Exclusively Aditya

Jetwing Warwick Gardens

2010-05-10T21:14:00.000-07:00

Why Jetwing Warwick Gardens

As the sun burns through the early morning mist that shrouds this 118-year-old English planter’s house, the majesty of its vertiginous position becomes apparent; picturesquely tucked within the Ambewela mountain range overlooking a deep tea-bushed valley, Warwick Gardens offers guests seclusion and convenience since attractions such as Nuwara Eliya, Hakgala Botanical Gardens and Horton Plains are located just a short distance away. Painstakingly restored under the watchful eye of renowned architect Channa Daswatte into a warm and luxurious five-bedroom home, Warwick Gardens is an impressive granite-bricked two-storey mansion surrounded by 30 acres of colourful gardens, abundant tea and organic farmland.

The interior of Warwick Gardens has been stylishly and lovingly designed by the owners in keeping with the history of the house and comprises one bedroom on the ground floor, and a further four, including the master suite, up a grand teak stairway enveloped by Rajasthani carpets that hang from the walls. French windows lead from the cosy sitting room with open fireplace, baby grand piano, plump sofas and brightly coloured paintings onto a furnished stone terrace overlooking a grassy lawn with verdant valley views southeast towards Uva. The burgundy-hued dining room features a mahogany table illuminated by candles and a beautiful Italian chandelier. A breakfast room and side patio overlooked by agapanthus offer further locations for atmospheric dining.

Guests are invited to make Warwick their home; wander into the kitchen and watch the chef at work crafting dishes which use as much fresh organic produce as possible from the Warwick Farm garden. The resident manager Dr Faris is a mine of information on anything from agriculture and botany to the history of Nuwara Eliya and his presence along with the four other personable staff members really enhance your stay. Go wildlife spotting, tea factory touring, help in the farm or make a cultural visit to the tea estate’s line housing to witness first-hand the way of life and genuine hospitality of the island’s Tamil plantation-workers.

In the know

Artists and writers will love its breathtaking location and amblers its endless walking opportunities.

The library is packed with an assortment of interesting books featuring Sri Lanka, Ceylon tea and wildlife as well as a collection of novels, periodicals and magazines.

Four of the five rooms have working fireplaces that can be lit on request. Perfect for those chilly nights!

For a family or group of friends, Warwick Gardens is ideal. Due to the nature of the house, children are generally preferred in group bookings unless no other guests are staying at the same time.

The hotel has great eco-credentials and trips are arranged based on their cultural, natural and agricultural values.

Visit the Warwick Factory not only for the excellent insight into tea production but for the mesmerising walk to get there.

Distance from the airport; 6 hours by road.

Address

Ambewela
Nuwara Eliya

Click here to view location on Google Maps

Location

Recognition

Jetwing Warwick Gardens has been a member of Sri Lanka In Style since 2008.

The Villa Bentota

2010-05-10T21:12:00.000-07:00

Why Paradise Road - The Villa Bentota?
This dreamy boutique hotel in Bentota is the newest in Shanth Fernando’s Paradise Road portfolio and epitomizes the quality, style and luxury for which his brand has become well-known. With fifteen individual guestrooms lavishly decorated with antique pieces, sumptuous bed linen and gorgeous bathrooms The Villa Bentota is a delightful haven of comfort and tranquility. Guestrooms extend the entire width of the property and with terraces and balconies overlooking the extensive manicured tropical gardens it means that privacy and exclusivity are completely achievable. Plenty of staff are on hand to look after your every whim whether you need something brought to your gorgeous guestroom or if you need attention beside one of the two glorious sun-drenched swimming pools, atop cushions in the sea-view ambalama or from somewhere else in the spacious tropical garden.

The Villa Bentota started life more than 30 years ago when Geoffrey Bawa converted the charming ancestral home that stands on the property into a boutique hotel which was until recently named Villa Mohotti. The relaxed charm of this seaside home was undoubtedly what seduced Bawa into restoring it and was inevitably also what encouraged Shanth to take the seriously run down property under his wing in 2008 and respectfully bring it up to date. In doing so, Shanth has improved and extended the property in complementation of the old house, in respect of Bawa’s architectural design and in keeping with Paradise Road style by building a new wing that blends completely with the old, an elongated swimming pool, a pavilion and a raised bank at the far end of the garden to improve views of the sea.

