Ahangama, Sri Lanka

Trebartha East the Round House

Price per night from$262.54

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 (GBP195.80), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.

Trebartha East the Round House Photos

Style

Lauded of the rings

Setting

A hop from Ahangama

Explore

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Some ideas are well rounded; some ideas are, well, round – Trebartha East, the Round House happens to be both, a striking ring-shaped timber structure encompassing four cosseting rooms, an arc of pool, a spa treatment room and living space where guests gather for Arracks on the rocks and tropical feasting. The work of celebrated architect Dr Narein Perera, this utterly unique mini arena runs rings around squarer stays, and is made all the more striking by its position as the coronet atop a cinnamon plantation near surf haven Ahangama. It’s a big idea, with an intimate feel, that you’ll come round to in no time. 

Smith Extra

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A cinnamon bundle from the hotel’s own plantation

Facilities

Photos Trebartha East the Round House facilities

Need to know

Rooms

Four, including one duplex.

Check–Out

11am, but flexible, subject to availability. Earliest check-in, 2pm.

More details

Rates include a very tempting Sri Lankan breakfast with curry, dahl, string hoppers, milk rice, coconut roti with sambal, tropical fruit and juices, coffees and teas.

Also

Unfortunately, this property’s layout makes it unsuitable for guests with mobility issues.

At the hotel

Cinnamon plantation, tropical gardens, living room, charged laundry service, free WiFi. In rooms: beach bags and towels, a local cellphone to use during your stay, air-conditioning and fan, and locally made, all-natural bath products.

Our favourite rooms

Fashioned from custom-cut rustic timber, with furnishings made locally (mid-century seating, a four-poster bed, decoratively woven wicker pieces), printed textiles, and colourful artworks by Sri Lankan artists (Rubert Soysa, Namal Pushpakumara), each of the four rooms is a secluded segment in Trebartha East’s circular structure. Friends or tweens and teens can stay in Teak with its twin beds, or for a little extra space book duplex Hora, which has an additional study.

Poolside

The 18-metre pool (open 7am to 9pm) is a curved component of the circular building, with expansive views over the plantation and rice paddies with a glimpse of the Indian Ocean in the distance. Unheated, it’s refreshing to dive into, but leave your sundowners for later – glasses aren’t allowed here.

Spa

In the round there’s also a room with a view for massages, facials, scrubs, reflexology, waxing and mani-pedis (male and female therapists available on request). Personal trainers can be summoned or you can gently work out with a guided yoga session. For a full work-out, guests can use the gym at Palm Hotel (for a charge), a 10-minute car or tuk-tuk ride away.

Packing tips

An homage to Sri Lanka’s most noted architect, Geoffrey Bawa: the Complete Works, might be a touch too heavy for the suitcase, but flick through it before you go for an intro to tropical-modernism’s visual lingo, if you’re unfamiliar. Otherwise, bring your most colourful Billabong and Quiksilver surf wear.

Also

If you’re thinking, ‘hang on, isn’t Trebartha in Cornwall?’ – well, you guessed right. British owners Patrick and Benny Latham named the hotel for their home back on Bodmin Moor.

Children

Infants up to one-year old and children aged 12 and over can stay, but book the hotel exclusively and all ages are welcome. Babysitting can be arranged with 24 hours’ notice and cots are available on request.

Sustainability efforts

Renowned architect Dr Narein Perera’s striking, entirely custom-made circular building is constructed using just timber and runs on solar power. Staff are local hires, the pool uses minimal chlorination, toiletries and drinking water are in refillable containers, and meals are made using locally sourced ingredients (some grown on the estate). And, the hotel is green in a very literal sense, crowning a cinnamon plantation spread over a hill, where the original trees were replanted and nurtured over five years, and species of indigenous fruit trees have also been reintroduced.

Food and Drink

Photos Trebartha East the Round House food and drink

Top Table

A private table can be set up amid the trees in the Round House’s fragrant garden.

Dress Code

Sizzling neons or bold batiks with sarong- or sari-style draping, to really stand out against the teak wood and endless green.

Hotel restaurant

There’s nothing so formal as a restaurant here; instead you’ll perch by the pool or have food brought to your lounger or graze and chat at the communal table in the living room. Meals skew Sri Lankan, with exotic flavourings: gotu kola leaf salad with marinated chicken and toasted coconut, king prawns on garlic mash with a passionfruit and coriander salsa, seared tuna in a lime-cinnamon sauce with turmeric rice, black pumpkin curry, and for dessert, no ‘pi’, rather pineapple carpaccio or cashew-dipped brownies.

