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Nestled at the edge of Sri Lanka’s tea country, this is a fine blend of colonial-style architecture with Sri Lankan flavours.
A table next to the blank white wall is an odd design choice, I think to myself, as I walk into Thotalagala’s dining area, after a five-hour drive from Galle, Sri Lanka’s buzzy port town. It’s only when I get closer, do I realise that what looks like a whitewashed wall from afar, is a sheet of delicate evening mountain mist, gently making its way across the Agarapatana tea plantation. My butler Nabal leads me to my seat out on the verandah, and as if on cue, the mist parts to reveal an emerald-green valley of rounded, terraced hills and lush lakes below. The only sound for miles around is the pouring of tea into my cup, punctuated by distant peacock calls.
Dramatic as it may be, it’s a fitting welcome to Thotalagala, a quietly luxurious colonial tea planter’s bungalow-turned-boutique hotel in Sri Lanka near Haputale (roughly 200 km from Colombo) which boasts some of the island’s most magnificent views. Thotalagala was originally built in 1870, as the private home of the British planter who oversaw the estate. In the 90s, when plantation land began to be leased out by the Sri Lankan government, Thotalagala and the 17 acres that surround it became the property of owner Amrit Rajaratnam’s family. “I’ve spent my childhood hanging from trees and exploring all manner of flora and fauna here. Despite coming here for years, I never tire of this place. I may get older, but the views never do!” says Amrit, a Sri Lankan hotelier with a conservationist’s heart.
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Views notwithstanding, it’s the land’s storied past that attracts discerning travellers here. The area is often referred to as the birthplace of Ceylon Tea, as the estate itself was a division of Dambatenne Tea Factory, which was bought in the late 1880s by one Thomas Lipton. Lipton at the time was a moderately successful businessman in London and had made his way to Sri Lanka to buy tea estates for a line of tea he intended to launch. Dambatenne was one of five estates Lipton purchased, and it is here that Lipton built a factory and a home, both of which are still standing, along with his renowned tea empire.
While no factual evidence of Lipton himself staying at Thotalagala exists, it is assumed by locals that the tea moghul used the planter’s bungalow as a base while he set up his factory, grew the estate and built his house, as the area offers little else by way of accommodation. It’s easy to see why Lipton would want to spend hours here—once you manage to peel your eyes away from the fantastic displays of light and colour across the valley, you’ll notice the darling is in the details inside the house.
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Lovingly refurbished over two years by owner Amrit and Sri Lankan interior decorator Eranga Tennekoon (whose husband, Shehan Karunatilaka, incidentally, won the Booker Prize in 2022 for The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida), Thotalagala opened to the public in 2014, with original features like fireplaces and Burma teak panelling intact.
You can tell Thotalagala is a cherished space, it’s one that owner Amrit refers to as “his life’s work.” As a guest, it’s easy to see why. From decor to service, Thotalagala is made to feel as close to a home as possible. No fixed menus pervade the space, and private butlers offer superlative customised service that ranges from recommended specials of the day, offers to build bonfires, provide extra blankets and hot water bags, and even stir cocktails apart from tea cups, should the mood strike you.
The house earlier comprised four bedrooms, two sitting rooms and a central dining area, which now form the front of the property. During the renovations, Thotalagala was expanded to include three more suites and a large dining room.
No two rooms are alike here—each is named after a notable Englishman who helped develop Sri Lanka and celebrate the uniqueness of their namesakes. Apart from the Thomas Lipton suite—decorated with tropical wallpaper, Lipton Tea ads of yore and furnished with books about Sri Lanka’s tea culture—you can also choose to stay at the suite named after English scholar and poet Rev. Walter Senior, popularly known as the ‘Bard of Lanka’.
Thoughtful design flourishes in the suite include framed copies of his most famous poem Hymn for Ceylon and a still-working Remington typewriter, in case inspiration strikes during your visit. Other wonders include rooms named after pioneers such as James Taylor, a lesser-known individual who is believed to have brought tea from India to Sri Lanka. Polished wood floors, period furniture, chaise lounges and four-poster beds complete the colonial vibe that permeates through the space.
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The original gardens, studded with local flora and visited by monkeys, birds and an array of butterflies were designed in the 1960s by wilderness pioneer Sam Popham, who devoted more than 50 years of his life to restoring Sri Lanka’s dry zone jungle. The room named after him at Thotalagala is adorned with reproductions of hand-drawn illustrations of vegetation in the area.
Since its launch, the property has attracted discerning travellers and celebrities, all in search of exclusivity and anonymity the intimate getaway the home offers. The staff is tight-lipped about former guests but upon prodding, does mention some former heads of state and Hollywood connections. If you’re a homebody, you can spend your mornings perusing the unique selection of books in the home library that ranges from 1960s treatises on how to relax to thriller paperbacks. High Tea is a delicious affair of all manner of teacakes, finger sandwiches and local delights like dal vada and jackfruit buns. As the sun goes down, retire to the cigar room to enjoy a cocktail (or three) or cosy up under a blanket of stars by a bonfire in the outdoors.
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Should you wish to explore the area, the hotel can arrange for a guided village walk, a tour of the tea factory and a hike or a drive to Lipton’s Seat, Haputale’s famous tourist attraction and the second-highest point in Sri Lanka. Ol’ Lipton is believed to have favoured this spot to view his tea kingdom, thus inspiring the name.
I arrive at the vantage point after a short rickshaw ride up the winding terraced hills laced in mist. It’s just in time to watch the sunrise over the hills and witness the sky put on a show as hues of lilac, pink and orange dance across the vista, before finally turning blue. Up here in the clouds, I can’t help but feel a little like the Scottish tea baron myself, gazing at plantation land as far as the eye can see, dreaming up life’s many possibilities.
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