The Kandalama , an eco friendly hotel, designed by Geoffrey Bawa.

If, on your tour of Sri Lanka, you are visiting Sigiriya, Dambulla or Polonnaruwa (or all three as we did) you could do worse than stay at the Kandalama, a 5* eco resort with a difference. This, somewhat unusual, hotel was designed by Sri Lanka's most famous architect, Geoffrey Bawa (the brother of Bevis Bawa, whose tranquil Brief Gardens can be visited near Bentota and Beruwela).

As we drove up to the open foyer, we had no idea of what to expect. We were greeted by a charming, sari clad lady who led us along a corridor, hewn out of rock, to a seating area overlooking an infinity pool, the Kandalama tank (lake), and flat plains surrounded by hills. We could see Sigiriya rock in the far distance. We sipped our ice-cold tropical fruit juices but also drank in the view. It was impressive. All around us there were butterflies and birds of every description.

Our room was also a surprise. Decorated in neutral colours it had beautiful but plain wooden floors, crisp white bed linen, and a balcony draped in green vines. You could not call it luxurious but it was calm and tranquil. It was said that the design was inspired by a hermit's cave. This hermit obviously had a T.V. mini bar and ultra efficient air conditioning! The bathroom was black and white and modern. Like many hotels in Sri Lanka it had a shower but no bath. There were modesty curtains over the bottom half of the full-length clear windows. There were eco friendly soaps and shower gels. Eco friendly writing paper could be found in the bedroom. Guests were advised that their rubbish was sorted and that the money raised paid for two full time employees to do the recycling. We tried to find a vase for the hotel's gift of a lotus flower, but had to settle for the toothbrush mug.

Geoffrey Bawa had an enormous influence on Sri Lankan architecture. Sadly, he died last year. The Kandalama has been built to follow the contours of the rocky cliff and is over half a kilometre in length. The roof gardens have been designed to blur the boundaries between nature and architecture. The wide, bare corridors and walkways are open on one side so that you can admire the view, a rock feature or the gardens. There are modern sculptures of birds. The large batiks and paintings were in muted colours and much as we searched for something similar we never found anything remotely like them anywhere else. The sunset by the infinity pool was magical, a lone flautist played as night fell. Up on the grass covered roof a flare blazed. In spite of all this, you could say that the architecture was austere, mainly linear with just a few curved areas for contrast. The hotel was completely full and yet, to us, it seemed almost empty at times. Solar power augments electricity. Rainwater is purified and wastewater is treated and used for irrigation. The hotel is certainly different and it does make you realize that tourism need not have a detrimental impact on the environment. The visitors book seemed to reflect a multitude of views. One was a gushing and slightly over the top "Thank you Geoffrey for every thing".

Every morning at half past seven the hotel's brightly coloured hot air balloon took off from the grounds, carrying up to six guests. As we watched the balloon rise and drift towards the Sigiriya rock, the ground was covered in an eerie mist. We didn't have time to take a trip but it was expensive, even by Western standards. There were other inexpensive trips offered by the hotel, these included a local bird watching safari, jungle trekking and elephant trekking. We wished that we had known about them before we arrived and we would have squeezed them into our itinerary, which already included climbing the rock fortress at Sigiriya, visiting the ancient city of Polonnaruwa, the cave Temples at Dambulla and a fantastic 3 hour jeep safari in the Minneriya National Park. Ask around for prices for the jeep safari as these seem to vary enormously.

Surprisingly, the cost of food at the Kandalama was reasonable. Our snack of smoked chicken and peach open sandwiches with salad was a feast for the eyes and large as snacks go. It cost just over one pound (a bit less than 2 dollars). In the evening we took the hotel's offer of a dining experience in our room, little realizing that the waiter would wheel in an amazingly designed table, complete with a hidden hot tray and everything you could possibly want for a romantic dinner for two. We didn't stay at the Kandalama long enough to try dinner in the main restaurants, but the fine dining in the Kasyapa restaurant is supposed to be good. The buffet breakfast was a bit of a scrum. Everyone was setting off early to visit the sights, so individuals competed with tour groups. Why is it that the butter is nowhere near the bread just when you want it? Our meet and greet ladies seemed flustered as they told us they were fine even before we had asked them how they were. Our table needed to be cleared before we could use it but in compensation it was by the window with that stupendous view.

Before we left we had a look in the hotel shop to see what was on offer. Amongst the items were note pads and writing sets made from elephant dung. We declined this along with the offer that guests could, if they so wished, purchase (and here we pause while we both struggle to find the right euphemism) two kilos of re-cycled and composted guest waste! At fifty rupees a sack it was a bargain.You could buy four kilos for one U.S. dollar. The hotel could even give you a guided tour of the composting plant itself. We imagine that the "waste" would do wonders for your roses at home but what would you declare at the excess luggage desk at the airport? An inspection by customs and excise doesn't bear thinking about. We won't go there, but we will say that we left the "waste" where it belonged. Behind!

As we were about to drive away from the Kandalama we were given a gift of a more acceptable kind, some beautifully packaged, home produced jams and chutneys. Amberella, Jackfruit and Tamerind sound so exotic. Who needs giant roses when you can have jam like that?




Recommended: Yes

Best Suited For: Couples
Best Time to Travel Here: Dec - Feb