Recommended Hotels

Sri Lanka boasts a plethora of accommodation in all price ranges, and the following listings represent only a small selection of the very best of what’s available. Reservations are pretty much essential at the more upmarket places, while the better budget guesthouses can also get booked up at busy times of the year, so it’s always worth phoning a couple of days in advance to make sure of a room. Prices in most places vary according to season and demand; establishments along the west and (to a lesser extent) south coasts generally hike their prices up from November through to April. Rates at many places can be negotiable, especially if business is slow and you’re planning on staying for a few days. Rooms in more expensive hotels are usually quoted in dollars, though they are payable in rupees at the daily exchange rate. Many more upmarket places levy a 10 percent service charge and a 15 percent government service tax on top of the basic room rate, adding a nasty twist to the final bill if you’re not expecting it.

As a basic guide to prices, we have used the following symbols (for a standard double or twin room in high season):

$$$$$ over $200

$$$$ $100–200

$$$ $60–100

$$ $30–60

$ below $30

Colombo

Cinnamon Grand $$$$ 77 Galle Road, tel: 011-243 7437, www.cinnamonhotels.com. Colombo’s grandest hotel, with plenty of five-star glitz and style, although rates are surprisingly affordable rates. In-house facilities include a superb spread of restaurants and the lovely Angsana Spa, while rooms are attractively furnished, and come with great views over downtown Colombo.

Galle Face Hotel $$$$ Galle Face Green, Colombo 3, tel: 011-254 1010, www.gallefacehotel.com. Famous old colonial hotel and Colombo landmark, with lots of period charm and an unrivalled oceanfront setting at the south end of Galle Face Green. Rooms in the old (‘Classic’) wing are somewhat faded, though they retain a certain old-fashioned aura, while those in the new Regency Wing offer colonial style combined with modern international-standard luxury. There is also an attractive spa and a romantic seafront bar and restaurant.

Havelock Place Bungalow $$$ 6 Havelock Place, Colombo 5, tel: 011-258 5191, www.havelockbungalow.com. This peaceful, low-key boutique hotel is tucked away in the southern city in a pair of stylishly converted colonial bungalows which combine period character and modern comforts.

Mount Lavinia Hotel $$$$ Hotel Road, Mount Lavinia, tel: 011-271 1711, www.mountlaviniahotel.com. Sprawling landmark hotel set on the seafront in the beachside suburb of Mount Lavinia. Built around the 19th-century residence of former British governor Sir Thomas Maitland, the hotel combines period atmosphere with contemporary comforts, while there’s also a gorgeous stretch of private beach and an excellent spa. Very popular with foreign wedding parties and honeymooners.

Tintagel $$$$$ 65 Rosmead Place, tel: 011-460 2122, www.paradiseroadhotels.com. Luxurious boutique hotel occupying the atmospheric colonial mansion which was formerly the family home of the Bandaranaike family, who have provided Sri Lanka with three prime ministers since Independence. Accommodation is in one of ten luxurious suites, while facilities include a picture-perfect little infinity pool and a very chi-chi in-house restaurant and bar.

The West Coast

Beruwala, Aluthgama and Bentota

Club Villa $$$ 138/15 Galle Road, Bentota, tel: 034-227 5312, www.club-villa.com. One of the most personable small hotels in Sri Lanka, set in a beautiful spot at the quiet southern end of Bentota beach and occupying a scatter of intimate, superbly designed colonial-style buildings set around a gorgeous garden running down to the sea.

Hemadan $$ 25 River Avenue, Aluthgama, tel: 034-227 5320, email: hemadan@wow.lk. The most characterful accommodation in Aluthgama, this appealing little guesthouse has simple but comfortable rooms in a pleasant white building with an attractive garden running down to the Bentota lagoon – a beautiful spot. There is a free boat service over to the quiet stretch of beach opposite if you want to get out onto the sand.

Saman Villas $$$$$ Aturuwella, Bentota, tel: 034-227 5435, www.samanvilla.com. Stunningly situated on a bluff high above the ocean with sweeping views up and down the coast, this ultra-chic boutique hotel has luxurious rooms filled with every conceivable mod-con, a gorgeous spa and one of the most spectacular swimming pools in Sri Lanka.

