Ceylon Tea Trails – Relais & Chateaux

Sri Lankan tourism has never been hotter, it’s true, but until now it’s been a phenomenon that’s mostly been confined to the coasts. The island’s interior, especially the spectacular tea country, has stayed relatively untouched, leaving quite a bit of lush and unspoiled landscape for a place like Ceylon Tea Trails.

These four plantation bungalows, lovingly restored in a hybrid colonial/contemporary style, are scattered widely along the valley, each divided into a handful of suites or available in their entirety. Either way they’re perfect, whether as an entrée into the romance of the Sri Lankan tea industry, or as an escape — this mountainous landscape, some four thousand feet above sea level, is remote indeed, and shows few signs of encroaching modernity.

The choice here is what, if anything, to do. Tours of the tea fields and factories can be arranged, as can all manner of outdoor expeditions, from kayaking to mountain climbing. Then again, so plush are the accommodations, so spacious and luxurious the suites, that many guests will have a hard time imagining doing much more than lounging, loitering, perhaps taking the occasional spa treatment.

And eating and drinking, of course — all food and drink at Ceylon Tea Trails is included, from “bed tea” service first thing in the morning to the four-course dinner and late-night wine and cocktails. Normally the mere mention of the phrase “all-inclusive” sends us screaming in the opposite direction, terrorized by visions of spring-break debauchery or package-holiday gaucheness, but the exception is a place like this — too remote for any culinary competition, and too high-class to charge for every last sip of mineral water.

Please note: There is a 2-night minimum requirement at Ceylon Tea Trails.

How to get there:

Ceylon Tea Trails is approximately a 4 hour drive from Colombo on “mostly good” roads and 2 hours from Kandy, which is itself rather remote.