Sri Lanka's grandest heritage hotels have an enticing atmosphere all of their own. Experience one and you retreat into a restful lifestyle suggestive of a distant age. Dating back to the colonial period, these confident properties are characterised by four-poster beds, huge dining tables, and antique furniture; wrap-around verandahs where you can relax in a planter's chair to the sound of a gently whirring fan; and large, beautifully-tended gardens. Life rarely drips by in such luscious fashion. Take a look, but be warned - you may be hooked for life.
20 Middle Street
Galle Fort, Galle Coast
Once the residence of a Dutch Merchant, 20 Middle Street is an exquisite five-bedroom villa dating back to the 1750s. This sprawling, privately-owned villa is one of the largest residences within Galle Fort.
Adigar’s Manor
Kandy
Adigar’s Manor is a brilliant boutique hotel offering stylish and private accommodation, personal service, and delicious food - all in a stunningly beautiful natural setting. The manor house, has been refurbished to blend the old with the new- light white interiors, polished hardwood floorboards, Jack wood staircase, Dutch style antique furniture and careful injections of colour.
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Amangalla
Galle Fort, Galle Coast
Amangalla is a fabulous boutique hotel in Galle Fort seeking to offer the highest possible luxury in intimate, historic surroundings. The property is an amalgamation of buildings dating back over 400 years and offers excellent old-world luxury.
Athulya Villas
Panabokke, Kandy
Athulya Villas is a 19C Kandyan walawua (ancestral home) perched on a hillock in the village of Panabokke and has scenic mountain views and acres of lush gardens.
Bethany 101
Puttalam, North-West
Bethany 101 is a 170-year-old Moorish villa facing the tranquil Puttalam Lagoon in the north-west. This refurbished boutique villa has six bedrooms and is centrally placed to enjoy the natural splendor of the Kalpitiya peninsula as well as Wilpattu game park.
Cantaloupe House
Ahangama, South Coast
Cantaloupe House is an exquisitely updated Sri Lankan walawwa which now operates as a chic boutique hotel less than a mile inland from the golden south-coast surfing beaches of Ahangama.
Clingendael
Victoria, Kandy
Clingendael, a magnificent boutique manor house situated within Victoria Golf & Country Resort, exudes a stately grandeur yet is also infused with the latest in modern technology and contemporary art on the walls. Clingendael's terraced gardens, cascading waterways, verandahs and tranquil setting is ideal for relaxation.
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Ekho Lake House Polonnuruwa
Polonnaruwa, Cultural Triangle
Ekho Lake House, which overlooks Parakrama Lake near the ruined city of Polonnaruwa, has a history dating back to the colonial period and has regained much of its allure now that the owners, Ceylon Hotels Corporation, have upgraded the property to a small boutique hotel.
Fort Printers
Galle Fort, Galle Coast
Fort Printers offers the ambience of a villa and the convenience of a hotel in the heart of Galle Fort. A small property that has a glamorous feel whilst retaining a vital sense of simplicity and warmth
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