The villa
Built on the hill, open to the garden
The house stands two storeys tall at the top of the hill, white-walled under a steep terracotta roof, broadly symmetrical, its main rooms turned to the garden and the tree line rather than the road. A deep veranda on round white columns wraps the ground floor; behind it, honey-teak shutters fold back so the rooms open onto it, and it opens in turn to the pool.
It sleeps eight across four bedrooms, each en suite, each with its own light through the day. At its centre is a double-height hall, open to the roof: a cathedral ceiling of teak rafters over terracotta boarding, a galleried teak landing running around it, and an open teak stair. The tall doors at the back open onto the garden and the green wall of jungle beyond.
The bedrooms
Four rooms, each with its own weather
Eight guests, four rooms, no bad one. Each opens to the garden or the pool, and each is named for the hour it belongs to or the green it looks onto.
The Canopy
King four-poster
The master, upstairs among the crowns of the kottamba trees. A teak four-poster against white walls, honey-teak shutters that fold right back, and a private terrace that takes the morning breeze off the bay. The bath beyond is pink terrazzo, brass and cane.
The Garden Room
King
Ground level, its full-height teak shutter-doors folding straight onto the lawn. The coolest room in the house, shaded by the trees it is named for, a few steps from the pool.
The Morning Room
Twin beds
East-facing, first to catch the sun through the teak louvres. Two beds that push together or stay apart: the room for children, or for friends travelling as one party.
The Evening Room
King
West and quiet, opening through teak shutter-doors onto its own stretch of terrace where the light goes gold before dinner. A king bed under a terracotta-tiled overhang, and the last of the day to yourself.
Amenities
What the villa holds
The pool and garden
- Green-stone infinity pool with a submerged bench
- Large garden under kottamba and frangipani
- Sun loungers and shaded day-beds
- Outdoor shower off the pool deck
- Four minutes on foot to Hiriketiya bay
In the villa
- Four en-suite bedrooms, sleeping eight
- Double-height living hall under a teak cathedral ceiling
- Air-conditioning and ceiling fans throughout
- Wifi across the house and grounds
- A kitchen equipped for the chef
Service and staff
- A private chef, three meals a day
- Butlers through the day
- Daily housekeeping and laundry
- A villa manager on hand
- Babysitting and extra staff on request
Getting here and about
- Airport transfers arranged from Colombo
- A car and driver on call
- Surfboard and equipment hire nearby
- Day trips and tables booked for you
- Market and grocery runs before you arrive
The table
Cooked here, from the markets
There is no menu, because there is no need for one. You tell your chef how you like to eat: heat or no heat, fish or no meat, the children's hour. He builds the days around that.
Most mornings begin at the Dikwella market, a few minutes up the road, where the day's fish comes off the boats and the vegetables are still warm from the ground. Breakfast is whenever you surface; dinner is on the veranda, usually as the light goes.
The staff
Looked after, not hovered over
The house comes fully staffed: a manager, butlers, housekeeping and your chef, most of them from villages within a few miles of the hill. They know the coast, the tides, the good doctor, the man who fixes boards.
The register is quiet. The days are yours to shape; the staff hold the frame around them. Meals appear, rooms right themselves, a car is ready when you are, and none of it turns your holiday into a performance.