Hotel bar

The hotel’s circular shape might enhance the effects of a few Arracks on the rocks or muddled in a mule with ginger beer and chilli, or Lion beers (wines too, but the selection changes depending on availability). There’s no bar as such, so sip where you wish (except poolside0. 

Last orders

Breakfast is from 7.30am to 10am, then there’s all-day dining from noon to 10pm.

Room service

You can dine in-room from 7am to 9pm if you give staff enough notice.

Location

Photos Trebartha East the Round House location
Address
Trebartha East the Round House
164/A Meegahagoda
Ahangama
80650
Sri Lanka

Trebartha East, the Round House is set at the apex of a cinnamon plantation 10 minutes from coastal town Ahangama, close to Lake Koggala and a 40-minute drive from fortified city Galle.

Planes

You’ll need to fly into Colombo, around a two-and-a-half hour, scenic, coastal drive from the hotel. The hotel can arrange transfers by car from LKR26,000, or Cinnamon Air runs domestic flights to Koggala (around a two-hour journey), a 20-minute drive away.

Trains

Ahangama, a 10-minute drive away, has a train station that runs along the coast, connecting you with Galle and Colombo. Hotel transfers are from LKR1,500 each way.

Automobiles

While a car will come in handy for exploring inland or along the coast, you’ll need to get your licence verified before your trip, and then get used to the variable road conditions in the country. It’s advisable to hire a local driver or rely on the tuk-tuk taxis (which you can also hire if you want something more fun than four wheels). There’s a carpark within a minute’s walk of the property. The hotel is 10 minutes’ drive from Ahangama and 20 minutes from the highway exit , and turn-off points are signposted.

Worth getting out of bed for

You’re king of the castle here when it comes to surveying Sri Lanka’s natural beauty, staying in the crown atop Trebartha East, the Round House’s cinnamon plantation. Alongside this leafy sprawl, other riches include a garden and one-kilometre path lined with fruit trees for pleasant strolls (keep an eye out for peacocks); and rice paddies and thick jungle to explore. Back at base, you can swim and try to spot the sliver of vivid blue of the Indian Ocean in the distance; book a massage, facial or mani-pedi in the spa treatment room; arrange a guided yoga session; or simply circumnavigate the Grand Designs-worthy building marvelling at its form as you sip a G&T. For rideable surf breaks (or a lesson to get your surf legs) hop in a tuk-tuk to Ahangama, which is paradise for boarders; although sunbathers may prefer wild Mirissa beach or golden Unawatuna (the hotel can advise when currents are too strong for swimming during monsoon season). Or, head north inland for a fragrant tour of Handunugoda tea estate. Kayak across Lake Koggala or take a sailing safari through its mangrove forests; and along Koggala Beach there’s a sea-turtle hatchery (January to March is peak hatchling time). And for more wild adventuring, take a day trip to Udawalawe National Park (a two-hour drive to the east) or Hambantota Beach where elephants roam freely. To the west lies the 16th-century fortified city of Galle, which is rich in historic monuments (the Lighthouse, Dutch Fort and Clock Tower), as well as indie boutiques, and offers hands-on experiences: mask-carving, jewellery-making, cookery classes or stilt-fishing lessons.

Local restaurants

Trebartha East’s delicious coconut- and passionfruit-flavoured fare will keep you from trekking up and down its hilly seat come dinnertime, but there are some local favourites worth stopping by. Follow the scent of spiced lobster tails and flambéed prawns to beach-shack eatery Follow the White Rabbit, who also do flavourful salads, pasta dishes and a signature tuna tartare, and whose tables on the sand make ideal stilt-fisherman-watching or sundowner spots. The Kitchen at Kurulu Bay is an elegantly mod-minimalist address – all polished concrete and teak – with fall-in-love-with lake views and sea-to-plate dining: lobster curry with coconut sambal, red-snapper sashimi with pickled gooseberries, seared yellowfin tuna in balsamic-teriyaki. Harding Boutique Hotels is a modernist box of a building, with a lively roof terrace for dinner and drinks; and Palm Hotel is a tropical-industrial-chic Smith stablemate serving coconut-masala bean stew, black-pork or spicy-crab curries and grilled bananas drizzled with passionfruit caramel.

