Kurulu Bay

Style

Rapt in nature

Setting

Calming Koggala Lake

‘Kurulu’ is Sinhalese for bird island — a fitting description for the tree-shaded pocket of peace that is Kurulu Bay. This boutique hotel, on the shores of Koggala Lake, slows the tempo with lo-fi days. A garden-gazing treehouse is your retro, romantic roost; you can swoop in for locally sourced sustenance at the hotel restaurant from noon till night, and yoga, spa treatments and a choice of pools mean there’s little cause to fly the nest.

Facilities

Rooms

15, including eight suites.

Checkout

11am, and check-in is from 2pm. Both are flexible, subject to availability and you’re welcome to use the hotel facilities if you arrive early or need to hang around after check-out.

More Details

Rates at Kurulu Bay include an à la carte breakfast with options including smoothies, granola, pancakes, eggs how you like them and avocado toast.

Also

Garden Suites are suitable if you have limited mobility — set close to the pool, restaurant and lobby — but are not specifically adapted for wheelchair users.

Free Internet Access

Laundry

Pool

On-Site Restaurant

Room Service

Spa

At the Hotel

Yoga shalas and free WiFi throughout. In rooms: air-conditioning, ceiling fan, minibar, Smeg kettle and a selection of local, loose-leaf teas, free glass-bottled water, bathrobes and slippers, and handmade local bath products.

Our Favourite Rooms

Treehouses are a secluded choice for peace-seeking couples with an elevated position that gives you pleasing panoramas of Koggala Lake. Garden Suites put you closer to the action, nearer the pool and restaurant. Of the four cottages, we love the modern, one-bedroom cottage for its standout bathroom and sprawling terrace. For families or a group of friends, a pool-crowned two-bedroom villa, tucked away on a hillside, is the stellar option.

Poolside

Despite its serene beauty, Koggala Lake is not a place to swim, but the hotel’s duo of dipping spots more than compensate. The main pool beside the restaurant puts you at the heart of the action, with a sunlounger-lined deck, lake views peeping through the trees and pool service to keep you fed and watered. The upper pool in the grounds is a quieter spot for solitary laps. Book the Two-Bedroom Villa to secure a plunge pool of your own.

Spa

Ayurvedic principles inform even manis and pedis at Kurulu Bay, where the modest size of the spa — with one treatment room, a relaxation terrace and outdoor spa pool — belies the impressive range of therapeutic options. Signature treatment, the Kurulu Calm massage boosts body and mind by targeting areas of tension; hot bundle therapy is here for your aches and pains; and a Marna Points healing session is said to benefit hormones, energy levels and more. Yoga, however, is the star of the show, with indoor and outdoor shalas that have some of the hotel’s finest views of the lake: there are drop-in classes weekly, or private sessions can be arranged, and the hotel provides mats and pillows. Spa hours are 11am until 8pm daily.

Packing Tips

Respectful threads for temple visits, slides for padding around the gardens, and your floatiest plain separates or A-line dresses to honour the simplicity of your surroundings.

Also

Kurulu Bay has a calendar of restorative retreats across the year, bringing together a yoga programme with mindful downtime, spa therapies and healthy eating.

Children

Welcome although not particularly catered to: the Two-bed Villa sleeps up to four; one child can sleep on an extra bed in the Cottages or Garden Suites, and with 24 hours’ notice, babysitting can be arranged at extra cost.

Gallery

Food & Drink

Top Table

Outlying tables that spy the garden bring double the charm — for their views, but also their intimate setting.

Dress Code

Kurulu Bay is too laidback to have any formal requirements, but zhuzhing up plain linen or cotton pieces with statement jewellery for evening feels appropriate for the finessed dining on offer here.

Hotel Restaurant

High-quality local ingredients are king at the Kitchen — Kurulu Bay’s all-day dining spot, which spotlights sea-to-table cuisine with a good selection of vegetarian options too. In keeping with the hotel’s minimalist aesthetic, menu details are scant, bringing a sprinkle of pleasure when a lean description such as ‘grilled zucchini, miso, herbs’ translates into a colourful work of art, topped with tweezered edible flowers. Mains such as griddled mahi mahi and a richly spiced prawn curry are the showstoppers, but failing to leave room for chef’s flourless chocolate cake or tropical-fruit pavlova can only bring regret…

Hotel Bar

An extension of the Kitchen, Kurulu Bay’s watering hole is a sociable poolside spot where you can work your way through the list of cocktail classics, soundtracked by birdsong and occasional splashes: you could opt for a margarita, Campari spritz or a Manhattan, but for the full, immersive experience, develop a fondness for arrack sours.

Last Orders

The Kitchen at Kurulu Bay is open daily from 8am until 10pm, and serves breakfast until 11am.

Room Service

There’s an option to take all or any meals in the comfort of your own room or terrace, following the Kitchen’s menus, from 8am until 10pm daily.

Planes

Colombo’s Bandaranaike International Airport is around two-and-a-half hours away by road; the hotel can arrange private transfers from US$150 each way.

Trains

Services from Kathaluwa station, less than two kilometres from the hotel, can take you by rail to Galle and Colombo, and hotel staff can arrange transfers from US$20 each way.

Automobiles

Driving in Sri Lanka can be challenging — this and the relatively low cost of public transport means there’s little call to have your own set of wheels. You can, however, hire cars and scooters at the airport and there’s free parking at the hotel.

Worth Getting Out of Bed For

Lo-fi days at Kurulu Bay centre around yoga: join one of the weekly calendar of group classes, or arrange a private session; for longer stays, the hotel runs a series of yoga retreats. The serenity of your shoreside setting on the banks of Koggala Lake is your prompt to take a boat tour, and visit one of its islands to learn about cinnamon production, or focus your binoculars on some of the lake’s rich birdlife. Nearby 19th-century Buddhist temple Kathaluwa Purwaramaya, decorated with intricate, coloured murals, is also a feast for the eyes. And towards the coast, Ahangama is one of Sri Lanka’s favoured surfing spots. Sipping a beer in the shade, watching fishermen perched on wooden stilts in the shallows, is another of this coastline’s memorable spectacles. The hotel can arrange a number of chauffeured outings, too: tour a turtle hatchery, head out from MIrissa to go whale watching (November to April), or visit the fortified city of Galle.

Earn or Redeem Points with World of Hyatt

This Mr & Mrs Smith hotel participates in the World of Hyatt loyalty program. As a member, you can earn and redeem points and enjoy exclusive benefits for qualifying nights. .