The Wallawwa, Sri Lanka

Our last stop before heading to Maldives (see Ceylon Tea Trails and Cape Weligama recaps). After meandering through the narrow and busy streets near Colombo, we weren’t sure we had arrived at the correct address when the driver pulled up. In front of us there was a hidden path amid the cityscape, right off a very busy road that took us to our final destination in Sri Lanka: The Wallawwa.

Our flight to Maldives was early in the morning, so Mr & Mrs Smith recommended this gem. The Wallawwa is to many a last stop before heading to the airport, or first night after a long flight, but we loved it as a destination in itself. We were amazed by this hotel, and quickly regretted not booking at least two nights here to full enjoy the grounds.

We stayed at the The Mountbatten Suite, which is the only room with a private pool, two bedrooms and a living room. Definitely worth considering if you’re traveling with another couple or as a family with children. Mr & Mrs Smith has a section for all hotels about children, but if you’re looking for a dedicated family-friendly hotel we recommend bookmarking their sister site Smith & Family. There’s nothing but benefits from creating a free account with them to book your honeymoon and future trips, but I will let you read all about it.

The Wallawwa was originally an old colonial mansion that has been restored into a hotel. Its grounds have a vegetable garden from which fresh meals are prepared with. We loved the complete sense of peace and quiet despite being so close to Colombo. It’s an amazing place if you are traveling with children too. We traveled with our 20 month old, but we also saw many parents with kiddos there too.

It’s a 15 minute drive to the airport, half hour to Negombo if you’re looking for a day trip and about 3 hours to Kandy if you’re headed north. If you’re more of a laying by the pool type, the gardens at The Wallawwa offers jaw dropping gorgeous 200 year old shade trees throughout. The shop has great finds and many things we saw at Galle were available through the boutique, with very reasonable price tags to boot. We stocked up on gifts here 🙂