The 10 best Hotels for Honeymooners in Sri Lanka

I’m at that point in my life when so many of my friends are getting married and planning their honeymoons… So a question I get asked often is ‘where is the best place to go on honeymoon?’ Personally, I think it’ll be just as amazing to travel around Sri Lanka as it is to go abroad… and cheaper too!

So here’s a list of my top 10 personal picks in Sri Lanka for honeymooners:

Ulagalla

This by far is hands down the most amazing hotel that I’ve been to in Sri Lanka. Located in Thirippane, close to the ancient city of Anuradhapura, Ulagalla has a traditional vibe mixed with modern comforts. Each villa room is hidden away and offers a panoramic view of the surrounding greenery. It also comes with a living room area, a deck and your own private plunge pool…!!!

The oil lamp that you light as you check in...

The villa, the deck and the plunge pool

Maya

A touch less extravagant when compared to Ulagalla, Maya is located in a little town called Beliatta which is close to Tangalle. It is on this list because of its simple and elegant charm. It is a beautifully restored old colonial style bungalow that is a great place to just relax and enjoy the breeze… The large garden at Maya ends with a paddy field… so it looks like the garden is endless…!

One of the lounge areas

The infinite garden...

Tea, cake and a light breeze = perfection.

Hunas Falls

This one’s the most popular hotel for Sri Lankan Honeymooners! A soon to be 'Small Luxury Hotel', the main attractions at Hunas Falls is the cosy weather, the scenery and the waterfall hidden behind the hotel… It’s located close to Kandy but away from the hustle and bustle of the city. It’s perfect for nature lovers…

The waterfall...

How about a romantic boat ride?

Aditya

If the beach is what you’ve got your eye on, Aditya Resort in Galle is what I’d recommend…! Each Suite at Aditya has it’s own unique layout and décor… and of course, they all have private plunge pools…!

A private plunge pool with an amazin view!

One of the suites...

Kandy House

The Kandy House is a 200-year-old manor house which was built by the last Chief Minister of the Kandyan Kingdom. It was restored to become an award winning boutique hotel that maintains its old school elegance but with modern comfort for guests.

Old school elegance...

The infinite pool...

Jetwing Vil Uyana

A property that’s similar to Ulagalla, Vil Uyana also has chalet type rooms called dwellings that are on stilts and placed within paddy fields. Each of them have private plunge pools as well. Whether you call it eco-living or rural simplicity… Vil Uyana is an ideal place for your honeymoon!

A dwelling on stilts...

Warwick Gardens

Another property done by Jewting Hotels, Warwick Gardens takes you back to the colonial era when the British Planters used to run the tea estates…  This very cosy property in located close to Nuwara Eliya and is surrounded by tea estates and lush mountains. The view is amazing.

The living area

The cozy bedroom

The view from the garden

The Wallawwa

Located very close to the Katunayake airport, the Wallawwa is ideal for your first day in Sri Lanka to rest after a long flight. This too is an old colonial home with a modern twist. My favourite feature is the pool!

The poolside at the Wallawwa

Leopard Safaris

This one is a very different option to the others on the list. Leopard Safaris provides luxury tented camping in the jungle. If you want a unique honeymoon, this is what I’d suggest! They offer two campsites, one at the Yala National Park and the other at the Wilpattu National Park. It is a truly exceptional experience.

Dining under the stars at the Campsite

Tamarind Hill

This is one of my all-time favourites…! Yet another old colonial manor house turned boutique hotel in Galle, Tamarind Hill is so relaxed and airy with its open spaces and its lovely courtyard…

The living area

The courtyard - my favourite!

As usual, I had to cut down my list of around 20 hotels to the top 10 so as to not bore you! So don’t limit yourself to this list… there are many other good properties out there. These are just my personal favourites!

If you’re planning on having your honeymoon in Sri Lanka, get in touch and I’ll help you out!

4 Day Weekend

I’ve said this before, and this wouldn’t be the last time; I love being in the tourism industry because I get to travel and experience a variety of things all the time. A few weeks ago, I had to check out some hotels down south and on the East Coast. So I planned a four day weekend where I would travel along the south coast, cut across to the east coast and end up in the jungle. 

