You can pluck leaves while having lunch
It was when I was toiling up the granite steps from a roadside car park to join a line of chattering tea pluckers bobbing along a track to a reception pavilion, that I wondered what I was doing. I had been enticed to visit the 98 Acres Resort & Spa by Druvi Gunasekara’s essential luxury accommodation guide “Boutiques In Sri Lanka.” I had not expected, however, to need the agility of a hill-climbing tea plucker to reach the hotel. “98 Acres?” It was more like “98 steps.”
The rustic chalets
When I had caught my breath, I realised this unusual boutique resort and spa in the tea highlands (just 2km from Ella railway station along the Passara Road) reminded me of an isolated resort in the Maldives. But instead of being surrounded by the Indian Ocean, it is set in a sea of tea. Tea grows up to the walls of the bedrooms, clings to the hillsides beside the swimming pool, and you could even lean out of the hotel’s remarkable restaurant pavilion and pluck leaves while having lunch.
Another similarity to a Maldives resort is that guests have to walk everywhere in the open, from room to restaurant to pool, so probably get drenched when it rains. However, the resort also has the seclusion of a Maldives island, and so is likely to be favoured by guests who really want to relax and enjoy the beauty of staying on a highland tea estate without being disturbed.
I guess that’s why people dropping in for a meal or a drink are required to park and climb, so resident guests aren’t troubled by rambling motor vehicles.
The restaurant is open to non-residents for lunch and dinner. Elegantly presented rice and curry being the preferred choice for lunch, is supported by a menu of local, international and Asian fusion dishes for dinner. The Executive Chef, Pradeep Fernando, has years of experience working in Colombo’s five-star hotels as well as on international cruise liners, so the cooking is reliable and prepared to suit
a steep climb to the resort
fastidious palates.
Guests reach the restaurant by climbing beautifully maintained steps of cut granite past the reception pavilion. A board indicates this is also the path to “Mini Adam’s Peak,” one of the many looming hills surrounding the estate. The restaurant itself is a masterpiece of architectural design using natural and recycled materials. It is open-sided with a high roof of illuk straw thatch supported by tree-trunk columns and with partitions fashioned from railway sleepers.
Rough hewn granite rock walls, local timber and railway sleeper furniture distinguish each of the 12 rooms, built in six compact chalet units. The Deluxe Rooms are special; spacious and with a huge bathroom (with massive stone bath tub) and polished timber floors and king size bed. They cost US$30 a night more then the Standard Rooms but seem so much better with their rustic Sri Lankan identity.
Standard rooms would suit guests who prefer a touch of city sophistication in this rural setting, with formal bathrooms and fittings. Potential guests should be aware that the chalets have two storeys, with separate accommodation on the lower and upper floors. They are grouped close together too, sharing magnificent views.
While the estate boasts 98 acres, only a few acres are dedicated to the hotel because the prime reason for its existence is tea. It was originally part of the Sutherland Estate of 188 acres of which 166 acres were devoted to growing the medium elevation Uva tea that is so distinctive in flavour. Tea is in evidence everywhere, from the cheerful tea pluckers working around the chalets, to the tea-leaf garnish on dishes in the restaurant.
At a lower level, overlooked by the restaurant pavilion, is a refreshing swimming pool and the resort also boasts a rustic designed spa. Other activities include organised trekking, archery, and even Sri Lankan cooking classes with the Executive Chef in the hotel kitchen.
There is a helipad to serve guests for charters for the sheer convenience of reaching there without having the long drive some 215km from Colombo. But the airport at Mattala is about 100km distance via Wellawaya. There is no on-site accommodation for drivers or guides.
98 Acres resort & Spa, Uva Greenland Estates, Passara Road, Ella; 057 2050050; www.resort98acres.com. Rates inclusive of service charge and taxes from US$180 bed & breakfast for two.