Guests are now cosseted in comfortable rooms that now have more privacy, more space and much larger and more contemporary bathrooms than they ever used to. Each guestroom is designed to indulge the senses and promote artful rest and relaxation, their positions in the property promoting either privacy or camaraderie; contemporary luxuries such as squashy sofas, cushioned chairs, LCD TV screens, mini bars and Wi-Fi internet facilities come as standard. The hotel’s restaurant The Villa Café follows in the footsteps of the famed The Gallery Café in Colombo by offering a menu of similarly delicious and varied dishes including their trademark coffees and wickedly tempting desserts.

In the know
There’s a small branch of the Paradise Road shop at The Villa Bentota and in-house guests receive a discount of 10 percent on any items they buy.

Trains tend to pass by a few times an hour during daylight hours. The burgundy carriages typically packed with people are incredibly unique and their rumbling passing only lasts for a few seconds. Fascinating!

This spacious villa is excellently set up for weddings, both large and small. The kitchen can cater for special functions of up to 350, the grounds offer generosity of space and the fifteen bedrooms are the ideal place to house guests!

Distance from the airport; two and a half hours by road.

Address
138/18 – 138/22 Galle Road,
Bentota

Location

Recognition
Conde Nast Hot List 2010

The Villa Bentota has been a member of Sri Lanka in Style since 2010

Jetwing Hunas Falls

2010-02-17T15:52:00.000-08:00

Jetwing Hunas Falls

A score of spectacular waterfalls tumble down over rocks and precipices throughout the cool high country of Sri Lanka. Among them is Hunas Falls, which derives its name from Hunasgiriya peak, the forest covered mountain which overlooks this tranquil landscape. Located close to the former royal capital of Kandy, Hunas Falls provides an astonishing settings for the Jetwing Hunas Falls Hotel.

Sprawling gardens with walkways, flowers and the lake with a bridge to cross it, a waterfall and a mini golf course all constitute a most beautiful background to the calm serenity of your room.

Considered one of the most scenic spots in the country.

Location & How to get there

143 Km (3 ½ hrs) from the International Airport 26 km to Kandy city

Accommodation

09 superior rooms, 19 deluxe rooms, 01 Royal Suite and 02 luxurious theme suites,
The Katsura in Japanese Style and The Highlander in Scottish Style.

Guest Services

Rooms with magnificent views from the private balconies, mini bar, tea and coffee making facilities, cable TV, central air conditioning, telephone and IDD facility, safety locker, In –room dining, shower and bath. The two theme suites also consist of a lounge and dining area, an a pantry with a fridge and cooker, butler service, 02 toilets, a Jacuzzi bath tub and a CD player.

Restaurants

The Lake View Restaurant - The Falls Bar

Excursions & Experiences

Experience ‘Signature Dining’

The Gentle Awakening – a romantic breakfast on the sprawling lawns. Raja Bojun – A Royal Dinner – by the lake. Traditional Sri Lankan fare. Private Dinner or Bar Be Que at a location of your choice – on the bridge, at the Golf Pavillion, by the lake or by the waterfall.

Experiences outside the hotel

Mountain Biking, mountain trekking, bird watching, nature walks, a visit to a tea factory, the Simpson trail and the Shaheen trail with our resident naturalist, Meemure, a visit to a traditional Sri Lankan Village, Knuckles peak, Corbets gap, Wasgamuwa National Park, Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage, Aluwihara Kitchens and Batik, Peradeniya Botanical Garden, Temple of the Tooth.

