LOCATION, DESIGN AND SERVICE OF THE HIGHEST QUALITY

have given this still new hotel a place amongst the very best in the land.

Rarely is a hotel built this close to the water's edge. The lobby spills down to the shore, whilst weathered boulders are incorporated within the hotel. The bar and dining rooms “jut out to sea”; rocks in front, beaches curving away on either side.

Location is also about the neighbourhood and the Lighthouse is just a few minutes away from Galle, the 'Southern Capital'. Antiques and jewellery are good purchases here, reflecting the periods and influences of past rulers, indigenous and colonial. A walk along the walls of the fort at dusk can give you a palpable sense of that past.

The Portuguese landing at Galle is re-enacted in brass and bronze on the main staircase of the hotel, a clashing drama of musket against spear, a wonderful piece of art. Another artistic reminder of the past is the inspired batik of 18th century coats of arms that forms the entire ceiling of the main bar. It could be said, indeed, that the whole hotel is the inspired work of Geoffrey Bawa, Sri Lanka's world class architect. The hotel speaks of elegance and restraint, of light and water, of the past and of the present.

The hotel attracts and retains an up-market clientele. The beauty of the location combines with an un-paralleled service, to draw clients back, repeatedly. The unspoken motto here is "never say no", anything is possible. If, in the fine dining room, the sea is too far, the floor is too hard and three is a crowd, then allow the staff to place your table for two on the beach, behind a rock and lit by lamps - crisp, white linen on the table and the waiter at your service.

The hotel is a member of the small luxury hotels of the world.