Reviews

Photos Trebartha East the Round House reviews
Ben Lippett

Anonymous review

By Ben Lippett, Tip-sharing top chef

There’s a moment in every episode of Grand Designs that signals disaster. Kevin McCloud is gleefully rubbing his hands together, salivating, relishing in the logistical nightmare being endured by the over-ambitious couple at the helm. Are storms weathered in the pursuit of architectural marvels justified? Are the hours of stress, the heartache worth it? Is the juice really worth the squeeze? As our cab pulls up the driveway to Trebartha East the Roundhouse, I can feel Kevin’s gaze over my shoulder. The place is jaw-droppingly gorgeous. This grand design sits proudly atop a hill in the centre of a 12-acre cinnamon plantation, surrounded by a moat of rice paddies inhabited by water buffalo and raucous monkeys, just outside the surf-mad beach town of Ahangama. 'This must have been a nightmare to build,' I murmur to Mrs Smith.
 
Talk about grand. It really is the building itself that truly makes the Roundhouse stand out. It’s hardly a spoiler given the name of the property, but I’m amazed to see that the building is indeed a perfectly round house — a striking circular structure that blends beautifully into the landscape. It’s modern but warm, with heaps of dark, rich wood, cleverly designed open space, and huge, bi-folding windows that let the outside in. You’re constantly aware of the views, whether it’s jungle, paddy fields, or a glimpse of the sparkling ocean in the distance. We’re greeted by the staff, who pad gracefully around the property barefoot in pale yellow polo shirts. At this time of year, it’s hot — sweat-through-your-shirt hot — and Mrs Smith and I are delighted to discover that the hotel’s spot on the hill welcomes in a cool breeze. Icy herbal sodas are thrust into our hands as we sit by a curved infinity pool and wait for our room to be prepared. It’s quiet, but not eerie, just completely peaceful. There’s not a soul in sight, apart from the two members of staff pottering around.
 
At the Roundhouse, there are only four rooms, which makes the whole experience feel incredibly intimate. Ours, Kumbuk, is spacious, airy and full of generous, golden natural light. Tasteful artworks hang on lime-washed walls; a four-poster bed veiled with perfectly thin mosquito net sits on polished concrete floors at the heart of the room; and two gorgeous, handcrafted wooden chairs are strategically positioned in front of the panoramic folding windows, ready and waiting for the sunset. A small wooden table is sitting between the two; we don’t know it yet, but later we’ll plonk perspiring Martinis down on its surface, playing backgammon late into the night. 
 
We leave the room in search of food and drink. In Sri Lanka, good wine is tricky to come across and if you do find it, it usually costs you the Earth. Not here. We’re celebrating on this trip and are delighted to see that the hotel carries good French champagne. Sitting by the infinity pool, we sip on the bubbly as Billy the hotel dog lopes across the lawn towards us. He’s lived on the property for as long as it’s been there and is a handsome, doe-eyed joy. The pool is draped with hanging plants and the birds that swoop across the surface don’t faze Billy as he parks himself next to us and hangs out for the afternoon.

Dinner time comes along and we walk a few feet to the dining room, an airy, effortlessly cool space that really does feel like your cool architect friend’s front room. We order local red snapper steamed in banana leaves, fresh curried mud crabs and cool beer to sip alongside it all. On cue, Billy returns and lays at our feet, dosing in the warm evening air. One half of the duo behind this architectural triumph also arrives at our table. Patrick is a warm host and good company — we share a glass of wine and ask him if the rumours are true, is building a place this beautiful as fraught with woe as the TV lets on. 'Yes, largely,' he says with a laugh, showing us a book of photographs of the building process. It’s remarkable, the vision required to pull something off like this, and then to share it with the world. Bravo, Patrick and partner.

The food is excellent, the rice and curry as good as any we’ve had anywhere in Sri Lanka, the snapper even better. What really elevates the whole stay, though, is the staff. Because there are so few rooms, the service feels personal without being intrusive. They quickly learn your name, remember how you take your coffee, and are happy to organise anything you need — tuk-tuks, surf lessons, restaurant reservations, you name it. It feels warm and genuine, rather than scripted or rehearsed; they actually care that you’re comfortable and happy. Location-wise, being near Ahangama is ideal. You can easily head out for surfing, beach cafés, or to explore nearby towns like Weligama and Galle, then retreat back to calm in the evening. After a busy day out, coming back to the plantation is like stepping into a private sanctuary.
 
The Roundhouse feels very special. It’s beautifully designed, peaceful, thoughtfully run and genuinely relaxing. It’s not about flashy luxury. It’s a little snapshot of Sri Lanka — it’s about having space, being in nature, good food and kind people. If that’s your vibe, you’ll probably fall in love with it the same way Mrs Smith and I did. After four days at Trebartha East, the circular wooden sanctuary perched atop that cinnamon-infused hill, I can tell you with complete confidence that yes, the juice is worth the squeeze, especially when Patrick is squeezing it for you. And my god, we're glad he did. 
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Price per night from $262.54

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