Maya
Style Modern-day manor house
Setting Patchwork-pretty paddy fields
Perched beside rippling rice paddies, Maya boutique hotel near Tangalle is immersed in a mature two-acre garden that's teeming with wildlife. This colonial-chic manor house enshrines its traditional designs with piles of style and modern-luxe touches. Small is beautiful here, as just five suites are split between the atmospheric Old House and sleek New Wing, with a midnight-blue pool snaking between the two.
Need to know
- Rooms Five suites.
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Rates
Double rooms from $138.00, excluding tax at 23 per cent.
Prices have been converted from the hotel's local currency ($138), via XE.com, using today's exchange rate.
- More details Rates include breakfast.
- Facilities Two-acre garden, library of DVDs, CDs and books, WiFi throughout. In rooms: TV, CD player, iPod dock, air conditioning, ceiling fans and Green Leaf Herbal Product toiletries.
- Poolside A dashing 20m L-shaped swimming pool stretches between the old and new wings and out to the lush garden beyond. Beside it, wave-shaped loungers line a cobblestoned terrace.
- Check-out Noon, but flexible subject to availability. Earliest check-in, 2pm, but again, it’s flexible.
- Children Very welcome. Extra beds (free for the under 12s; US$50 for teens) and free baby cots can be added to most suites. Babysitters are available at US$10 a day. More...
- Also Ask about the Yoga & Wellbeing programmes, held in May, June, October and November, including daily yoga, healthy meals, massages and excursions. Smoking isn't allowed in the bedrooms.
Food and drink at Maya
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Hotel restaurant
Choose from the intimate main house dining room or the contemporary open-sided pavilion that peers over the garden, pool and paddy fields. The cuisine is western with an Asian twist, with fresh-caught seafood and home-cooked curries at the top of the list. Order in advance for interesting local delicacies such as marinated wild boar or curried mountain goat. The Maya restaurant is now open to visitors for lunch and dinner – the three-course feast is a steal at US$22.
- Dress code What dress code? Maya’s as laid-back as it comes.
- Top table Ask for a table in the garden for a romantic tête-à-tête.
- Last orders The restaurant and bar are open 7am–11pm.
- Room service You can order from the restaurant menu until 10pm.
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Hotel bar
Drinks are served anywhere, and since the wine and liquor selection is fairly limited, you’re welcome to bring your own for free. The staff can mix up a mean cocktail and no stay is complete without sampling manager Mendis’s cracking arrack sour at least once.
Also worth knowing
- Weddings This property is suitable for weddings. More...
Maya The Old House, Aranwella Temple Road, Aranwella, Tangalle
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Smith extra at Maya
Dinner for two including one Maya cocktail each
In the know
Our favourite rooms
Four-poster beds luxe up the two main-house suites. Thekka and Khumbuk are identical in layout: for the best views pick Thekka; for privacy choose Khumbuk. Suites in the New Wing feature private courtyards and larger bathrooms.
Packing tips
Pencils and parchment for sketching the views. Ear plugs are provided should the early morning chants from the nearby Buddhist temple strain rather than soothe your soul.
Also
Bring your yoga mat to practice the warrior pose in the lush gardens. Instructors will come to the house for solo sessions, but need to be booked in advance.
