Resplendent Ceylon is at the top of Harper’s BAZAAR’s list of 70+ things to do in Sri Lanka.
We are excited to appear on Harper’s BAZAAR list of things to do in Sri Lanka! Here’s what Zac Fleming of Harper’s BAZAAR felt was so special about Resplendent Ceylon that he had to pen us down as a ‘must-experience’ collection of small, luxury resorts:
“Only three hotels in Sri Lanka are members of the prestigious Relais & Chateaux group, and they’re all owned by Resplendent Ceylon, the accommodation offshoot of Dilmah tea.
With Tea Trails in the mountains, Cape Weligama on the south coast, and Wild Coast at Yala National Park, these properties are dubbed tea, sea, and safari respectively. They are the way to see the best of what Sri Lanka has to offer nature-wise, and then retreat at night to the best it has to offer accommodation-wise.
Fly via sea plane through Cinnamon Air between the sites, not only because it’s faster and scenic, but because Sri Lanka’s roads, due to death-wish driving from locals, are very dangerous.
Head to Tea Trails first: Five renovated colonial tea planters’ bungalows in the heart of Sri Lanka’s stunning tea country, with the largest having just six rooms. Move between by hiking through the tea plantations with a stop for lunch on the way, or, of course, drive-you are on holiday, after all.
Then head on to the sea: Cape Weligama’s crescent-shaped infinity pool is nestled between two beaches and overlooks the Indian Ocean. Have a cocktail by it and marvel that there’s nothing between you and Antarctica, more than 6,000 miles away. The property is an incredible 12 acres and has massive rooms to match. Book the pool villa, and you can jump out of your room’s sliding bay window into your own private infinity pool. Don’t leave without booking a speedboat ocean safari to see blue whales.
Finally, hop down to safari: Wild Coast Tented Lodge is the closest you can get to actually staying inside Yala National Park, and (in our humble opinion) it’s possibly the most beautiful hotel in Sri Lanka. This is safari glamping chic done perfectly: The rooms, cocoons made with spaceship technology so the cold stays in and the heat out, are French canvas inside and richly textured with lots of exposed copper, teak, and leather. You’re so close to the park that animals regularly intrude, making this a truly wild stay—they’ve had monkeys in the ocean-facing infinity pool and elephants stick their trunks through the kitchen windows to nab pieces of fruit. See a leopard, sloth bear, elephants, and crocodiles on safari, followed by sundowners on their private beach. Enjoy dinner while you’re lapped by sea breeze in the open-air restaurant.
Want more? Resplendent Ceylon’s opening a fourth hotel at Sigiriya, the portal to Sri Lanka’s ancient cultural areas, next year.”
See what more Fleming had to say:
https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/travel-dining/g28721891/things-to-do-in-sri-lanka/
