Traditional hospitality in a modern setting
The mansion was built by a Sinhalese aristocrat and then became the official residence of the local representative for the P & O line that flourished in British-era Galle. Later it was a judge’s residence. Now it is called Tamarind Hill and has become an unusual hotel, one where guests are treated like welcome visitors to a splendid private country house.
While package tourists flock to the nearby beach hotels of the southwest coast, discerning independent visitors for whom the beaches of Sri Lanka are of minor importance, seek new refined experiences such as those that Tamarind Hill provides. It is off the tourist trail, down a track inland almost opposite the Lighthouse Hotel, and has no view, being inward looking to its own courtyard garden and surrounding woodland.
The approach is impressive: a grand building with access up steps to a gallery verandah with five graceful arches, topped with a balcony that serves the two upstairs suites, The Captain’s and The Admiral’s. It is furnished with ponderous screens, huge brass bowls, and exudes an air of cultured timelessness.
That’s not to put people off. Tamarind Hill is so large, the furnishings make a statement that is appropriate. The central parlour with its columns and broad sofas blessed with plump cushions leads to a huge dining room with a table set for 24 and dominated by a restored, brightly painted punkah. In olden days there would have been a punkahwallah employed to draw the punkah to one side with a cord and to deftly release it so the movement created a breeze to cool diners.
Today’s diners have a choice of eating informally in an open-sided dining space on one verandah, or sitting in style in an air-conditioned, glass walled verandah on the other side of the parlour. The space created by arches has been walled in with glass to create a contemporary style bar where drinks are served from white painted bookcases and the walls are decorated with regal wallpaper.
Service at Tamarind Hill is also modelled on the standards of a well-run country mansion. Every one of the smartly-saronged stewards seems ready to respond to guests’ requests with a smile and an easy confidence and pride in helping out. It’s refreshing that they don’t exhibit the structured response of mass-market hotel employees, and their enthusiasm is infectious.
There are 10 rooms built around a central garden courtyard. I stayed in the smaller of the two first floor suites, an enormous room with a bathroom that is bigger than most people’s apartments. I was particularly impressed with the thoughtful touches rarely encountered in hotels. There was a snack awaiting me when I arrived in the bedroom, of jaggery in a pot and two halves of wood apple with a spoon to scoop out the pulp. It was a delicious sweet and sour (and all natural) combination. Even the soap in the bathroom was presented naturally: on a leaf placed on a stone wedge.
Meals are prepared on demand at Tamarind Hill so everything is fresh. For dinner, I followed a lightly seared tuna fish salad with a scrumptious roast rack of lamb soaked in rosemary and accompanied by neatly cubed ratatouille. There was a humidor with cigars, good cognac, and ashtrays aplenty, something rare in hotels nowadays.
Tamarind Hill is so spacious that even when it is running with full occupancy, guests don’t overwhelm the ambience, or each other. It was a joy to find a cantilevered, infinity swimming pool extending into the verdant woodland just steps from the bedrooms, perfect for bathing in privacy or lounging with a book under a sunshade.
I got the impression that guests staying there create a holiday at their own pace. I met an Australian, recently retired and touring Sri Lanka, who had come for one night and was still at Tamarind Hill a week later. He said he was able to relax there without any distractions, while being courteously looked after in a manner he never dreamed possible.
That’s Tamarind Hill’s appeal; a comfortable, safe and cosy place to stay without the airs and graces of some modern boutique bungalow properties. The traditions of genuine hospitality remain, as though inherited from the mansion’s distinguished past. Now managed by Asia Leisure, Tamarind Hill delivers just that: impeccable leisure in a distinguished Asian setting.
Tamarind Hill, 288 Galle Road, Dadella, Galle; tel: 091 2226568; tamarindhill@asialeisure.lk; www.asialeisure.lk.