Tangalle, Sri Lanka

Halcyon Mawella

Price per night from$175.50

Price information

If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (inclusive of taxes and fees) available in the next 60 days.

Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (USD175.50), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.

Halcyon Mawella Photos

Style

Hey, good iluk-ing

Setting

Pristine southern shores

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Owner-run boutique hotel Halcyon Mawella is palmy in both senses: coconut trees are your beachfront buffer, and a lantern-lit restaurant is its spirited centre. Lo-fi days whiled away playing board games at the bar, ocean-ogling from your thatched-roof room and cooing over the hotel’s pooch are punctuated with spells in the lagoon or sea — swimming, kayaking and snorkelling. You’ll feel a sense of community, but for Halcyon Mawella it runs much deeper: conservation projects with the local fishing villages means there’s as much give as there is take.

Smith Extra

Get this when you book through us:

A one-hour kayaking trip on the lagoon

Facilities

Photos Halcyon Mawella facilities

Need to know

Rooms

10.

Check–Out

Noon; check-in, 2pm. Both are flexible, subject to availability.

More details

Rates at Halcyon Mawella include à la carte breakfast, with vegetarian and gluten-free options, coffee and juice; you can dine at the restaurant or in your room, for no extra charge. Tea and coffee can be delivered to your door from 6.30am.

Also

Ground-floor rooms are suitable for guests with reduced mobility, and ramps can be fitted on request.

At the hotel

Paddleboards to borrow, charged laundry service and free WiFi throughout. In rooms: air-conditioning, minibar, free bottled water, and local bath products.

Our favourite rooms

Local interior designers Tallentire House have kitted out the screen-free rooms at Halcyon Mawella, which are soundtracked by the sea breeze rustling palm fronds, the waves lapping the shore mere metres away and — probably — some contented snoring from your other Smith as they drift off to these natural sounds. Glimpses of the beach are fringed by the cabana’s traditional thatched roofs in the Deluxe Room with Balcony; the bold Family Rooms each have a petrol-blue four-poster bed and a mezzanine with an extra bed.

Poolside

The serene pool is reminiscent of the neighbouring Mawella Lagoon, with its sapphire hues and greenery-swathed setting. The sun-kissed restaurant terrace sits at the top of the pool, whose edges are flanked by tall palms, ivory sunloungers and the Iluk-grass-roofed cabanas. The pool is shallow from end to end, and open from 6am to 10pm.

Packing tips

Your sea legs for kayaking, swimming and surfing, and yoga kit for private beachfront classes.

Also

Staff can arrange in-room massages on request.

Children

Over-sixes are welcome. An extra bed can be added to the Standard and Deluxe rooms from US$30 a night, including breakfast; the Family Rooms each have a mezzanine bedroom, with a single or twin beds. Plus, there’s a kids’ menu at the restaurant.

Sustainability efforts

Community is at Halcyon Mawella’s core: they have set up the Mawella Foundation to conserve nearby beaches and mangroves, and support local villages with financial support and weekly business workshops. The hotel also eschews plastic and runs a recycling project for any pieces found along the shores; uses traditional and reclaimed materials, such as Iluk grass for roofs; has a kitchen garden with fresh produce, and makes its own all-natural bath products.

Food and Drink

Photos Halcyon Mawella food and drink

Top Table

Bag a spot by the pool’s edge, or for intimate meals away from onlookers, dine on your balcony or terrace.

Dress Code

Fresh out of bed or the pool flies at breakfast and lunch, but spruce up for dinner.

Hotel restaurant

The poolside restaurant takes colour cues from the water by which it sits: wooden tables are decorated with electric-blue; cobalt tiles adorn the floor, and turquoise lanterns are suspended above. Garden-fresh produce pairs with locally sourced ingredients, alongside an extensive wine and beer selection. At breakfast, opt for a Sri Lankan staple, such as string hoppers, or a comforting classic (we’re eyeing the almighty full English, washed down with a punchy Bloody Mary). Chef Varanga knows how to do it all, and lunch is a smorgasbord of barbecued meats, fusion dishes and light bites; dinner is laced with pan-Asian flavours, and fan favourites include a knock-your-socks-off Singhol goat curry and Tandoori-style fish.