Ever since the Southern Expressway opened up, I haven’t been taking the coastal route down south because it takes 3 times as long to get to Galle. But I do miss the old road, which is much more scenic and interesting. Day one on my four day weekend wasn’t too exciting because I had a lot of hotels, villas and bungalows to inspect along the way. Some were horrible, some were mediocre and some were very interesting because of their great locations, unusual architecture and unique interior. I find that most of the beach hotels and villas that I visit have a very similar design and theme. That is why I love it when I find ones that are a complete contrast to the norm.  I also got to see some nice private beaches that day. One of those that stood out was the beach in front of Villa Maggona [a very comfortable and private villa with great staff]. It was a wide stretch of beach and there were no other people to be seen. It was the kind of beach you see pictures of in glossy travel magazines.

The Beach front at Villa Maggona

The poolside at Roman Lake

Roman Beach poolside in Hikkaduwa

The bar at Roman Beach

The living area at Tamarind Hill

The bar at Tamarind Hill

Day two of my 4 day weekend was far more interesting. We drove from Tissamaharama to Arugambay via Monaragala. The road was amazing. It’s one of my favourite drives in Sri Lanka. There were hardly any other vehicles on the road and the lush jungle on either side made us feel as if we were on safari! We even got to stop and watch an elephant that was peacefully having his breakfast on the side of the road. Although it had been a rainy couple of days the sky was a bright blue with fluffy white clouds scattered across it. 

The empty road and the crisp blue sky

The elephant we saw on the way

A very scenic route

Another interesting feature on this stretch of road is the migration of butterflies towards Adam’s Peak. This occurs at the start of the Adam’s Peak pilgrimage season which goes on from December to May. This mountain, the tallest in Sri Lanka is also known as Samanala Kanda [Butterfly Mountain] because of the thousands of butterflies that make their way towards it during the season. On our drive to Arugambay, we saw hundreds of butterflies crossing the road and flitting towards the hill country as well as dozens of small birds waiting on the other side of the road to swoop down and grab a quick and easy butterfly snack.

We got to Arugambay in time for lunch at one of the small restaurants on the ‘A-bay Stretch’, a small surfing village version of the Vegas Stretch! It is a little known fact that Arugambay is one of the world’s top 10 surf spots. It is a gem, hidden away from the spotlight with an amazing beach and great surf vibe. The surf season starts at around June and goes on till around the end of September. This is the best time to be there as the small town is alive and buzzing with surfing enthusiasts from all over the world. Alternatively, if you visit during the off-season, you would find a quiet town that waits with baited breath, counting down the days till the season comes around again. There would still be plenty to see however because the area is also popular for wildlife and bird watching. Unfortunately our afternoon on the beach was dampened because of the rain and we couldn’t even take a dip in the sea.

A-bay Beach

A surf shop and our lunch spot on the stretch

A few surfers were still around even though the season was over

The next day, we had delicious hot paratas for breakfast and a tea made with condensed milk at a small restaurant on the side of the road called Makkal Hotel [not really a hotel!] in Pottuvil and made our way back towards Tissa.

The guy who made our tea and the parata guy at Makkal Hotel

The front view of our breakfast stop and our yummy breakfast

Which way to Monaragala again?!

After checking out a few more hotels in the area, we made our way towards Yala National Park and got into the Kulu Safaris Jeep that took us to our luxury campsite inside the park. The weather wasn’t that great when we were on safari that afternoon and even though we got thoroughly soaked, we didn’t give up and head back to camp. Instead we soldiered on; keeping an eye out for whatever animal that would cross our path. I was hoping to see a sloth bear, because I have not encountered one in years. But we seemed to be out of luck as all we saw that day were a few elephants, wild boars, buffalo, some birds and leopard pad marks.

The pool at Chaaya Wild, Yala

The view from a cabin at Chaaya Wild

Our Kulu Safaris camp site

Lunch, luxury camping style!

Leopard pad marks

Baby, it's a wild world

I wasn’t disappointed though, because the campsite, the food and being in the wild made up for what I missed out on while on safari. Just being outdoors is enough to get me excited and think about how it really is a wild world out there….