Lunuganga Estate

Style

Bawa power

Setting

Lakeside gardener’s world

A sprawling lakeside estate with gardens so good they attract daytrippers, Lunuganga Estate is the life’s work of starred architect Geoffrey Bawa, who transformed this disused rubber plantation in coastal south-west Sri Lanka. A series of standalone buildings dotting the grounds now serve as luxe suites that celebrate Bawa’s legacy with antique furnishings and original features. Yet this is a hotel that cossets with modern comforts, too, including a fine restaurant, predictably impeccable service and days out touring Gallé Fort, paddling the wetlands or taking a seaplane tour in search of whales.

Facilities

Rooms

Nine

Checkout

Noon; earliest check-in, 2pm.

More Details

Rates include breakfast.

Also

Unfortunately, Lunuganga Estate is not wheelchair accessible. Butler service is available to guests who book exclusive use of either Cinnamon Hill (two rooms) or the trio of bedrooms at Ena House – the latter also comes with private dining for group stays.

Laundry

On-Site Restaurant

Room Service

At the Hotel

Restaurant, lounge. In rooms: free WiFi (except in Ena House and Cinnamon Hill), cable TV, free tea & coffee, free bottled water, Green World Ceylon bath products.

Our Favourite Rooms

Three-bedroom Ena House, set around a Frangipani-crowned courtyard, full of antiques and art and strewn with Ena da Silva batiks, is hard to top – especially considering it was moved here brick by brick from Colombo. Of the rooms for two, sheer size and a private walled courtyard make the Gallery Studio Suite top of the pops, although the portico-topping Glass House and beautifully beamed Gate House are characterful runners-up. If proximity to food and WiFi is your priority, go for the Main House Studio.

Poolside

An infinity pool overlooking the lake is in the process of being built, putting guests staying at Cinnamon Hill in pole position for a dip in the peaceful surroundings of the garden.

Packing Tips

Gossamer-light sleeves and longs for candlelit dinners alfresco; your widest-brimmed hat for saunters around the garden; beach attire for days at the coast.

Also

A guided tour of the garden is the only way to fully understand Lunuganga Estate’s brilliance – which you can compare and contrast to Brief Garden down the road, the work of Geoffrey’s landscape-architect brother Bevis.

Children

Welcome. The restaurant has a children’s menu. Multi-bedroom Cinnamon Hill and Ena House are ideal for families, if booked exclusively, and an extra bed for kids can be added to the Gate House, Cinnamon Hill and Ena House.

Gallery

Food & Drink

Top Table

Terrace tables with uninterrupted lake views take top spot.

Dress Code

Flowing dresses, flared pants and floaty sleeves suit the unhurried, glamorous vibe at Lunuganga.

Hotel Restaurant

There’s a wholesome simplicity to the menu on offer at the hotel’s terrace restaurant; chef focuses on Sri Lankan cooking done well in dishes such as mutton cutlets, coconut and mustard fish curry and grilled barramundi. Dine at blue-clothed tables on director’s chairs indoors or on the terrace, where two curlicued frangipani trees, grafted Bonsai-style, create a dramatic focal point against a backdrop of Lunuganga’s paddy field and the lake beyond. For an added dose of romance, a candlelit private dinner in the grounds is available by arrangement.

Hotel Bar

There’s no bar as such but make sure you know where to head for sundowners at tree-fringed Gin and Tonic Place.

Last Orders

No place for strict timetables, the restaurant is open for distinct periods covering breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner. Though, complimentary tea and coffee is served between 3.30pm and 4.30pm.

Room Service

Distance from the main hotel makes room service at Ena House or Cinnamon Hill impractical, but the latter has a kitchenette where you can store drinks and snacks.

Planes

Bandaranayake International Airport is less than two hours by road from Lunuganga Estate. The hotel can arrange private transfers from US$120 each way.

Trains

It’s an 80-minute rail trip from Colombo to Aluthgama with several services a day. The hotel can arrange transfers to and from Aluthgama, costing US$20 each way.

Automobiles

There’s free parking for guests within the hotel grounds.

Worth Getting Out of Bed For

Bentota’s coastal belt is a patchwork of rice paddies, coconut plantations and cinnamon estates, edged by powder-sand beaches including boulder-strewn beauty, Balapitiya. Snorkelling, windsurfing and kite-surfing can all be enjoyed from its shores. This stretch of south-westerly coastline provides nesting grounds for Sri Lanka’s five species of marine turtles and a turtle hatchery there is open to visitors. Inland, tour fauna-rich wetlands with a boat tour of the Madu Ganga river estuary. Visit Geoffrey Bawa’s brother’s estate, Brief Garden: landscape architect Bevis’s design is made striking with ornate archways, eye-catching sculptures and murals. Back at Lunuganga, chef can take you on a culinary tour, guiding you as you create Sri Lankan curries and rice, with the fruits of your labours for lunch afterwards. In the company of a fourth-generation puppeteer, discover Sri Lanka’s puppetry heritage in Balapitiya with a museum tour and puppet show. Enjoy a half-day art tour covering batik, puppetry and mask-making in and around Ambalangoda, including a visit to an art-adorned 18th-century monastery. The hotel can also arrange for a local guide to take you on a tour of Gallé Fort. Between December and April, it’s whale watching season: catch sightings of dolphins, orca and elusive blue whales with a private catamaran tour or from the air on an authorised charter.

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. .