The best part of Sri Lanka just got a stunning new hotel
When the Australian cricket team finished a day’s play against Sri Lanka in Galle in February, they came for a well-earned break at the Radisson Collection hotel, fives miles down the seafront.
They liked it so much that when they won the series a few days later, they returned to celebrate into the early hours of the morning.
”They were a very nice bunch,” hotel manager Xavier Masson tells City AM. “They even brought the trophy along.”
It’s easy to see why they liked it. The property, which has been open since the end of January, has a prime spot on Sri Lanka’s southern coast, the island’s most in-demand part, with the best beaches, surfing and snorkelling. And this new property literally could not be closer to the ocean.
For the four days I was staying there, my only concern was that an overripe coconut might fall from the palm trees overhead and smash my mojito. On closer inspection, the trees had been harvested. I could indulge without fear.
Although Radisson is more well known for its business hotels, the company has been pushing to expand into the luxury market since the launch of its Collection Brand in 2018. There are 38 properties worldwide, although the majority are in Europe. This is the first in south-east Asia and the pacific.
Sri Lanka’s famous tea plantations are walkable from the property
The hotel has 106 rooms split across 11 different categories, ranging from plush to mega-luxury ‘The Hangover’ style penthouse suite (my labels, not theirs). I was staying in a deluxe room, which sells it short. This was an apartment, complete with a spacious indoor seating area, a dining table and even a powder room if you end up entertaining guests.
All of the rooms are decked out in relaxing white Italian marble. Every room in the property has a seaside view, except for the gym. This has views over the countryside behind the hotel (so I’m told, I didn’t make it myself). The only downside is that the ocean is actually too choppy in front of the property for it to be safe to go swimming.
If you want to go in the sea, the best option is Unawatuna beach, ten minutes down the coast. This offers snorkeling, surfing and scuba diving. The Radisson isn’t the only property in the area with a good view of the sea and a gym, but it does bring some new offerings to the area.
First is the truly exceptional seafood. There are two restaurants in the hotel, both of which specialise in fruits from the sea (ok, fish). The first, Namikaze, specialises in Japanese food, although it also offers cuisine from across Asia. A Michelin starred chef consultant was flown in from Dubai to train the team for two weeks in the arts of Japanese cuisine, and it showed. The sushi was divine, and I had always thought I didn’t like sushi much.
Still, you get the sense that the staff take more pride in The Catch. Here guests can choose from a range of fish, freshly caught each morning, which are laid out for your inspection on an open counter. Guests can then select from a range of cooking styles and choose the sauces to go alongside. Dining here is described by the hotel as an ‘interactive dining experience’… also known as a menu.
I went for a red snapper cooked Sri Lankan style, which meant it had a deceptively spicy black pepper sauce. I didn’t realise I was sweating until I put my fork down. The second selling point is the bar. Galle is traditionally a fairly quiet place. A book about the city in the hotel lobby is called As Quiet As Asleep, for instance, but the bar in the Radisson Collection is open until 1am, complete with DJ decks and mixologists.
Outside the main hotel building there’s also the Taboo beachside cocktail bar. This is where our Australian cricket friends were luxuriating in their triumph just a few weeks before. Masson, a Frenchman I met who works at the property, proudly tells me that the hotel boasts one of the biggest wine cellars in Sri Lanka, with 800 bottles.
Excellent food, good drink and fantastic views. Why would you ever leave? Well, if you can draw yourself away from the view there’s plenty to explore in the area. Galle Fort, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is just a 20 minute drive down the coast. It’s a perfectly preserved walled town, built by the Dutch in the 17th Century after expelling the Portuguese from the area.
You can walk down every street in the old town in the space of an afternoon, and there are plenty of charming cafes, restaurants and shops. Turn inland from the hotel, and the Handunugoda Tea Estate is an interesting spot for tea lovers. Sri Lanka is famous for its tea, but this plantation specialises in something quite unique.
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Supposedly, in ancient China, white tea would be produced for the emperor without it ever having touched human hands. On the emperor’s command, virgins would head out into the plantation and snip the leaves into a golden bowl, using golden scissors.
Herman Gunarathne, a master tea-maker, has brought back this technique, although virginity is no longer a requirement for his pickers. “If my friends thought I was chasing immaculate women to pick my tea, they would think I had bats in the belfry,” he said.
Still, he insists on the absence of human contact. The pickers walk the plantation with a similar pair of golden scissors, painstakingly snipping the leaves into golden bowls. The tea is supposed to be amazingly healthy. An analysis done by Swiss boffins showed that it had more naturally occuring anti-oxidants than any other drink tested so far.
It was true, the tea tasted like clean leaving, but I was on holiday! In Sri Lanka! Give me sushi and Sri Lanka’s largest wine cellar any day.
Double rooms start from £178 in low season; from £307 in high season. To book go to radissonhotels.com or email info.galle@radissoncollection.com.
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