Jetwing Lighthouse
Galle

Just three miles west of the bustling, historic Galle Fort, Jetwing Lighthouse has a great location on a rocky headland and a sandy curve of palm-fringed beach. Guests have direct access to this golden sand beach as well as wide open vistas of the Laccadive Sea which reaches from Sri Lanka's west coast down to the Maldives. Ocean views can be enjoyed from pretty much anywhere within the resort.

The restaurants, boutiques and cafés in Galle’s 17th-century fort are just a five-minute drive away, and hotel activities are extensive. Included in their programme are rainforest treks, river safari on the Mahamodara River, whale and dolphin watching, and lowland tea estate visits. This hotel is a reliable choice for families and couples looking for a comfortable beachside escape but with enough activities to suit every interest.

The hotel was famously designed by Geoffrey Bawa, Sri Lanka’s most revered architect, and noted Sri Lankan artist Laki Senanayake worked on the hotel’s main staircase, giving a sense of openness, space and light. Each bedroom has a generously sized ocean facing balcony and following an extensive upgrade in 2019, they have new flooring and the complete re-tiling of bathrooms and timber panelling. Aside from three themed suites, all 60 of the Deluxe rooms are identical and offer super king-sized beds, private balconies and bathrooms with built-in tubs and separate walk-in rain showers.

The two swimming pools, plus a shaded children’s paddling pool, are never overcrowded, and the lower pool surrounded by gardens is a top spot to relax. The elegant spa with a separate Ayurveda wing is worth a visit to experience a spicy scrub or relaxing massage, and there’s also a fitness room and a floodlit tennis court.

Jetwing Lighthouse has an impressive offering of dining options. The Cardamom Café offers informal breakfast, lunch and dinner buffets, and outside are breezy tables-for-two facing the dramatic rocky oceanfront. For fine dining there is The Cinnamon Room for local seasonal produce in a elegant upper level lounge, and for a more personalised dining experience opt for bar-restaurant Nihal’s, named after world-renowned executive chef Nihal Senanyake, which provides specially curated menus using culinary influences from around the world for creative dishes.

For more relaxed dining you have the choice of The Verandah, an open air terrace on the seafront serving snacks and cocktails, or Lorenzo's pizza bar for a fun slice of Italy and a wider western menu. The Coat of Arms Bar is their regal and nostalgic colonial bar, perfect for after dinner drinks or sundowner cocktails as the sun dips below the horizon.

I can't think of anything that excites a greater sense of childlike wonder than to be in a country where you are ignorant of almost everything.
Bill Bryson