Mr & Mrs Smith

Clingendael

Kandy, Sri Lanka

Nestled beneath the ravishing Knuckles Range stands boutique-belle Clingendael hotel near Kandy, a five-year labour of love constructed using reclaimed Dutch colonial antiques. Ringed by plush lawns bounded with blushing bougainvillea, Clingendael’s gravity-defying hillside setting within the Victoria Golf & Country Resort is a joy for both golf-loving escapists and tranquility seekers alike. Relax to the max or get active – it’s your call.

Need to know

• Rooms Five, including two suites.
• Rates Double rooms from $330.00, excluding tax at 13 per cent. Please note the hotel charges an additional service charge of 10% per room per night on checkout.
  Prices have been converted from the hotel's local currency ($330), via XE.com, using today's exchange rate.
• More details Rates include breakfast, coffee, tea, soft drinks and beer.
• Facilities Library of books and DVDs, flatscreen TV in bar area, free WiFi throughout, Jacuzzi, gardens. In rooms: Nespresso coffee machine (except in Green Room), iPod docks, own-label toiletries. DVD player and iPods on request.
• Poolside Surrounded by tropical foliage, the compact outdoor infinity pool offers panoramic views over the reservoir, golf course and vertiginous mountains, or take to the sunbeds on the timber-topped terrace. A heated Jacuzzi provides bubbly respite for golf-weary muscles.
• Check-out Noon, but flexible subject to availability. Check-in, 1pm.
• Children Clingendael is geared towards romantic stays and golf getaways, but can accommodate children. Baby cots and extra beds for the under-12s cost US$62, and babysitters are available for US$62 a pop.
• Hotel closed Guests may experience some noise from a nearby construction site. The hotel closes for a week in April–May for Singalese New Year.
• Also Smoking is allowed in outside areas including the bar and verandas.

Food and drink at Clingendael

• Hotel restaurant

  With its grand timber table for 14 just footsteps from a koi carp pond, the companionable dining room is coveted by groups, so picking a private perch on your own Knuckles-view veranda, by the pool or in the garden, is more couple-savvy. Start the day with an English, Sri Lankan or Continental breakfast followed by sandwiches and soups for daytime snacks. Four-course candlelit suppers every evening feature traditional Sri Lankan or western feasts of beef tenderloin, pork fillet and Australian lamb, as well as a sprinkling of oriental, Italian and veggie dishes. Meals are presented impeccably to invoke the splendour of colonial days gone by.

• Dress code Light cashmere jumpers for cooler evenings and long linen trousers to avoid becoming a mossie munchfest.
• Top table Under the boughs of the shady tree on the bougainvillea-edged front lawn is a seductive setting for breakfast or lunch. This part of the garden magically appears to jut out over a rippling sea of vivid greens.
• Last orders Eat wherever you like, whenever you like. Just bend the ear of the staff if you plan on having brekkie especially early or your dinner unusually late to allow them time to prepare.
• Room service Around the clock, although it’s usually only simple meals and snacks that are available during the twilight hours.
• Hotel bar

  Clinging to the corner of the dining room is Clingendael's fully stocked timber-panelled bar where drinks are concocted, but rarely served. Chilled wines, classic cocktails, traditional spirits and beers are brought to you, wherever you are. There may not be minibars in the bedrooms, but the 24-hour butler service more than makes up for it.

Clingendael C/O Victoria Golf & Country Resort, Coconut Hill, Rajawella, Kandy