Avani Bentota Resort and Spa $$$$ Bentota, tel: 94-344-947 878, www.avanihotels.com. Unpretentious but quietly stylish beachfront resort hotel on one of the nicest stretches of beach in Bentota. Rooms are simple but good value, and the whole atmosphere is pleasantly low-key compared with other nearby resorts – and there is a beautiful spa to dive into if you need to unwind. A very laid-back atmosphere compared to the busier resorts further up the beach.

Hikkaduwa

Citrus Hikkaduwa $$$$ 400 Galle Road, tel: 094-915 560 001-5, www.citrusleisure.com. The only top-end hotel in Hikkaduwa itself (though at a very reasonable price), this attractive beachfront establishment is a good example of contemporary Sri Lankan design, with attractive minimalist rooms in muted shades of teak, ochre and white, a good open-air seafront restaurant and large pool.

Neela’s $ 634 Galle Road, Narigama, tel: 091-438 3166, email: neelasbeach.com. This long-established guesthouse is one of the friendliest and best-value places to stay in Hikkaduwa, with a fine beachside location, good home-cooking and bright and comfortable modern rooms.

Negombo

Heritance Negombo $$$$ 175b Lewis Place, tel: 94-112-308 408, www.heritancehotels.com. Large and attractive resort hotel which rambles for a considerable distance along the beach, but manages to feel cheerful and surprisingly homely despite its size. There’s also a huge pool and plenty of other facilities.

Jetwing Ayurveda Pavilions $$$$ Ethukale, tel: 031-227 6719, www.jetwinghotels.com. The premier Ayurvedic resort in the country, situated in a quiet and tranquil neighbourhood close to Negombo, with expert staff providing a wide range of rejuvenating Ayurveda treatments.

Jetwing Beach $$$$$ Porutota Road, Negombo, tel: 031-227 3500, www.jetwinghotels.com. Negombo’s most upmarket resort option, with stylish and superbly appointed rooms, excellent food, a pleasant beachfront setting at the quiet north end of the beach and a beautiful pool, part of which winds underneath the hotel itself between strategically placed frangipani trees.

Ranweli Holiday Village $$$$ Waikal, tel: 031-227 7359, www.ranweli.com. Affordable and very peaceful eco-resort squeezed in between the ocean and the old Dutch canal 12km (7.5 miles) north of Negombo. Accommodation is in a scatter of rustic villas designed to resemble a traditional Sri Lankan village, while activities range from yoga and Ayurveda courses to boat trips and birdwatching.

Silver Sands $ Lewis Place, tel: 031-222 2880, www.silversands.go2lk.com. Excellent, long-established budget hotel near the southern end of Negombo beach. The atmosphere is friendly and relaxing, with a good little restaurant, a pleasant garden, rooftop balcony, and simple, cheap rooms.

The South

Galle

Amangalla $$$$$ 10 Church Street, tel: 091-223 3388, www.amanresorts.com. Occupying the sensitively restored premises of Galle’s famous old New Oriental Hotel, this establishment remains wonderfully faithful to the period character of its colonial predecessor, combining old-world colonial chic with the last word in contemporary luxury – a compelling combination, though not cheap it’s worth every penny.

Beach Haven $ 65 Lighthouse Street, tel: 091-223 4663, www.beachhaven-galle.com. This perennially popular guesthouse seems to have been going for ever and continues to pull in visitors thanks to its cheap and comfortable rooms, tasty home cooking and friendly family atmosphere.

The Fort Printers $$$$ 39 Pedlar Street, tel: 091-224 7977, www.thefortprinters.com. Located in the historic Galle Fort, the 18th century building traces its origin back to the Dutch period. It was the former house of a printing company which has been restored into an elegant, small luxury hotel.

Galle Fort Hotel $$$$$ 28 Church Street, tel: 091-223 2870, www.galleforthotel.com. Stunning hotel set in a magnificently converted old Dutch warehouse – like the nearby Amangalla, it manages to combine colonial charm and contemporary luxury, though at a far more affordable price. It also dishes up some of Sri Lanka’s best foreign cuisine, with a predominantly Southeast Asian slant – a pleasant change if you have had one too many rice and curries.

Jetwing Lighthouse $$$$$ Dadella, tel: 091-222 3744, www.jetwinghotels.com. Set on a breezy stretch of seafront a couple of kilometres outside Galle, this Geoffrey Bawa-designed hotel is one of the great Sri Lankan architect’s defining creations, with a simple, serene exterior, gorgeously designed rooms and splashes of local colour (such as the remarkable wrought-iron staircase depicting the Portuguese invasion of Ceylon). Excellent food and heaps of facilities too.

