Heritance Ahungalla Hotel – Sri Lanka – review

Last Updated on April 15, 2022

Reside in luxury on the edge of the Indian Ocean

The last stop of my amazing Sri Lankan adventure couldn’t have been a more fitting ending – a stay at Heritance Ahungalla. What joy it was to finally arrive at this luxurious 5-star beachfront hotel after the long drive from Nuwara Eliya, high up in the mountains where I had been staying at the Heritance Tea Factory.

A long sweeping palm tree-lined driveway brings you to the magnificent grand pillared white marbled entrance and lobby, with an open veranda looking onto an expansive turquoise blue infinity pool and the Indian Ocean beyond.

The hotel is set on a prized sandy beach in Ahungalla, a small fishing hamlet on Sri Lanka’s west coast, sheltered by thick coconut groves. It’s located 76 km from Colombo, between Bentota and Hikkaduwa, a two-hour drive from Colombo’s Bandaranaike International Airport and an hour’s drive from Galle.

Heritance Ahungalla is an early creation of Sri Lanka’s celebrated architect Geoffrey Bawa who has used his signature architectural style to seamlessly blend the boundaries between the natural elements of the tropical landscape and the interior of the hotel. High ceilings and airy passageways lead to three-storey linked pavilions which are surrounded by lush greenery, flowing water, grass lawns and palm trees, with direct access to the sandy beach.

Guest facilities, activities and entertainment at Heritance Ahungalla

This stunning coastal hotel offers three different packages – All Inclusive, Full or Half Board. There’s something for everyone, with a fully equipped gym and two large swimming pools with sunbeds and fresh beach towels each day. They provide an array of daily sports activities including yoga, beach volleyball, water aerobics, water volleyball, tennis, darts, snooker, plus there’s plenty of entertainment to keep the kids happy too, including cookery courses, sports, face painting, which enables parents to have a well-deserved break and relax by the pool. For those who want to really unwind and destress the Coco Spa offers a great selection of beauty treatments as well as soothing warm stone, Balinese or Ayurvedic massages.

During the evening in the Mirror Lounge between 7-11 pm, there’s live music, a mix of cultural shows and bands performing western and Sri Lankan music. One evening during our stay there was a spectacular traditional Sri Lankan dance show in the lobby, perfect entertainment for all ages. Due to popular request Heritance Ahungalla is also planning to open a karaoke room.

Accommodation at Heritance Ahungalla

There are 152 stylish rooms all of which have stunning ocean views. You can choose from Deluxe, Premium Deluxe, Luxury or Suites. In the suites, guests are pampered with a special pillow menu, soap menu, scented candles and personalized stationery at their writing desk.  If you really want to push the boat out then book the Luxury Suite at Heritance Ahungalla which along with a large balcony, separate sleeping area, bathroom, living and dining area comes complete with a home-theatre system.

Our Deluxe room suited our needs perfectly.  It was airy and spacious with a polished wood floor, elegantly furnished with contemporary wooden furniture, brass lamps, a writing desk and a sofa with upholstered cushions in shades of red and green.  The comfortable king-size bed with crisp white linen was attractively decorated each day with flower petals and clever animal sculptures made with towels.

Doors opened onto the balcony which overlooked one of the swimming pools and provided a lovely vista of the ocean, ideal for morning coffee or sundown drinks to the backdrop of the lapping waves. Amenities included blackout blinds, air conditioning, a large wall hung TV, mini bar, phone, safe, bottled water, tea and coffee making facilities.  The ample sized en-suite bathroom came with a double sink, bath and shower with Heritance bath products, fluffy white bathrobes and flip-flops. Room service and laundry services are available.

Dining at Heritance Ahungalla

There are two bars and three restaurants. Dining at Ahungalla is an absolute treat, the bustling Jute restaurant serves bountiful buffet meals three times a day for up to 200 guests, it has lots of indoor seating with garden views as well as tables on the terrace.

Breakfast offers a tempting choice of fresh fruit juices, curd and treacle, pastries and lots of hot options including pancakes, eggs, sausages and traditional Sri Lankan curries, sweet dosas and egg hoppers – a fine rice bowl-shaped pancake with and lightly spiced egg in it, which by now had become my favoured Sri Lankan breakfast. Both lunch and dinner provided an extensive choice of exceptionally good food from around the world including Middle Eastern, Indian and modern European cuisines. Imaginative dishes, full of flavour, fresh salads, fish, grilled meats, rice, noodles and pasta.

