There is a rather special intimate feeling to this hotel

which is enchanting and brings people back year after year. Although it is on the coast, and just a few minutes walk to the beach, it is far from a typical beach hotel, rather it is a 'garden hotel', an enclosed leafy oasis of calm. And the level of dedicated service would grace many a top class boutique hotel.

There are no differences between the fifty rooms. Each one is larger than average and handsomely designed and decorated in a split-level style, with the king-size bed up and behind the lounge area that looks out into the garden. Each room has a veranda or balcony to further enjoy the garden's many varied trees and birds (twenty seven species have been identified in the grounds). The fragrant frangipani trees, around the swimming pool and elsewhere, are particularly impressive. A toddy tapper visits twice a day to tap the coconut palms (the raw material for the country's traditional spirit, arrack).

The evenings are generally quiet, except for the weekend disco and the occasional cultural evening. The air conditioned bar, however, is always enticing. It's a colonial style place with tall windows, black and white photographs on the wall, classic furniture and parquet flooring. Of the excursions available, one is unique to this hotel and is exceptionally good. Called 'Taste of Sri Lanka', it involves a short train journey, a raft river crossing, a remote village market, breakfast in an aristocratic family house and a four hundred year old temple.
The excursion is an indication of how committed and involved the staff are with the guests here. Every attempt is made to find out and accommodate the individual guest's wishes and preferences. It is no surprise there is such a high percentage of repeaters and long-stay guests.