"If you visit Sri Lanka, you MUST stay here"
nuanho nuanho
Amangalla
Amangalla provides a tranquil and period styled base from which to
explore the fascinating culture and tumultuous history of Galle Fort
and Galle, the capital of the Southern Province in Sri Lanka.
Galle is acclaimed for its Dutch Fort, intricate Galle lace, ebony,
woodcarvings and polished gems. Persians, Arabs, Chinese, Malays,
South Indians, Portuguese, Dutch and English appear to have stamped
their mark on Galle, deeming this historical and multi-cultured
melting pot one of the world’s remaining historical treasures.
Amangalla’s history is born out of the early Dutch colonial period,
and is located right in the heart of the preserved Dutch fort,
offering guests a memorable and appropriately stylish stay in
architectural splendour. It is surrounded by antiques, old prints,
polished aged-floors, crisp white linen, pristine walls, rich
mahogany, wood and rattan planters together with a gracious, welcoming
and warm staff.
Gentle strolls directly from the hotel unravel the unique history of
this magnificent 36-hectare hexagonal stone fort, revealing colonial
buildings still in use today, bustling narrow streets proffering the
crafts of many generations, and the ramparts and seawall, where locals
and visitors gather alike to fly kites, play cricket or simply inhale
the wonders of its maritime legacy.
http://www.amanresorts.com/amangalla/resort.aspx
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Aman does the classics
It is difficult to relay how amazing this hotel is but to give you an
idea, I will summarise my first full day at Amangalla:
1. Woken up by Janaka (our own butler) bringing us our bed tea and
pulling back the shutters to reveal glorious sunshine and views of the
Old Dutch Church.
2. Going downstairs to the spa, where they have an old barber's chair
and having a "proper shave" (cut-throat, hot/cold towels, Geo Trumper
products)
3. Having breakfast in the Zaal (including everything you would expect
from a top hotel including some lovely home-made juices etc).
4. Laying around the pool, not having to lift a finger but noticing
that iced water was constantly by my side (and refreshed as soon as it
had started to warm!) and that cooling watermelon and/or iced towels
were provided at regular intervals (in fact iced towels were handed
out constantly during our stay - on arrival back at the hotel after
going for stroll, regularly during the day (once even as I was walking
down a corridor!), at drinks, dinner etc - all very welcome
considering that Galle was very humid whilst we were there)
5. heading off to the spa when the midday sun got too much and having
a 90 min massage (for £40-50!). The spa is beautiful by the way and
the treatments varied and top notch.
6 after lunch wandering around the fort with Janaka in tow (he had now
changed out of his butler garb into normal clothes but had equally
transformed into a tour guide with more historical information than
any of the books I had read on Galle). Note that Janaka's services
were all included in the price!
7. a refreshing trip to the spa's "baths" (hydro pool, saunas etc)
followed by sun downers at the "bar" on the top floor.
8. dinner each night was excellent...a tomato "tarte fine" on the
first night which was straight out of a Provencal summer's day. The
wine list is ok and has a some values. For example, a half bottle of
Tattinger NV (but showing some nice bottle age) was £21 which is
cheaper than what you would pay in London. Also, at the top end, Dom P
was £170 a bottle for 1996 which considering that you are in the
middle of nowhere again isn't bad (I have seen London lists offering
the 1998 at over £160 a bottle).
All in all Aman have managed with Amangalla to (re)create a hotel of
such colonial splendour that you immediately think of the setting of
an Agatha Christie novel! The staff (in particular, Janaka) were
excellent and provided service which I think probably surpasses
everything that I have experienced before.
Thank you Amangalla!
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If you visit Sri Lanka, you MUST stay here.
This is one hotel in a million. A real gem, situated in the historic
Dutch fort in Galle. Everything about this place is perfect, and there
is noticeable attention to detail, just about everywhere. The pool and
spa are fantastic, the food is divine, the rooms are luxurious and the
service is absolutely amazing. I can recommend it to anyone. And for
weddings - the best place I can think of. They provide a complete
service, and they do not disappoint.
