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Hotel Sasantha g UESTHoUSE $$
(%227 5324; Bentota; s with/without air-con Rs
6350/4950, d with/without air-con Rs 6950/6350;
aiW) Shady gardens, traveller-savvy staff,
easy access to the northern part of Bento-
ta beach and an array of colourful rooms
make this a very popular place to drop your
backpack for a few days. You can walk to it
straight down the platform of Bentota train
station. Breakfast is included in the rates.
oShangri-Lanka Villa g UESTHoUSE $$$
(%227 1181; http://www.shangrilankavilla.com; 23 De Alwis
Rd, Bentota; s/d incl breakfast UK£60/70; aWs)
The peaceful, rural setting of this intimate
and beautiful boutique guesthouse, a kilo-
metre inland from the main road and beach,
means you fall asleep at night to the sound
of cicadas singing to the moon rather than
honking buses. The rooms are enormous,
the beds covered in pink and orange tropical
blooms, and there’s tasteful art on the walls.
The food and the service are as good as the
accommodation and the centre piece of the
garden is an immaculate pool.
oSaman Villas B oUTIQUE HoTEL $$$
(%227 5435; http://www.samanvilla.com; r US$600-980;
aiWs) We would love to tell you just how
incredible this place is, but the truth is that
there are no words to describe the sheer op-
ulence of this hotel complex. How opulent?
Well, some of the rooms have private swim-
ming pools – inside the bathroom!
If you prefer more communal swimming,
there’s also a heavenly infinity pool that merg-
es into an ocean horizon, and everywhere you
go, you will walk on flower petals. But the real
clincher is the setting: situated on the head-
land at the southern end of Bentota beach, the
sea views are simply overwhelming.
Nisala Arana B oUTIQUE HoTEL $$$
(%077 773 3313; http://www.nisalaarana.com; 326/1 Cir-
cular Rd, Kommala; d incl breakfast US$150-200,
houses US$464; aWs) For the ultimate in
gracious and exotic Sri Lankan living come
to this outstanding boutique guesthouse 3km
inland from the beach where everything is
easy living: egrets stand sentry by the pool,
butterflies flutter and rooms are packed with
beautiful dark-wood antique furnishings.
There are, however, an inordinate number of
mosquitoes at certain times.
Paradise Road –
The Villa B oUTIQUE HoTEL $$$
(%227 5311; http://www.villabentota.com; 138/18 galle
Rd; r incl breakfast from US$264; aiWs) Fab-
ulous and intimate boutique hotel decorated
in black-and-white zebra stripes and adorned
with karma-enhancing Tibetan Buddhist ar-
tefacts. Speaking of the Buddha, you can re-
cline like him on one of the oh-so-soft sofas,
swirl up the pool like a koi carp or just take
things easy with a pot of tea in the shade of a
garden pagoda.
Club Villa B oUTIQUE HoTEL $$$
(%227 5312; http://www.club-villa.com; 138/15 galle
Rd; half-board s/d US$231/275; aiWs) Ever
wondered what happened to the hippies
who bummed across Asia in the 1960s
and ’70s? Well, while some dropped out of
life completely, others went home and be-
came investment bankers, who now spend
their dollars reminiscing in hotels like this
Bawa-designed masterpiece.
From the tie-dye pillows and cushions to
the blissed-out Buddha and Shiva statues,
everything about this place reeks of hippy
chic. Even the giant catfish that haunt the
numerous ponds seem to cruise about in a
stoned state of permanent indolence.
Amal Villa B oUTIQUE HoTEL $$$
(%077 603 7541; http://www.amal-villa.com; galle Rd;
half-board s €70/75, d €80-85; aWs) This
beautifully maintained German-run villa and
hotel, which merges tropical vibes and central
European efficiency, is split into two, with
one beachside building and one landside one.
The simple rooms, full of pure white lines,
have views inland over the rice paddies or
poking out over the palms towards the sea.
The inland building has a gorgeous
swimming pool, but the beachside building,
which doesn’t have a pool, is more sheltered
from road noise (anyway it has direct access
to a really big pool otherwise known as the
Indian Ocean).
Wunderbar Hotel
and Restaurant H oTEL $$$
(%227 5908; http://www.hotel-wunderbar.com; galle Rd;
d incl breakfast from €75; aWs) In among the
surrounding luxury is this solid, much cheap-
er option that has spacious and well-thought-
out rooms with a taste for vaguely erotic art.
Some rooms have balconies with sea views,
and the pool is more inviting than many
others in town.
4 Induruwa
Long Beach H oTEL $
(%227 5773; http://www.longbeachcottageinduruwa.com;
550 galle Rd; tw Rs 2420; aW) The rooms might