Rosyth Estate, Sri Lanka Hotel

Kegalle, Sri Lanka

An enclave of quiet, off-the-tourist-trail luxury in lush jungle in SRI LANKA, this boutique stay blurs the parameters of tropical nature and nurture with design-led aplomb and thoughtful hospitality.

Before the car engine is turned off, staff descend brandishing watermelon lollies for travel-weary children; adults are guided to a shaded yoga pavilion. Feet are massaged, glasses of chilled cinnamon and ginger tea are handed around and luggage is whisked away.

It sets the tone. There’s nothing bling about Rosyth Estate – a converted planter’s bungalow hidden in the jungle outskirts of Kegalle (an unassuming town an hour west of Kandy) – but that elusive sense of staying somewhere very special comes from thoughtful gestures and unabating kindness. There’s a sense of being enveloped by a family: from contagious excitement (particularly from resident naturalist Hetti) over spotting native species in the jungle canopy, to sharing local customs, trying regional dishes and engaging with the estate’s community projects (The Rosyth Foundation ploughs profits from an artisanal tea factory back into essential village infrastructure).

Owner Farzana Dobbs has spent her career in the travel industry and is highly attuned to guests’ needs. It’s a family enterprise, set up to accommodate multi- generational stays (interlocking rooms in the main house, luxury suites nestled deeper in the estate and a standalone clifftop house with panoramic views).

Guests disperse throughout ten rooms and suites spread across the 25ha estate, yet drift together for morning yoga or an early swim. The glass-sided dining room is at the heart of proceedings – a stunning structure that seemingly hangs in the canopy. A passionate kitchen team cook with produce grown onsite (from pumpkins to papaya) and there are cooking classes and ‘Street Food’ nights (showcasing Sinhalese ‘chopped’ kottu). Most often, a blackboard is chalked up with a Menu of the Day: terracotta bowls of curries and sambals with string hoppers, and caramelly wattalapam to finish.

Meandering back to their rooms, bellies full, to the calls of monkeys bedding down or nocturnal red loris waking, guests are immersed in the ecosystem, merrily succumbing to the laws of the jungle. Rooms from £200.

Words by Rachel Walker.

This Article was taken from the October 2024 issue of Food and Travel. To subscribe today, click here.