Wedding & Romantic Packages

Fees for Registrar , marriage certificate with English translation
Assistance locally
Wedding cake or Milk rice and sweet meats
Bottle of wine
Bouquet for bride and button hole for groom
Hair dressing of bride
Decorated location
Fruits and flowers in room
36 post card size photographs with an album
Video of the wedding ceremony
Ashtaka , dancers , drummers and Jayamangala gatha girls - for ceremony
Witness if required
Wedding gift from the hotel
Wedding dinner ( Sea food ) for the couple .
Choice of location in the hotel for wedding .
Oil Lamp with Floral decor
Poruwa with floral decor
" Champagne Breakfast " in the room

Rate - US$ 1,460 /- nett , per couple

Rates

Rates On Bed & Breakfast Basis Per Night (USD)
Period Applicable	Single	Double	Triple	Child
Superior Room
01/11/08 - 30/04/09	109	117	165	30

Deluxe Room
01/11/08 - 30/04/09	124	133	186	36

Royal Suite
01/11/08 - 30/04/09	154	163	228	41

Katsura / Highlander Suite
01/11/08 - 30/04/09	214	223	312	56

Lunch Supplement	10 (Per Person)
Dinner Supplement	12 (Per Person)
X'mas Gala dinner	25 per person
New year gala dinner	30 per person
Triple Bed	An extra bed / roll away bed will e provided.
Child Policy	0-2 years

Spa & Ayurveda by Jetwing

We have combined an inspired blend of Eastern & Western treatments that include naturopathy and ayurvedic approaches together with western methods to give your body a treatment that would transform it anew. Trained and qualified masseurs relieve your tensions leaving you wonderfully relaxed and refreshed. Enhance the feeling

by sliding into the liquid calmness of the pool.

Tea & Wines by Jetwing

Tea by Jetwing

Jetwing features a selection of Teas, sourced exclusively for them from Sri lanka's finest tea growing regions. Guests may experience a "Tea Tasting" and try the Jetwing High Tea at any one of the stunning locations on offer.

Wine by Jetwing

Jetwing offers an amazing wine list featuring over a hundred wines, exclusively imported for them. These wines are crafted by winemakers of repute from the Northern and Southern hemispheres, representing the traditional styles of the old world and the more adventurous and bolder wines of the new world.

Jetwing Hunas Falls

Elkaduwa, Kandy
Sri Lanka

Tel : +94 81 2470041-5 +94 81 2476402/3
Fax : +94 71 2735134
E-Mail : hunasfalls@sltnet.lk

Galle Fort Hotel

2010-02-17T15:36:00.000-08:00

Location:
Galle Fort is one of the most uplifting cultural experiences that Sri Lanka can offer and the Galle Fort Hotel, which began life as an 18C Dutch villa, can rightly claim to be at its heart, offering magnificent accommodation in one of Sri Lanka’s most historic locations. The journey from Colombo’s International Airport will take approximately four-and-a-quarter hours - or take the Air Taxi and fly to Koggala, which is a 20-minute drive away.

Description:
The renovation of Galle Fort Hotel is a triumph. The hotel evokes a subtle sense of colonial grandeur, skillfully updated for the modern age. Its social heart is a convivial café bar, offering good-quality snacks, tea, coffee and alcohol, where Galle’s great and good come to gossip or watch the world go by. Yet the demands of guests are never overlooked and once you walk into the main hotel area, a more private interior unfolds – verandahs and courtyards, columns and arches, all carefully restored to their original grandeur. A newer building at the back blends seamlessly, following the same period architecture. The interiors are elegantly furnished with a minimalist style, blending the old with the new. A sense of romanticism and tranquility permeates this hotel, enriched further with the occasional chanting of the Muezzin from the nearby mosque. This 12-roomed luxurious boutique hotel is an ideal base from which to explore Sri Lanka’s southern heritage.

Accommodation:
The Galle Fort Hotel has 12 exquisite a/c rooms and suites each with a unique interior and opening out to the central courtyard and the swimming pool. All the rooms are luxuriously furnished with king-sized beds dressed with canopied mosquito netting, crisp white linen and comfortable pillows. The ensuite bathrooms are stylish and have showers with hot and cold water.

Garden Rooms: The three a/c Garden Rooms have a small private garden, wall fountain, verandah and attached bathrooms with showers. The rooms are elegantly furnished with a modern king-sized four-poster bed. The Garden Rooms can accommodate two people.