Unawatuna

Thambapanni Retreat $$$ Unawatuna Village, tel: 091-223 4588, www.thambapanniretreat.com. Set a few minutes’ walk from the beach, up against the lush, jungle-covered flanks of Rumassala (the huge rocky outcrop behind Unawatuna village), this place has more the atmosphere of a rainforest eco-lodge than a beach hotel. Rooms are comfortable, with neo-colonial furnishings and all mod-cons. Offers yoga, meditation and Reiki treatments.

Koggala

The Fortress $$$$$ Koggala, tel: 091-438 9400, www.thefortress.lk. Striking new five-star resort, designed to resemble a supersized version of one of Galle’s old colonial-era Dutch villas, magnificently framed between superbly landscaped grounds, a vast infinity pool and the sea. The luxurious rooms boast all mod-cons, while facilities include a top-notch spa and a string of excellent restaurants, including the fine-dining Wine3, with walls stacked high with international vintages. The Fortress ranks among the most extravagant and expensive hotels on the island.

Tangalla

Amanwella $$$$$ Godellawela, Tangalla, tel: 047-224 1333, fax: 047-224 1334, www.amanresorts.com. Set on one of the south’s most beautiful beaches, this sublime hotel offers some of the finest beachfront accommodation anywhere on the island. Rooms are sumptuous little masterpieces of chic modern interior design, and the overall concept is a serenely simple and artfully understated exercise in low-impact contemporary architecture, whose minimalist lines merge gracefully with surrounding palms.

Kandy

Ellerton $$$$ Ellerton Bungalow, Nawa Gurukelle, Doluwa, Gampola, tel: (0) 81 241 5137, www.ellertonsrilanka.com. A boutique hotel in the hills above Kandy (30 min from Kandy) is ideally situated for exploring the island. Set in beautiful gardens, it has eight comfortable double bedrooms, all with en-suite facilities.

Hunas Falls by Amaya $$$$ Elkaduwa, 27km north of Kandy, tel: 114-767 888, www.amayahunasfalls.com. Located 27km (17 miles) north of Kandy in a sublime position, up in the rugged hills of the Knuckles range, this eco-oriented retreat is one of the nicest hotels around Kandy, with comfortable modern facilities, and plenty of walks and wildlife in the surrounding countryside.

Kandy House $$$$$ Gunnepana, 5km (3 miles) west of Kandy tel: 081-492 1394, www.thekandyhouse.com. One of the island’s most magical boutique hotels, occupying a wonderfully atmospheric old traditional manor house tucked away in peaceful countryside 5km (3 miles) from Kandy. Rooms are beautifully furnished in traditional style, and there’s good food and a picture-perfect infinity swimming pool in the lovely landscaped gardens.

Sharon Inn $ 59 Saranankara Road, tel: 081-222 2416, www.hotelsharoninn.com. Neat, modern and very professionally run guesthouse with comfortable rooms, excellent food and superb views over the lake and town from its hillside setting.

The Weir House $$$$ 242/8 Kandawatte, Ulapane, tel: 81384-5420. Located in the picturesque village of Ulapane, in the Central Highlands, the house is nestled within a grove of fragrant clove trees. It has four comfortable bedrooms with either verandahs or garden access. The river gurgles past at the bottom of the lovely gardens.

The Hill Country

Ella and Haputale

Ambiente $$ 2km (1 mile) from Ella Village, tel: 057-222 8867, www.ambiente.lk. This low-key modern guesthouse is in one of the best locations in Sri Lanka, high on a hilltop above Ella village with superb views over Ella Gap. Rooms are modern and simple, if on the small side, and the food is good, too.

Melheim Resort $$$$ Lower Blackwood, Beragala, Haputale, tel: 057-567 5969, www.melheimresort.com. Bordered by thick forest inhabited by a variety of bird species, this place is a birdwatchers’ paradise. Nine luxurious bedrooms with private decks open out onto a scenic view of the mountains.

Nuwara Eliya

Glendower $$ 5 Grand Hotel Road, tel: 052-222 2501, www.hotelglendower.com. This modest little half-timbered hotel is Nuwara Eliya’s cosiest mid-range option, with period touches, attractive wood-floored rooms, a pub-style bar and the excellent King Prawn Chinese restaurant (for more information, click here).