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Wonderful place for a few nights
We were there for several nights over christmas. As mentioned in other
reviews, the building itself was lovely. It has a nice terrace on the
top floor for sunsets, which can be spectacular. The spa and spa
services were very very nice. Top notch. I had a shave from the young
barber named Rashan, and it was one of the best i have ever had. I
would recommend him if you have never had a straight-edge shave but
always wanted to try one. His father had worked in the same salon/shop/
chair for 20 years and it appears that it has now been passed on to
him. The massage from the guy that gives yoga classes was also top
notch. Our personal butler Krishantha could not have been more helpful
and pleasant. He greeted us at our 3am arrival with just as much charm
and warmth as throughout our few days. Lastly, the GM is a wonderful
woman who made us feel welcome.
The GM recommended a fantastic afternoon mtn bike tour. We drove 25
mins to another boutique hotel (Kahanda Kanda ... which is also
lovely). We had lunch there and then biked for about 1 1/2 hours
through the country side with our guide Alex. It was an easy bike ride
and we saw some wildlife including a 4.5 ft monitor lizard. We ended
at a pretty little beach for sunset cocktail. Great afternoon!
The fort in Galle itself was fun to walk around. It has a few nice
shops and a bit of character. To be honest though, I don't think you
need more than an afternoon to "get it". There are parts that are
quite charming, but a lot of other parts that haven't quite got there
yet (ie run down buildings/sidewalks etc).
Overall we would highly recommend Amangalla, but think 2 nights is
probably sufficient, unless you are planning to use it as a base to
tour around.
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WOW!
I stayed at the Amangalla for a friends wedding just a few days ago.
The hotel has a very regal feel about it. Having only a 3 day stay in
Sri lanka and never travelling here before I did feel like I had a
much longer stay. This is for many reasons including the relaxed
attitude of all the staff, the historic information available in the
hotels (well airconditioned) library and the fantastic location of the
hotel within galle.
The rooms ranked amongst the best I have ever stayed in and the food
was out of this world. I would highly recommend a spa treatment, they
are devine!
If you can afford to stay a night or two whilst visiting sri lanks I
would definately recommend it!
Thanks again to Olivia and her exceptional team for giving my
fantastic friends Kay and Koli the wedding they both deserve!
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Paradise on earth.
Stayed here for our last night in Sri Lanka. Stunning hotel, very
friendly and helpful staff, it was just amazing. The rooms are
beautifully appointed, and tastefully furnished with a lovely comfy
bed. The pool area is lush, the treatment rooms and spa divine. The
hotel has an interesting history which you can read about in the
library. Breakfast was a feast and the cream tea I had delicious. It
is in an area that is worth exploring on foot, met some lovely people
and we will be back. Sri Lanka is a beautiful island and it needs
travellers and tourists to start going back there, the locals say.
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A lovely hotel
We spent 3 nights at the Amangalla and were very impressed. The
building, the former Dutch Governor's residence, has been beautifully
and stylishly restored and is now a gracious and luxurious hotel in a
good location within the fort. Our room was extremely comfortable with
large sitting bedroom and bathroom areas, all in one large room. The
quality of the fittings etc was excellent. We had our own house boy
and butler who, were waiting to cater to our every whim. The food was
good, the pool area stunning and in fact it would be hard to find
fault. It's just a shame that, probably because of the current
political situation, there weren't more people around.
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The Amangalla exceeds the normal Aman exceptional service”
We stayed at the Aman during a week long break for our Honeymoon in
Sri Lanka and it was truly amazing. The Staff were so attentive and
our every need was catered for by a personal butler (Malaka) who was
fabulous.
The rooms are beautiful and furnished to exceptional standard
The Spa treatments are to die for as is the pool.
Our butler also arranged some really interesting trips for us to the
tea plantations, antique shops and also bike riding in the hills and
it was great to get a real sense of the sri lankan culture. You cannot
fault anything about this hotel and the staff and I would highly
recommend it to anyone planning a trip to sri-lanka. The only problem
with the Aman resorts is that once you've been to one you cant go back
to other hotels
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Absolutely wonderful
We stayed here recently for the first leg of our honeymoon and
absolutely loved it. The property itself is very beautiful and
atmospheric - we had a chamber which contained a beautiful four poster
bed and stunning views over the church. The staff were fantastic and
we felt totally spoilt by all the little touches - the evening cakes
left in our room, the pool attendant who brought us fresh coconut
juice and other treats, the complimentary yoga one morning, the
wonderful library with its ecclectic selection of books and the
thoughtful presents left every night on our bed. Coupled with this was
the yummy food - the Sri Lankan breakfasts in the morning were
delicious and provided a good opportunity to read the local paper. I
totally loved it and recommend it very highly. LB (London/Amsterdam)
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