INDIAN OCEAN SRI LANKA DESTINATIONS
and Travel Gallery usually books clients for three nights (from £78 per night, half-board) so they can fit in Sigiriya, the ancient city of Polannaruwa and the Dambulla Cave Temple.
w SPEND
Spending a little more brings plenty of beach-life benefits. Shangri-La’s Hambantota Resort & Spa – already a best-seller for Sunset Faraway since opening in 2016 – is on the wild, beautiful southeast coast, within easy reach of wildlife sanctuaries including Yala and Udawalawe. The 300 rooms are spread across nearly 60 hectares, and with an 18-hole golf course, spa and craft village, it’s a destination in itself. The Cool Zone Kids Club lives up to its name, with a seven-metre-high trapeze, a drone flying area and outdoor water park. Seven nights with breakfast through Premier starts from £1,329. Clients will love the stylish rooms at Anantara Kalutara, and it won’t hurt that it’s home to the largest spa on the island, plus there’s a yoga pavilion, water sports centre and cookery classes, alongside three restaurants, serving international, Italian and Asian cuisine. Gold Medal’s rate leads in from £103 per night, with breakfast. For something a little different,
families can try Why House, a boutique retreat of just eight rooms set among rural rice fields near Galle. Some suites can accommodate two extra single beds for kids, the large pool and walled garden create a perfect play space, and
while there is no official kids’ club, staff will often join in with games of football or cricket. There’s even a friendly pet dachshund to play with. A week’s B&B through Elegant Resorts starts from £2,225 departing September 8. Touring visitors can head two hours
ABOVE: Centara Ceysands
BELOW: Trapeze at Shangri-La Hambantota
from the international airport to the tranquillity of Rosyth Estate House, a 1926 colonial planters’ bungalow turned eight-room boutique. Located in the low tea country – with a heritage tea factory just 10 minutes away – and just over an hour from Kandy, it’s a great spot to start or end a tour. While it’s romantic during term time, with private dining for honeymooners, cooking classes and tea estate tours, in school holidays families are well catered for with interconnecting rooms and treasure hunts in the grounds. Half- board room rates with Travel Gallery start from £208 per night based on a three-night stay, including afternoon tea, a tea factory visit and either a spa treatment or cooking class. Within 40 minutes of Kandy, the Bougainvillea Retreat offers a home- from-home atmosphere – if your home happens to be a Tuscan-style house with a sweeping balcony and views of the Knuckles mountain range. There are eight guest rooms, with a ground-floor open-plan living and dining area with a pool table. The basement is a home cinema with a choice of more than 1,000 movies, and there’s a spa. Rates start from $222 with breakfast.
1 March 2018
travelweekly.co.uk 71
FAST FACT Sunset Faraway’s
top Sri Lanka sellers are Shangri-La Hambantota,Avani Kalutara and Amari Galle
PICTURES: MARKUS GORTZ; CENTARA HOTELS & RESORTS
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