The Hill Club $$$ Off Grand Hotel Road, tel: 052-222 2653, www.hillclubsrilanka.net. Set in a rugged old granite and half-timbered building close to the town centre, this famous hotel offers a real taste of colonial Ceylon. The time-warped interior includes a musty billiards room, library and an atmospheric restaurant (for more information, click here), plus assorted stuffed stags’ heads, cracked leather furniture and shelves of yellowing novels. Accommodation is in neat, slightly chintzy rooms with creaking wooden floors – like a rather superior British B&B.

Heritance Tea Factory $$$$$ Kandapola, tel 052-5555 000, www.heritancehotels.com. Stunning hotel set in an ingeniously converted tea factory – the factory exterior has been perfectly preserved, but the interior has been magically transformed into a sleek modern five-star. The stylish design combines futuristic architectural lines with lots of old tea-making memorabilia and machines, while the setting high up in the hills and surrounded by miles of tea plantation – is another major attraction.

Jetwing St Andrews $$$$ 10 St Andrew’s Drive, tel: 052-222 3031, www.jetwinghotels.com. Nuwara Eliya’s smartest hotel, occupying a beautiful colonial country club surrounded by graceful lawns running down to the golf course. The oak-panelled bar and restaurant are pure Edwardian period pieces, while rooms are cosy (some with four-poster beds) and comfortable.

The Cultural Triangle

Anuradhapura

Tissawewa Grand $$$ Old Town, tel: 025-222 2299, www.quickshaws.com. The most memorable place to stay in Anuradhapura, This atmospheric old colonial rest house (recently refurbished and upgraded) has lots of period charm and an unbeatable location right at the heart of the old ruined city (though this also means that no alcohol is served).

Dambulla

Heritance Kandalama $$$$$ Kandalama Lake, 10km (6 miles) from Dambulla, tel: 066-555 5000, www.heritancehotels.com. One of Sri Lanka’s most original hotels, this Bawa-designed establishment presents the ultimate marriage of architecture and nature, clinging to the side of a huge rocky outcrop and almost completely buried by layers of tropical vegetation. Stunning views of Sigiriya and the Kandalama lake, plush rooms, and one of the island’s most spectacular swimming pools all add to the allure.

Sigiriya

Jetwing Vil Uyana $$$$$ 3km (2 miles) east of Inamaluwa Junction, tel: 066-492 3585, www.jetwinghotels.com. Half hotel and half nature reserve, Vil Uyana sits amidst a beautiful artificial wetland created using ancient Sri Lankan irrigation techniques. Accommodation is in sumptuous villas scattered amidst wildlife-rich areas of marshland, paddy fields, forest and around the central lake, with facilities including a stunning infinity pool plus superb restaurant and spa.

Wild Grass Nature Resort $$$$ Kumbukkadanwala Farmhouse Road (Govigammana Main Road), Kumbukkadanwala, Sigiriya, tel: 066-493 5577, www.wildgrass.lk. Situated in the heart of an enchanting forest, this is an eco-retreat between Sigiriya and Dambulla. Choose from five villas with different layouts. Swimming pool and variety of activities on offer.

Polonnaruwa

Rest House $$$ Polonnaruwa, tel: 027-222 2299. This venerable old rest house retains much of its old-fashioned charm, despite recent refurbishments, while the superb location, perched on the edge of the great Parakrama Samudra lake, can’t be beaten.

The East Coast

Trincomalee

Nilaveli Beach Hotel $$$ Nilaveli, tel: 026-223 2295, www.tangerinehotels.com. Unpretentious, long-established resort hotel right on Nilaveli beach opposite Pigeon Island, with a range of comfortable rooms of varying prices and standards and a decent range of facilities.

Arugam Bay

Hideaway $ Arugam Bay, tel: 063-224 8259, www.hideawayarugambay.com. Attractive and excellent-value small guesthouse set a few minutes inland from the beach. Rooms are simple but attractively furnished, while the owner’s striking photos of elephants from nearby Lahugala National Park decorate the corridors and verandah.

Rocco’s Hotel $$ Arugam Bay, tel: 077-664 2991. Located midway along the bay, this small hotel offers comfortable rooms. The open bar/restaurant is an excellent place to chill out.