Haputale: Relax amidst warm hospitality in cool climes
View(s):By Royston Ellis
Haputale has always been popular with discerning visitors since Thomas Lipton started his empire of tea plantations there in the 19th century. The town, perched at the edge of a chasm with a view over a patchwork of hills and valleys that seems to go on to the south coast, remains small and friendly. It has not sold out to tourism with cafés, juice bars and extortionate prices as has its neighbouring hill town of Ella. It retains its own identity with denizens who don’t look to tourists for survival.
In response to demand, however, bungalows have been turned into guest houses and some purpose-built hotels have sprung up too. Over 30 years ago when I stayed at High Cliffe, then a haven for backpackers in the town centre, beside the railway line, a bunk bed was Rs 7.00 a night.
Panoramic view from Leisure Mount View Holiday Inn
High Cliffe, now modernised and expanded, has relinquished its position as the top place to stay in Haputale to Leisure Mount View Holiday Inn, owned and run by E. P. Hashan Chamara, a nephew of High Cliffe’s owner. Hashan has learned a lot from his uncle about how to keep guests content and, as a result, has created a charming guest house unlike any other in Sri Lanka. He has applied his own ideas to make visitors happy, and the hundreds of comments in his guest book and online, show he has the magic touch of warm hospitality in what is often a cold climate.
Leisure Mount View is not a boutique hotel but it has a lot of the attributes of a boutique property: a unique swinging bed, solid brass hasp and staple with padlock securing crafted wooden bedroom doors, and open spaces where there should be walls. As with so many hotel properties in Sri Lanka, this one started small and without much planning.
First there was a guest room with a lounge built on the road level in the hillside below the bungalow where Hashan lives with his mother and sister. Then another floor of rooms was added, and another, until the property consisted of 10 rooms and a bright dining room overlooking the tea gardens and distant hills.
The view is beguiling and guests are enchanted by it as they lazily enjoy the buffet breakfast of fruit, breads and curries, serving themselves to locally grown tea prepared in the adjoining kitchenette. Hashan’s mother is the cook, working hard behind the scenes to make sure the food has an authentic Sri Lankan homemade flavour.
Each of the ten bedrooms is different but all overlook the same stupendous view. Hashan has introduced touches not found in other hotels or guest houses in Sri Lanka. For instance, there is no wall above the bathroom door so that condensation can escape and the air remains fresh. He observed guests often lost (or went away with) the room key, so he devised a much simpler method. The solid wooden doors of some rooms are secured by a padlock and hasp and staple, so if the key is misplaced, it’s a simple job to cut through the padlock instead of gouging out a mortise lock.
Leisure Mount’s unique swing bed
Another innovation I wonder why I have not seen elsewhere in Sri Lanka, is a swinging bed. This was Hashan’s idea and design, and he commissioned a local carpenter to make the bed out of a solid frame of teak and wrought iron. The mattress is supported on a wooden base that is suspended from the top of the bed so it swings guests to sleep. “This is our most popular room,” says Hashan with a smile “and its sturdy enough, even for honeymooners!”
Rooms on the upper floor open onto an informal courtyard in front of the original house. That’s where guests relax for afternoon tea or enjoy barbecues organised by Hashan on request in the cool of the evening. He takes the positive attitude that anything a guest wants can be arranged, while making sure not to interfere with guests’ privacy.
The success of this guest house seems to be due not just to the easy going charm of the staff, the comfort of the accommodation (one room features three, dinky four-poster beds for a family or friends), its cleanliness and view, but also to the modest price. “The room rate fluctuates in season, of course,” says Hashan, “but I try to keep it reasonable. The result is that we get well-travelled guests from around the world who love to stay here and treat it as their home in the hills.”
Because Leisure Mount View Holiday Inn is located above Haputale, just off the road to Adisham, it enjoys the luxury of peace as well as cool, fresh air billowing in from the valley. For me, it is the perfect place to retreat to and recover from the searing heat of the coast.
Leisure Mount View Holiday Inn, Temple Road, Magiripura, Haputale; tel: 057 2268327; www.leisuremountview.com.Double room rates from Rs 5,000.