W15 Hanthana Estate Kandy

Sri Lanka’s hospitality scene is blessed with plenty of variety in both landscape and style — longtime readers will know that it’s got some very fine modernist beachfront boutique hotels, but it’s also got something close to the polar opposite. W15 Hanthana Estate Kandy is set in the mountainous interior of the island, surrounded by verdant hillsides and tea plantations, and aesthetically it’s as pure an example of colonial-style elegance as you’re likely to experience, its bungalow-style buildings wrapped in verandas and columns, its guests ferried from the rail station to the estate in a robin’s-egg-blue vintage Land Rover.

The accommodations themselves similarly prize the familiar trappings of colonial country-house life, from the stately and solid wooden furnishings to the tactile comforts, including indulgent tiled bathrooms. This being tea country, you’re never more than arm’s length from a cup, and the cuisine, from breakfast on through to dinner, encompasses both Sri Lankan and English traditions. And while there’s nothing stopping you from simply lounging about the estate all day, you’re also welcome to explore the surrounding landscapes on foot, by bicycle, or on a motorized safari-style tour.