Six of the best: Stylish Sri Lankan stays

By Anthony DennisJan. 10, 2015, 12:15 a.m.

Stylish Sri Lankan stays.

Beachfront bliss: Twenty Three Palm is a lavish Dutch colonial villa designed for groups or families.

Beachfront bliss: Twenty Three Palm is a lavish Dutch colonial villa designed for groups or families.

Beachfront bliss: Twenty Three Palm is a lavish Dutch colonial villa designed for groups or families.

Beachfront bliss: Twenty Three Palm is a lavish Dutch colonial villa designed for groups or families.

The Royal Air Force, during the Sri Lanka-based south-east command in World War II displayed impeccable taste when it requisitioned this handsome, 17-room white-columned colonial manor house for the duration. Nowadays it's favoured by upscale tour operators for its proximity to Colombo's international airport, avoiding, for the sake of arriving guests, the extended and congested trip into unfancied Colombo. Considering its serene setting, its attractive rooms and its pavilion-style restaurant overlooking exquisite tropical gardens, it's a pity that most of those who stay at this delightful quasi-airport hotel do so for just a night before moving on. Doubles from $276 a night. See thewallawwa.com

A gorgeous, relaxed villa complex set in an even more gorgeous walled garden of lush tropical plants, Why House is a statement, not a question, in Sri Lankan style. The World Heritage-listed Galle Fort is a 15-minute drive with Wijaya beach a short stroll away but the oversized, palm-shrouded pool and shaded dining pavilion may keep you in-house for more of your time than you expected. One of the best features of the eight-room villa, consisting of two architecturally-designed main buildings and two cabanas, is Henrietta Cottam, Why House's warm and welcoming expat English manager, whose personality is nearly as a big as the property itself. Doubles from $387 a night. See whyhousesrilanka.com

A stunning, regulation white-washed, absolute beachfront villa, Twenty Three Palm is owned by the operators of nearby (and aforementioned) Why House. Inside the Dutch colonial-era main house are two master bedrooms, a junior suite and lavish living areas with soaring ceilings looking across an expansive lawn to the thunderous crashing waves of the Indian Ocean. Designed for groups or families, the villa comes with its own dedicated chef, a separate tea house by the sea and, of course, a mandatory swimming pool. Rates on request. See twentythreepalm.com

If you need a reason to visit Kandy Sri Lanka's somewhat under-loved de facto second city look no further than the more than 200-year-old Kandy House, perhaps the teardrop isle's quintessential colonial-era villa. At just nine spacious, antique-filled and TV-free rooms (each named after native Sri Lankan butterflies), the elegant Kandy House offers an almost meditative sense of seclusion. The gorgeous gardens, which lead to an infinity pool overlooking rice paddies, provide the perfect outlook for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Doubles from $295a night.See thekandyhouse.com

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Six of the best: Stylish Sri Lankan stays