden with sitting area has panoramic views of Kandy. Sports facilities are not the hotel’s forte. There is a small swimming pool and some indoor board games. Tennis and boating can be arranged. Fantasy weddings, on the other hand, are a specialty at Helga’s Folly.
Excursions
The city of Kandy is steeped in history and culture. Interesting activities include: a visit to the Temple of the Tooth where a sacred tooth relic of the Lord Buddha is enshrined; Peradeniya Botanical gardens, with its orchid collection and formally laid-out trees; Kandy's rich ancient arts and crafts including drum making, Dumbara mat weaving and Kandyan dancing and drumming.
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