Loft Suites: There are four a/c Loft Suites. These two-storey suites are more like small villas with a romantic loft bedroom overlooking the garden and pool. A cozy sitting room is located on the ground floor. A child’s bed is added at an extra cost. The ensuite bathrooms are stylish and fitted with modern, Italian ceramics. A private verandah, furnished with planter’s chairs, overlooks the swimming pool, garden and grand colonnade.

Admiral Cheng Ho Pavilion: This is a large two-storey suite that commemorates the visit of Admiral Cheng Ho to Galle in 1406. The upper floor bedroom has a carved Chinese opium bed and work desk. A screen made from rare, antique columns provides privacy from the generous living area below, furnished with intricate pieces of oriental furniture and a day bed. The attached open-air bathroom has six-metre columns with a large, elevated waterfall shower, which makes bathing seem like a fresh tropical downpour.

Blue & White Porcelain Suite: This magnificent a/c suite opens out to the central courtyard and swimming pool and has a twenty-foot ceiling and its own separate dressing room and ensuite bathroom. The towering bedroom walls feature 18th century blue & white Chinese `export ware' porcelain. The suite is furnished with an antique four-poster bed and cabinets.

The Mews Suite: This is Galle Fort Hotel’s latest addition. This two-storey a/c suite is more like a small villa and is ideal for a family. Children will enjoy spending time on their own on the mezzanine floor furnished with a large single four-poster bed, while the adults relax in the downstairs area, which has a large king sized bed. The open-style ensuite bathroom has a granite shower. This suite opens out to a small private garden and separate entranceway. The Mews is your own luxurious private villa in the Fort with the swimming pool less than a stone's throw away.

Library Suite: This a/c suite has two king size beds and separate bathroom with shower. The sitting area opens as a balcony onto the archway of the main building. The Library suite houses a fine collection of traditional Kandyan hat pins with rough cut semi precious gems and glass, part of the Royal dress worn by chieftains in the Kandyan Perahara. The antique ebony and satinwood chest and almirahs and two enormous daybeds make this one of the most beautfully furnished chambers in the hotel. Three adults or two adults and two children can be accommodated in this suite.

Le Grand Apartment du Comte de Mauny: This grand suite is more like an apartment and occupies the entire top floor of the old wing and has two king-sized bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms and a private verandah. Covering an area of 2,500 square feet, this apartment also has a living and dining room with views of churches, a mosque and the scenic Galle harbour. Private in-room dining is offered at the eight-seater antique dining table. The apartment features original artworks, antique chests and cabinets and two large Dutch period four-poster beds. The floorboards and fifteen foot, lime-washed ceilings are part of an original design by the Comte de Mauny, an Edwardian `faux noble’, and acquaintance of Oscar Wilde, who lived on the island after fleeing his wife, who caught him in a compromising situation with a valet.

Facilities:
The inner courtyard, with a small garden and 10-metre swimming pool, one of the largest in the Fort, offers a tranquil and exclusive area for guests. But a sense of history does not mean that the Galle Fort’s guests will gather dust; far from it. The charming bar-cum-cafe is becoming a favoured meeting point, with the Australian owners encouraging a genial atmosphere where intelligent opinions are to be shared, not hidden. An exciting restaurant, somewhat expensive by the standards of Southern Sri Lanka, yet very much in tune with Fort prices, receives positive feedback for its classic Asian-West dishes, freshly and locally bought, and overseen by the owner-chef Christopher Ong. The staff ensures a warm and welcoming atmosphere. Meals can be taken on the terrace, the bar or in a grand dining room. Samanthe, the in-house male masseur, is trained in traditional Thai and Swedish Oil massage. A UNESCO award of distinction was given to the Galle Fort hotel in 2007 for "conservation excellence" and for "capturing the spirit of the Fort."

Excursions:
Lying within the walls of the 17th century Galle’s Dutch Fort, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Galle Fort Hotel is an ideal base from which to explore its heritage and see life unfold each morning within the Fort. Hours can be spent exploring the maze of narrow streets lined with Dutch and British period buildings still in use, the sturdy ramparts looking out to sea, the growing collection of art galleries, antique shops and restaurants. There are some fine beaches just outside of the Fort including Wijeya, Unawatuna, Mirissa and Hikkaduwa.

Reviews of Galle Fort Hotel:
"Ingenuity and iconoclasm" – Financial Times, weekend travel.

