|
AN AMAZINGLY LONG,
NARROW AND WINDING LANE LEADS YOU ON
and
on. When you finally see the clouds floating below you, and feel
that you are on top of the world - you see the Tea Factory before
you, and you are 6,800 feet above sea level.
It
was exactly what the name describes it to have been - a tea factory
sitting amidst a sea of tea bushes, that still supply the heavenly
brew they serve here, called tea. Pluck your own tea from the
Heathersett Estate and process it at the hotels miniature tea
factory.
A
cautious greeting informs each guest, that when the hotel was
first constructed as a tea factory, it was positioned so as to
catch the full force of the wind, necessary for the natural withering
of the green leaf. Even though well fortified from this now -
you still hear the howls of the wind at night - an awesome sound.
The
exterior and parts of the interior of the factory have been retained
exactly as they were when the British planters constructed them
in the mid 1930s. These include two large withering fans, the old
pulleys and iron railing that worked the old factory. Other parts
of history look down at you, as you make your way to your room.
Bedrooms
are located where the withering lofts used to be, with the original
boarded floors of pinewood imported from Sweden. Every room here
tells its story, from the drier room now the reception, and the
sifting and packing rooms, which now house the restaurant (Kenmare)
and bar (Hethersett).
The
hotel offers four deluxe and standard rooms with wall-to-wall
carpeting, cable television, telephone, heating, and a selection
of teas, which you can brew in your own room. The fourth floor
is a no-smoking floor.
Two
bars, a games room with pool tables, baby-sitting services, shopping
arcade, herbal massage center, sauna, gym and doctor on call make
up the remaining facilities to this quite unique and much admired
hotel. Excursions are also possible to water falls, Horton Plains,
Hakgala Gardens, wildlife sanctuaries etc.
|