Hotel bar

You’ll find the bar above the restaurant; an open-air space with greenery-framed views, white-washed wood and low, rattan chairs. Amiable board games become spirited while sipping the house tipple, a Halcyon Spritz (lime leaf vodka, prosecco and hibiscus syrup, made from hotel-grown botanicals), or one of the ‘usual suspects’ (gin and tonic, whisky sour, glass of wine). 

Last orders

The bar and restaurant are open daily, from 7am to 10pm.

Room service

You can order dishes and drinks to your room between 7am and 10pm, for no extra charge.

Location

Photos Halcyon Mawella location
Address
Halcyon Mawella
Kotuwaththawewatta Moraketiara Mawella
Tangalle
82200
Sri Lanka

You’ll find Halcyon Mawella between beach and palm trees in Sri Lanka’s rugged south, near Mawella Lagoon, tucked-away coves and coastal Tangalle.

Planes

Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport is a one-hour drive from the hotel, and Colombo Bandaranaike International Airport is closer to three hours away by road; staff can arrange transfers from either from US$130 each way.

Trains

Sri Lanka is known for its scenic rail routes, which weave through tea plantations and verdant hillsides. You can chug from Anuradhapura, Colombo or Galle to Beliatta train station, which is a 30-minute drive away; the hotel can organise transfers from US$10.

Automobiles

Taxis, transfers and chauffeurs are easily arranged, but should you drive, there’s free parking at Halcyon Mawella.

Worth getting out of bed for

You’ll get a healthy dose of vitamin sea at Halcyon Mawella: it’s set on the fringes of the pristine Mawella Beach, which is one of few swimming spots on Sri Lanka’s craggy southern coastline. You can kayak on the lily-dotted Mawella Lagoon, catch red snapper or mahi mahi on a fishing charter, and borrow a bodyboard or paddleboard from the hotel. Snorkel or dive to protected reefs with nearby Ruhunu Dive Center, or head to ever-hip Hiriketiya, where novice and seasoned surfers tackle the breaks. You’re encouraged to join in with local projects at this community-centric retreat, and workshops include learning how to make soaps or pickles. Staff can arrange in-room massages, private yoga sessions and turtle-watching outings to Rekawa, as well as safaris in wildlife-abundant national parks. Market town Tangalle is a short drive away; history-rich Galle, with its boutiques and cricket stadium, is within daytripping distance.

Local restaurants

Overlooking a quiet cove, beach-edge Cactus Lounge Restaurant impresses with fuss-free seafood, traditional Sri Lankan fare and a generous side of ocean views. Intimate Break Point Restaurant encourages some ooh-ing and aah-ing: its picturesque perch above Unakuruwa Beach is screensaver-worthy, and just-caught fish is the centrepiece to most artfully presented plates.

Local cafés

Cool down in Pranaya Hiriketiya’s palm-shaded courtyard, before warming back up with a frothy latte. Loitering at laidback café Verse Collective on Pehebiya Beach means at some point you’ll turn from cappuccinos to cocktails.

Local bars

Set on a coconut-grove-lined beach, Smoke & Bitters has earned its stripes as a watering hole for discerning drinkers. Top-notch tipples are shaken up with local ingredients, and a crowd favourite is the Rum and Coke (homemade cherry cola, coconut foam, hibiscus and angostura bitters).