They also serve a selection of Sri Lankan specialities, delicious aromatic curries and traditional street food dishes, I especially enjoyed watching the chef prepare a chicken Kottu, which is cooked to order at a live cooking station, mixed vegetables, egg, chilli, diced roti, spices, and chicken (can be made with other meats or just vegetables) chopped at an impressively high speed into a tasty and hearty meal.

The Mustard coffee shop is a lovely open-air covered dining area with yellow painted walls, stone floor, wooden tables and chairs and funky zebra print cushions, which overlooks the infinity pool, and is open 24 hours a day. It serves snacks, cappuccinos and an a la carte menu, modern European options including spiny lobster, rack of lamb, tenderloin steaks, pasta, burgers and a selection of Asian specialities.

On the first floor is a more exclusive fine-dining restaurant called the Upper Room, which was temporarily closed during our stay.

Sri Lankan Cooking demonstration

We were lucky enough to experience the most magical dining experience with a cooking demonstration from Sous Chef, Dalantha Rakitha. It was held in the shade and comfort of Mustard coffee shop, and on the menu was coconut prawn curry and dahl. Dalantha led us through the recipe step by step adding the freshest of ingredients and wonderful aromatic spices.

Finally, we sat down to feast on this sublime curry and dhal, brimming with fragrant flavours and warm spices, served with sides of coconut sambal, lime pickle, mango chutney and popadom.

We did of course bring the recipe home so I’m very much hoping I can recreate this delicious meal.

Sustainability at the Hotel

Heritance Ahungalla is one of the Aitken Spence Hotels, which over the past couple of years have been working on sustainability throughout the group. All Aitken Spence hotels focus on energy and water saving, educating their staff and inspiring their guests to go green while also being Travelife Gold certified.

Things to do in and around Ahungalla

Heritance Ahungalla is perfectly situated for exploring Sri Lanka’s beautiful western coastline, if you can, make time to visit Galle’s magnificent 17th-century fort which is just over an hour’s drive from the hotel.

We visited the  Kosgoda Turtle Hatchery at Kosgoda beach which is one of 18 turtle hatcheries along the southern coast of Sri Lanka. This amazing centre was established in 1981 and strives to protect all five species of turtles that visit Sri Lanka and nest here in Kosgoda. It has a hatchery that aids the survival of baby turtles in their very initial stages, plus it has a care centre that rescues and treats injured adults, releasing them back into the ocean whenever possible.

They also run volunteer programs and awareness programs for local and international visitors, when we visited there were several young people there helping out during their gap year travels. This was a really great experience; we were told all about the incredible work they do at the centre and then we got the opportunity to hold adorable baby turtles and watch feeding time.

One of the highlights of our visit was the river safari which we took with Buddhi Boat Safari. We travelled down the Madu Ganga river drifting past stunning tropical mangrove forests, a tiny Hindu Temple and stopping off at Kothduwa Temple which is reputed to have been home to the sacred relic of the tooth of the Buddha. 

We watched prawn fishermen at work and enjoyed spotting the diverse river wildlife, seeing among other things a baby crocodile, water iguanas, huge squirrels, herons, kingfishers and cormorants. We also visited Cinnamon Island, where we were welcomed with cinnamon tea, followed by a demonstration of how cinnamon is produced from the tree and came away with fresh cinnamon sticks to take home.

We even went to a fish spa to have our feet nibbled by fish, which I’m not sure did anything other than giving me terrible giggles. Great fun but definitely not an experience I intend to repeat!

This was the final part of my Sri Lankan trip which sadly had to come to an end, but if you’re thinking of travelling to Sri Lanka and want to reside in luxury in an idyllic coastal location Heritance Ahungalla might be just the place… it’s perfect for families, groups of friends or for couples seeking a romantic getaway.

Factbox

https://www.heritancehotels.com/ahungalla/

Heritance Ahungalla, Galle Road, Ahungalla, Sri Lanka.

+94 91 5555 000

hainfo@heritancehotels.com