If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (including tax) available in the next 60 days.
Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (USD218.75), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.
With dense jungle on one side and the Indian Ocean on the other, Kayaam House occupies a prime position along Tangalle’s golden shoreline. Set in a bright, white colonial building with airy, open arches, the design combines tropical modernism, traditional Sri Lankan architecture and Buddhist motifs to create a restorative space; while reclaimed wood and turquoise accents act as calls to the ocean. Here, wellness is encouraged through a slower pace of living, and whether you find that at the intimate spa, getting your laps in at the frangipani-flanked infinity pool, stretching out at the yoga shala or finding inner peace on the beach, you’re sure to be seduced.
11am, but flexible, subject to availability. Earliest check-in, 2pm.
Prices
Double rooms from £229.45 ($287), including tax at 30.99 per cent.
More details
Rates include breakfast.
Also
Kayaam House is suitable for guests with mobility issues – there are wheelchair-friendly rooms and an elevator.
At the hotel
Beach, spa, pool, yoga classes, and laundry service (at a charge). In rooms: minibar, coffee machine, Dilmah tea, and Green Leaf Herbal bath products.
Our favourite rooms
All rooms are alike in design, with muted tones, earthy textures and warm, wooden accents, but water babies should opt for the Palm Suite with Jacuzzi or the Palm Residence for their very own dipping station.
Poolside
Flop and drop at the T-shaped infinity pool, flanked by frangipani and cloud-soft loungers, just a mango’s throw from the beach.
Spa
The hotel’s intimate Sanctuary Spa is spread across two treatment rooms and draws on traditional Sri Lankan healing methods, using hyper-local herbs and spices in all its oils, creams and scrubs. Choose from Balinese or deep-tissue massages to hot-stone treatments and hydrating facials, plus there’s daily yoga lessons in the beach-facing yoga shala.
Packing tips
Pack your dog-eared novels for lazy days around the pool and your snorkelling kit to get well acquainted with some of the Indian Ocean’s aquatic residents.
Children
Leave little Smiths at home, this tropical stay is over-18s only unless booked for exclusive use.
Sustainability efforts
Kayaam house has been purposely designed to include natural light and ventilation pathways in order to reduce energy consumption; and its landscaping prioritises nature. In the kitchen, all produce is organic, and either home-grown or sourced from local vendors. The hotel also organises regular beach clean-ups, and you’ll be hard pressed to find any single-use plastics around, either.
Bag a table at the edge of the restaurant overlooking the pool.
Dress Code
Billowing boho maxis, floor-trailing kaftans and barely-there footwear.
Hotel restaurant
Kitted out with earthenware in amber tones, traditional materials and tropical plants, the restaurant is a warm and welcoming space where chef Namal Surenda satisfies with his contemporary spin on traditional Sri Lankan fare.
Hotel bar
There’s no dedicated bar area, but you can enjoy a tipple or two wherever you please; lying horizontal on the beach, say, or half-submerged in the pool. As well as wine, beer and spirits, the cocktail menu covers everything from the classics to custom, cooling concoctions. We love the ‘Oh My’, made with Ceylon old Arrack, king coconut, passionfruit, lime and ginger juice.
Last orders
Breakfast is served from 7am to 10.30am, lunch is from noon to 2.30pm and dinner runs between 7pm to 10.30pm. Guests can also take high tea anytime between 3.30pm and 5.30pm.
Room service
Guests can order from a limited version of the restaurant's à la carte to enjoy in-room.
You’ll find Kayaam House in Tangalle, a coastal town in Sri Lanka’s southern Hambantota district with a stretch of unspoilt beaches, lush mangroves and Buddhist archeological sites.
Planes
The nearest airport is Mattala Rajapaksa International which is around one hour away by car. An airport shuttle can be arranged for an extra charge. Otherwise, touch down at Colombo’s Bandaranaike International Airport; it’s a three-hour drive, but a Sri Lankan Air Taxi can get you there in just 50 minutes.
Automobiles
Wheels come in handy here, though you’ll have to apply for a licence in advance. Save yourself the trouble and hire a driver instead. There’s free private parking at the hotel for guests.
Worth getting out of bed for
Tangalle is known for its pristine stretch of secluded beaches, and luckily Kayaam House has its own, just steps away from the pool, where you can spend the day being lulled in and out of sleep by Indian Ocean breezes. For a more active sandy spot head to Rekawa Beach, where guests can kayak through the picturesque mangroves of the neighbouring lagoon. And though it’s popular with bird watchers, you’ll also find plenty of winged wonders at Kalametiya Bird Sanctuary, where guests can journey through shrub jungles and grasslands on a traditional paalam paaruwara raft accompanied by slaty breasted crakes, black bitterns and watercocks as well as grey mongooses and Hanuman monkeys. December and April is prime time for whale watching, and the hotel offers shared trips on a catamaran-style yacht in search of blue and sperm whales as well as dolphins and turtles. Further along the coast, Unakuruwa has some hardcore waves sure to please the most skilled spin-drifters, while Nilwella is ideal for beginners – both are within a half-hour drive and private surfing lessons can be arranged on each. Down in Tangalle proper, rise early to see the fruits of the sea on sale at the crack-of-dawn fish market, or scale Mulgirigala, a 210-metre tall Buddhist rock temple, before finishing your day with a moonlit safari courtesy of the Turtle Conservation Project. The Hummanaya Blow Hole is the second biggest in the world and just 25 kilometres away. Make the day of it by hiring a bike and cycle by prawn farms, rice mills and through paddy fields.
Local restaurants
For toe-in-sand dining head to Little Pumpkin Cabanas, especially if grilled seafood is what you’re after. The recipe to their signature sauce is a closely guarded secret, and after a generous slathering of it, you’ll understand why.Turtle Landing is another beachside spot, where you’ll find a range of traditional Sri Lankan dishes. And, Il Mare is the place to be for more sophisticated suppers, where highbrow Italian fare and world-class wines are served with front-row seats to the Indian Ocean.
Local cafés
Heman’s Coffee Shop is here to prove that the best things come in small packages. Despite being no bigger than an inner-city garage, it’s home to the best brews in town and mean breakfast pancakes to boot.
Local bars
Soak up the sun from a swing seat at the Lounge, a stylish beachfront bar where you’ll find local beers, cocktails, live music and Ves dancing come the weekend. Honeymooners should make a beeline for Big Crocodile for secluded sundowners with ocean views.
Every hotel featured is visited personally by members of our team, given the Smith seal of approval, and then anonymously reviewed. As soon as our reviewers have returned from this soulful stay in Sri Lanka and unpacked their sand-dusted flip-flops and stylish sarongs, a full account of their beachside break will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside Kayaam House in Tangalle…
Kayaam House is a spiritual sanctuary perched on the sunny side of Sri Lanka’s southern coast, surrounded by lush jungle on one side and a golden beach on the other. Just half an hour outside of surfers paradise, Tangalle, this colonial outpost has wellness at its core, nurturing a slow pace of life through its good-for-you cuisine, healing spa therapies and daily yoga. Inside, the design speaks to Sri Lanka’s rich heritage, with ancient temple doors, Dutch and Portuguese antiques and abstract works by local artists, while rooms have fabric-covered ceilings decorated with intricate Buddhist motifs, furniture carved from indigenous wood and turquoise accents inspired by the neighbouring ocean. Outside, frangipani-flanked paths lead to the T-shaped pool, where loungers await for lazy afternoons spent snoozing under the surrounding coconut trees. And what's more, with only nine rooms, you’ll have the house (mostly) to yourself.
