Calamansi Cove: Be part of tomorrow’s tourists
I stayed in a room called Papaya at the Calamansi Cove Hotel. Each of the 11 other rooms are also named after fruits, with Pomelo and Passion being favourites because they are next to the swimming pool.
Cove to the letter: The small sheltered bay
But each one of the fruity rooms (Mango, Guava, etc., but no Durian) has a similar interior.
It’s the room exteriors that help put this new hotel in a class of its own. Calamansi Cove is so-named because of the calamansi fruit (a kind of citrus) that grows on the two-and-a-half acre property.
It is beside a picturesque curving beach where the sea is safe for swimming, and which fulfils the dictionary meaning of the word ‘cove’ – a small, sheltered bay.
That the cove remained undeveloped for so long is because only fishermen knew about it. It lies off the coastal road to Galle, after the 78km marker from Colombo, at the end of a winding, but sign-posted, lane before Balapitiya.
Its architecture and design reflect what its owners see as the future of tourism in Sri Lanka. Instead of multi-storied blocks of rooms for mass market visitors, this is a discreet retreat for discerning guests.
The feeling of entering somewhere different begins on arrival. A security guard opens the gate to a small car park. There is no door to the hotel, just an open lobby with a display cabinet of hotel items (like caps, umbrellas, coconut cutlery) that guests can buy, and a cushioned concrete bench to wait while checking in and being presented with a mixed fruit juice and a cold face towel.
A concrete slab pathway winds through the lush gardens of the property’s 12 accommodation units clustered in threes. They are too spacious to call rooms as I discovered when I opened the gate to Papaya and found myself in a garden, not a bedroom.
There was a tea/coffee making unit against one wall, a concrete day bed with plump mattress and cushions, and a small table for two (with ashtray to satisfy smokers) beside a lawn surrounded by high white painted walls and tropical foliage.
A door opened onto the bedroom and revealed an immediate ‘wow’ factor in two walls of floor to ceiling glass (curtains can be drawn for privacy) that flooded the room with light.
Modern and elegant: Stark white room with its secret garden
In the centre is a modern, wooden four-poster bed, draped with muslin, with a deeply comfortable mattress and four pillows and a view of the secret garden.
The floor is of wood and the furniture and fittings are wood too, with white-painted concrete bases.I counted nine power sockets at sensible locations in the room, which provides the modern traveller with lots of gadgets to charge is going to be very happy. WiFi is free too, anywhere in the property.
There is a refreshing elegance in the décor that continues in the glass-roofed bathroom with two kinds of showers and a further outdoor shower in the garden for diving in straight from the beach. Each room is on ground level and each has a roof top sun deck, which can double up as setting for a candle-lit dinner.
Many guest take their meals in their garden courtyards benefitting from the privacy and skilful landscaping of the space (by Dooland de Silva, the custodian and creator with Bevis Bawa of that iconic garden, Brief).
There is a ground level, open sided restaurant where the well-experienced chef, Sanath, excels in gourmet-style set meals, as rooms at Calamansi Cove are let on Full Board basis.
There is an a la carte menu for non-residents. Popular are fish and seafood dishes straight from the beach. Service by the young staff exhibits the genuine warmth of hospitality rather than an over-trained and formal attitude.
It’s a short walk from each room to the beach and the swimming pool. It was only when I looked back at the property from the beach that I realised how ruthlessly modern it is in its exterior design.
There’s a flying staircase leading to the second floor rooftop defined by huge diagonal beams painted white.Open to the elements, it needs blinds to keep out the rain.
The starkness of the white, right-angled walls embracing each room garden is very 21st century, complementing the contemporary seamlessness of the Calamansi Cove experience.
The property is managed by Jetwing, which gives a clue about its high standards. At present the target room rate is heavily discounted, so now’s the time to sample at an affordable price what tomorrow’s tourists can enjoy in Sri Lanka.
Calamansi Cove, Wijerama Road, BrahakmanaWatte, Balapitiya; http://www.calamansicove.com