Reviews

Photos Halcyon Mawella reviews
Samuel Hunt

Anonymous review

By Samuel Hunt, Finger-on-the-pulse filmmaker

Soon after arriving at Halcyon Mawella, Mrs Smith and I are seated in the hotel’s renowned restaurant, Iluk — named after the Sinhalalese word for the grass that thatches the roofs of the buildings at the hotel. We're by the pool, set within lush, flowered gardens, and through the mangrove trees, we catch sight of Mawella Beach and the sea beyond. My inclination is to go and explore, but we're soon distracted with cocktails, as we’re greeted by Halcyon Mawella’s warm and charismatic owner and manager, Zander, who hands us two glasses of Mawella Spritz. 'On the house,' he says, 'but don’t be fooled, they’re addictive.'

We had spent the last few days in Sri Lanka’s mountainous hinterland and after a five-hour journey, the cold, garden-to-glass hibiscus spritz went down very quickly. We stepped through the garden and onto the shore, and were greeted by what turned out to be our favourite beach on Sri Lanka’s south coast. The wide, crescent-moon-shaped bay is empty, save for some colourful fishing boats, a few restaurant tables and a couple of distant figures wandering along the sand.

Due to a stroke of good fortune and the unending hospitality of Zander and his incredible staff, we're staying in a villa for two nights first, before moving into one of the poolside rooms. The villa has its own pool, living area and kitchen (to which the restaurant staff can deliver meals and drinks), and a garden that looks out onto the beach. Our room is classy and luxurious, filled with Sri Lankan antiques, rattan furnishings and artwork, and the afternoon we spend here, reading in the garden and swimming, is perfect. Before dinner, we decide to go for a walk along the beach. Aside from a few fellow tourists and local families, it is mostly deserted. Through the palm trees, we catch a glimpse of Geoffrey Bawa’s Last House, and listen to the birdsong from the mangroves mingle with the sound of the waves. As the light fades, a soft haze settles across the bay and the lights from the two or three beachside restaurants call us back to Iluk, and for what Zander has promised is a special treat.

At night Iluk comes into its own. It's laidback yet romantic, and Chef Nash is as much gregarious empresario as he is head chef. Over another spritz, he tells us how his food is inspired by his childhood in Sri Lanka and his fine-dining training in some of the world’s top restaurants. He’d promised us a tasting version of the whole menu, and over the next few hours we’re treated to an incredibly special meal. We start with tuna tartare and snapper sashimi, then it's onto burnt cabbage and mushroom foie gras. All are infused with Sri Lankan flavours, creating truly unique dishes. The mullet with curry velouté is one of the best things I’ve ever eaten — and it looks beautiful, too, adorned with flowers from the garden. A palate cleanser of perfectly balanced pickled carrots ensues and then we eat clams, followed by the centrepiece of barbecued red snapper with a local take on chimichurri. Our edible odyssey is completed with tiramisu and millefeuille, and we end the evening chatting to Chef Nash about the versatility and joy of Sri Lankan cuisine.

Over the next two days, we get firmly into the rhythm of Mawella time, relaxing all day before heading back to Iluk for the traditional curries, which are as tasty as the meal Chef Nash prepared on our first night. The aubergine curry, in particular, is unlike anything you will have eaten before. Part of the highlight is the number of chutneys and chilli pastes, which Zander tells us are made by the hotel’s foundation, Prajava Gama. On our last morning, he offers to take us for a tour. The foundation not only supplies Iluk, but also the soaps and sundries in the guestrooms, and plays a wider role in the local community, co-ordinating beach clean-ups and biodiversity studies. At the headquarters, set back from the beach in the village, Zander and his colleague Aneesa show us around the foundation’s shop, where we meet some of the volunteers and buy turmeric soap, jams and chutneys, and textiles to take home with us.

I had picked up some Sinhalalese phrases and slang on our trip, and used them with the abandon of an embarrassing uncle. Superi was my favourite, which translates, I think, as 'awesome' or 'superior', a phrase alongside rasa ('tasty') that I used after every meal. Superi is the phrase that best describes our stay at Halcyon Mawella. As we left, commenting on our good fortune, we promised Zander we’d be back. We were right. Just four days later, we were welcomed for another few days after our flight was cancelled. Superi indeed.
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