"An effortlessly elegant haven of good taste" – Wendy Hutton, A Sybarite’s Guide to the South.

"Galle Fort’s 12 suites are perfection. Each room evokes a sense of colonial grandeur: crisp, white bed linen, antique furnishings, lofty ceilings, private verandahs and minimalist styling throughout" – Fiona Fraser, Dream destination.

"Asian classics are testimony to the success of Ong’s kitchen" – Serendib magazine.

"The scent of lilies lingers in the air as eccentric expats mingle over tea with young cosmopolitan professionals" - The Independent

"I loved the romantic lost-in-time feel of both the hotel and the Fort" - Australian Gourmet Traveller

Exclusively Aditya

2009-10-28T19:53:00.000-07:00

Exclusively Aditya

I Know I was going to like Aditya when I phoned to ask to ask how to get there, and the young lady who answered thephone was polite, obliging and interested.I’ve encountered telephone receptionistsat five-star hotels, whose sole ability seems to be a capacity for inanity. Aditya immediayelydistinguished itself - even before I arrived - as having staff capable of coping with guests who aren’t packaged.

In Aditya’s brochure there is the catchy phrase captioning a photograph of a suite: “room for individuality.” With 12vast” eclectically-decorated suites (and a cating staff of 43) meals served where and whenever guest want, and no pressure to be oranised of entertained, Aditya is definitely for individulists.

The realisation that this a different place to stay(hotel isn’t the right word, but I suppose ‘boutique hootel’ conveys a sense of its dedication to hospitality) commences on the approach from the Galle road. This is down a narrow, granite-walled alley with no view on either side. Gates, manned by a uniformed guard, swing open as the vehicle approaches, and there is a couple of steps up to the lobby. On the left is a meandering rock pool which, I discovered later, is a feature of the decor of one of the suites.

The first impression is of an amazing amount of highly polished, smooth cement floor extending in different levels towards an extravagance of plants by the beach, and a stunning swimming pool. A dramatic Balinese four-poster bed commands a corner overlooking the pool, and one wants to whisper so as not to disturb the lounging guests. This clean-lined vista is softened by splashes of colour – from cushions, sunshades, glass oranments and, looking up, from a party of puppets suspended fromthe roof. A waterfall wall of glass lines a wooden staircase, and tiny lights sparkle above the lounge (one suite actually has its own galaxy lighting. the night sky portrayed on its ceiling).

Aditta is named after the solar deities in Hindu mythology and the suites follow suit with five Shanti (with a garden view), six Sagara (’soar penthouse). Each is unique in layout and design, but every one somehow combines a plunge pool, a private veranda or balcony, a large, woodne-floored bathroom partly open to the sky, and a cavernous bedroom with kingside bed and Oriental knickknacks. I was pleased to see that each has a writing desk,a gentle reninder that the suite life is not just for relaxation.

Spa treatment from a skilled therapiset is avalilable in each suite, and there is a gym for the energetic, a yoga room and a first floor library with books and DVDs for the in-suite players. Black and white photo-graphs of Sri Lankas, as well as reproduc- tions of 100 year-old postcards decorate the walls, and every corner reveals something fascinating. Even the apparent wilderness of the garden, with its gate access to the beach, is as carefully conceivedas the building’s desing.

Most visitors feel inspired to ask the name of the architect (Bernard Gomes), because the layout is so intriguing. The total land area is one acre, but with its different levels and staircases, the building seems to occupy much more space. Opened only a few months ago, Aditya has become very popular and is frequently fully-booked. Non-resident guests are welcome to dine there is an elegant open-sided restaurent and bar - as long as reservations are made in advance.

Getting to Aditya is easy. There is a sign on the landside just after the 104km post on the drive from Hikkaduwa to Galle, indicating the turn off down the alley. To take that turn is to learn what it’s like to be spoiled.

Aditya is at 719/1 Galle Road, Devenigoda,

Rathgama, Tel: +94 912267708,

Fax: +94 912267709; adityavilla@sltnet.lk;

www.aditya-resort.com

suite rates starts at US $185+++ with special

rates start for residents of Sri Lanka.

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