Just 45 minutes away from bustling Columbo is a tranquil 50 acre estate, which is home to a small but beautiful boutique hotel featuring just seven rooms. The main house has most of the rooms and is a colonial beauty built in 1820, full of antiques and rich woods. We were accommodated in the family lodge for our stay, a two bedroom cottage just a few steps away from the main house with its own private patch of garden. As we entered the room our attention was immediately grabbed by the netted hand carved four poster bed, ideal as we had arrived on Valentine’s Day. The other feature is the beautifully polished wood flooring which adds a real richness to the room. As with the main house there was antique furnishing, which gave the room a lot of character but it also had modern fixtures to make our stay luxurious.
Equipped with the essential air con for Sri Lanka’s hottest days and nights, it also had a ceiling fan, hairdryer, mini safe. There were thoughtful little touches too, like the light underneath the step into the bathroom to help us find our way in the dark.
The bathroom was massive, with a separate room for the WC, complete with its own washbasin. Another washbasin area was adjacent to the WC room and finally a large wet room style shower room. Complimentary bath gel, shampoo and conditioner is provided. Complimentary water is provided in the room, along with a decent speed WiFi.
We stayed on a dinner bed and breakfast basis and found the food to be delicious and plentiful. Best of all was that much of the food is either produced organically on the estate or sourced from the local market. Whilst the team here are very accommodating and will adjust the menu to suit your preferences where possible, the aim is to provided traditional Sri Lankan dishes (so if you don’t like curry this place possibly isn’t for you).
The staff here were top notch and provided an excellent standard of service. They’re happy to accommodate any reasonable request to make our stay a special one, and accompanied us on the tours to the local market (Saturdays), a bullock ride around the estate, plus a cooking demonstration (all included in the room price). Bicycles are available for use, a guided walking tour through the local village, birdwatching, plus walking trails.
There was a decent sized pool, a Jacuzzi and loungers for relaxation in the gardens. Our cottage had its own patio with ample tables and seating. A nice area of shade for most of the day and perfect for afternoon tea.
Environmentally it was pleasing not to see a single item of single use plastic during our stay, most things being reusable/refillable like the water bottles in our room.
From a mobility perspective, there were a number of steps to navigate in the main house and two steps from our bedroom to the bathroom area. To fully enjoy the whole experience we needed to be agile enough to climb into the carriage for the bullock cart ride and squeeze into a tuk tuk for the ride to the market and back. The roof terrace at our cottage is also accessed by a significant number of steps, but gives views over some of the estate. Potential guests with mobility issues should check with the hotel to ensure their needs can be met before booking.
We thoroughly enjoyed our stay here and wouldn’t hesitate to stay again and some of our fellow guests were return clients. It was a great way to relax, get over our jet lag and acclimatise to the heat before beginning our tour of Sri Lanka. We’d also like to thank the Horathapola Coconut Estate for providing us with one complimentary night during our two night stay.
