Sri Lanka Tourism Blog

Nature, Culture, Luxury… a Lifestyle!

The newest and most ambitious project of Jetwing Hotels, located within 5km of the ‘8th Wonder of the World’-Sigiriya- is the creation of a truly ‘Lifestyle Hotel’. Sigiriya, located within the cultural triangle of Sri Lanka is famous for its rich history and Sri Lankan heritage. Vil Uyana situated within view of Sigiriya rock, on the flatlands that stretch to the west, integrates into an ancient plan - a plan to irrigate, in the tradition of the Sinhala kings.

The introduction of a wetland on reclaimed agricultural lands within the Dry Zone, provides the unique backdrop for this exciting new property. Inspired from local and rural traditions.

A private nature reserve provides a haven for wildlife and a setting of peace and tranquility. The hotel is possibly the first in the world to construct a wetland system with lakes and reed beds to form a private nature reserve.

This has allowed for the first time in Sri Lanka for rooms to be built over water. Centered around water bodies are parklands and woodlands, designed for leisure; an extension of the ancient practice of planning gardens for pleasure.

A challenge has been overcome, for the conversion of Dry Zone chena lands formed by slash & burn agriculture, to a seasonal wetland (land that is inundated by water for part of the year). The colonization of the new habitats by local fauna and flora has been accelerated by the planting of reed beds and groves of trees.

5 acres of land was used to re-grow paddy using traditional methods of farming and harvesting, providing a new and exciting feature. Rooms have been placed within the paddy fields, thereby giving the guest a unique opportunity of participating in both the farming and harvesting if they wished; yet another first in Sri Lanka! The regeneration of the forested groves create a feeling of ultimate privacy and seclusion in the Forest Lodges, the largest of the Chalets.

The tastefully designed rooms boast space as its hallmark of luxury. Dine in the privacy of your room or ‘under the stars’ or simply relax and pamper yourself at the Island Spa with a range of treatments to choose from.

The many components of the ecosystem will be subject to continuous monitoring. The hotel is unique in building a research facility from inception. Comfortable accommodation will be provided to researchers locally and internationally, overcoming one of the key logistics hurdles to field work. The research center also has a library, a room for laboratory based work and a computer room. The guest will be a participant in the metamorphosis of tourism as a champion of conservation. The environmental awareness will be an important aspect of a new ethos.

As part of Jetwing’s responsibility towards local communities an English teaching program is being held in two Buddhist temples located near Vil Uyana. Namely, Rotawewa and Kimbissa. Unemployed youth now attend these classes where they are trained to read, write and speak English. Halfway through their 6 months training they will receive hotel craft training in a field selected from Hotel Housekeeping, Reception, Restaurant & Bar and Cookery. The objective of the initiative is to make them gainfully employable. Some of them will have the opportunity to join Jetwing while others can look for employment in other companies in Sri Lanka or even overseas.

Whether it is the nature lover in you or the task of ‘finding yourself again’ treat yourself to an experience…come be part of the lifestyle!

This prestigious property is scheduled to be opened in Autumn 2006.

25 Tastefully appointed Chalets set in 3 distinct ‘habitats’:

7 Water Pavilions 1030 Sq. Ft (Dining Deck 200 Sq. Ft)

6 Paddy Field Villas 1030 Sq. Ft (Dining Deck 200 Sq. Ft and Plunge Pool 200 Sq.Ft)

2 Marsh Villas 1030 Sq. Ft (Dining Deck 200 Sq. Ft and Plunge Pool 200 Sq. Ft)

10 Forest Lodges 2100 Sq. Ft (Private Pool)

Spread Over 24 Acres of Land

Location:

169 km from Colombo (About a 4 ½ hr drive)

153 km from the International Airport (About a 4 hour drive)

“Indulge yourself with a healthy sunrise breakfast on the shores of the lake” urged the welcome letter from Sarath Wickremasinghe, general manager of Cinnamon Lodge.
After a five hour drive from Colombo to Habarana, we had been guided to our suite by a young man introduced to us as our butler, Nuwan. Instead of Jeeves’s bow tie and tails he wore an orange tunic and an equally vivid sarong. Monkeys gambolled in the vast parkland setting while birds - including a hornbill - chortled in surprise as we walked to our suite. Tall Roystonea palm trees, my favourite of course, guarded the swimming pool that itself adjoined a mini-lake where a small rowing boat was moored by the bank.
We were staying in one of the four Master Suites in the 142-unit resort. My first experience of suites was during my youthful rock ‘n’ roll years when I toured the USA with a band and we had bedrooms with parlours attached. Since then I have stayed in so-called suites that are no more than a standard bedroom partitioned off from an alcove with a curtain. The suites at Cinnnamon Lodge are not those kind; they are more like private villas.

Entrance is from a veranda with chairs for lazing while watching wild birds flitting in the trees and tame tourists strolling to their rooms. The door of our suite, number 73, the Cedar, opened into a hall with stairs of polished coconut wood and an umbrella stand, with four umbrellas. Ahead was the parlour, a symphony of polished wood and a club-like atmosphere of which the real Jeeves would have approved.

A wooden, silk upholstered chaise longue guarded the approach to the French windows opening onto another veranda, this one overlooking the park and lake. A huge cement chaise longue, heavily cushioned, defined one end of the room, while solid wooden furniture with mini-bar and pantry cupboard marked the other end. A guest bathroom was beyond. In the middle was a massive dining table for eight guests, and there were books on the shelves and apples in bowls as décor.

Off the hallway was a bedroom for two, with ensuite bathroom and its own TV, while the master bedroom was up the stairs. Entering it was to be transported to the elegance of a Bangkok five-star hotel: an enormous, deep bed piled high with silk cushions and spread with crisp, Egyptian cotton sheets. French windows opened onto a broad balcony, an ideal spot for sundowners. In the bathroom there was a Jacuzzi with lake view, a separate vanity table and twin stand-alone wash basins, and a rain shower.

The Cinnamon Lodge suites seem designed for permanent residence, not for an over-night stay. Unfortunately tourists on a round-trip, racing around Sri Lanka, have no time to stay long at the resort. Sri Lankans are luckier in being able to settle there for a few days while sightseeing in the Cultural Triangle, or simply enjoying the tranquillity of the countryside.

In a way, Cinnamon Lodge is like a resort in the Maldives since it is horizontal and secluded and self-contained. For a holiday it offers much more than a Maldives resort, at much less cost, because of the attractions - elephants instead of fish, jungle instead of sand - as well as privacy and individual attention from a tropical Jeeves.
Ours attended us on demand throughout our stay. He served us when we dined in the restaurant on an eclectic table d’hote menu of innovative cuisine (executive chef, Senaka, even gave us his recipe for Tomato Crystal Consomme). Butler Nuwan also delivered the promised “healthy breakfast” on a table set up especially for us on the lake shore. Hearty is a better word to describe the omelette, bacon, sausages and two baskets of bread all washed down with fresh wood apple juice. Perhaps the healthy touch was the exercise of the walk to get to it.

Cinnamon Lodge is remarkable in retaining an unspoilt character despite its years of existence (it was previously known simply as Habarana Lodge) while, with its manorial suites, positioning itself as an upmarket sophisticated retreat for the cultured and discerning. www.cinnamonhotels.com
more photos : http://www.flickr.com/photos/nishannthe/