A relaxed beachside holiday
Yasmin Cader, the doyenne of hotel public relations directors whose career helped the old Ceylon Intercontinental, the Hilton and the city’s Cinnamon Hotels to prosper, wrote to me recently: “With all your travels and experiences I wish you would put together an easy reference on where to stay on affordable budgets in the many hotels, boutique properties islandwide!”
On the Galle Road, on the beach: The open entrance to the hotel and inset a spacious bedroom
I understand her point when Sri Lankan hotels, without anything much to recommend them, are asking more than $250 a night for a couple. Unless the hotel is extravagant in character with lavish rooms, swish service, an enviable location, and has snob appeal (ok, cachet) then why should one pay top European prices to stay in what’s little more than a charmless tourist factory?
In this new series featuring places of good value, I aim to find hotels of a fine standard that uphold the Sri Lankan tradition of genuine hospitality at a fair price. What’s a fair price? Well, I could mention guest houses on the beach at Bentota that even in season are offering rooms for Rs. 2,500. They might suit young backpackers but if you want a few days’ break in a respectable milieu, a rate up to US$100, bed & breakfast for two, seems reasonable.
However, the price of a room depends on how you make your reservation. The rate quoted by local hotels can often be bettered by going online and booking through an agency. The online booking agencies are also more efficient than the hotels themselves as they will quote you a room rate 
instantly, instead of you having to wait for the hotel reservations department to respond to an email (which they rarely bother to do).
Another secret of securing a bargain rate is to leave booking the room until the last moment, even the same day that you want to stay. That’s when hotel managers know how many rooms they have vacant; and a vacant room is a loss-maker so you might be able to get it close to cost price, and without the booking agent’s commission.
The recently opened Whispering Palms Hotel in Induruwa is an ideal affordable, good value hotel. For a start, it looks stunning. Its entrance gate is kept open throughout the day (unlike most beach hotels) so passersby can see from the Galle Road right through to the ocean. It’s a captivating view that promises beachside holiday relaxation.
The exterior of the hotel is architecturally splendid with traditional clay kabook brickwork and local jak timber. Such a contrast to the ugly cement palaces that are walling off the beaches along the west and south coasts, looking more like forbidden prisons than enchanting hostelries. The design of Whispering Palms is simple: two wings with soaring roofs, fronted by an enticing swimming pool and open to the beach.
The northern wing has an upstairs gallery restaurant while the ground floor is dedicated to reception, a bar and a generous terrace stretching to the beach, sheltered by its high roof and shadowed by, yes, whispering palms. The southern wing houses the rooms spread over three floors (no lift) with an allowance for 15 rooms although they are not all in operation yet.
Innovative fare: The stuffed snake gourd dish
The ground floor rooms face the swimming pool and the beach, although their verandas are fenced off with wooden railings so guests can’t simply walk out from their rooms to the pool. Upstairs, each room has a broad balcony with views of the Indian Ocean and comparative privacy, although the wall between balconies is scalloped so you can peep over the wall and chat to neighbouring guests.
The décor of the bedrooms (all spacious) is sensible, not boutique elaborate, but boutique in style with clean lines and simplicity: chunky wooden furniture, kingsize bed with crisp linen and plump pillows, with a private dressing area and a super bathroom with walk in rain shower. The impression is of modest good taste and comfort.
This is a genuine beach hotel and guests don’t have an obstacle course of security guards, fences and gates to go for a stroll along the glorious sand. Swimming is not advisable from the beach, but the hotel’s swimming pool, with drinks service to hand, makes up for that. The menu features both Sri Lankan and Western favourites, with some innovative specials, such as “Savoury stuffed snake gourd with hollandaise sauce, gratinated with cheese and served with a side salad.” The salad turned out to be a crisp and nutty coleslaw. Great at Rs 500.
With its garish sign painted on the hotel wall declaring “rooms, bar & restaurant,” Whispering Palms is easy to find on the Galle Road, between the 65km and 66km posts. It’s informal, fun and – at around Rs. 13,000 double, B&B per night, even with the 10% service charge and 12% tax that has to be added – is good value indeed.
Whispering Palms Hotel, Induruwa; tel: 034 2275181 www.whisperingpalmshotel.com