Edward Lear in Sri Lanka

We said goodbye to our driver after he dropped us off at our beautiful seaside hotel near Galle: The Owl and the Pussycat in Thalpe.

It's part of SLH and thus a nice boutique hotel with not too many rooms. It was directly at the sea, but actually had no beach. We didn't care about that, since it was easy to get to a great beach in five to ten minutes with one of the ubiquitous tuktuks.

For a complete trip report (with more photos) you are welcome to read my blog as well: https://www.continentaltraveller.blog/home/2018/01/15/sri-lanka-in-style-part-2-kandy-galle-and-the-beach

The room had a nice island feel about it. It was still new and kept very clean. No sea view, though. I am guessing we didn't get an upgrade to the next category, I also didn't ask about it. I would have been entitled to it due to my status with SLH - of course only when available. We were happy with our room anyway.

The staff was friendly and attentive. Also the GM was taking care of us.

There was no real spa. Only a massage stand at the waterside. We had massages here and it was wonderful. A real spa would have been nice though. The outdoor pool was too small to call it a pool.

The food was actually very good throughout our stay. From breakfast to dinner it was fresh and contained local produce, like fruits or fish.

There are many beaches around the hotel. We visited two of them, North and South along the coast. The sand and water temperature were just right, and there were not too many people. Maybe the reason for that was that the waves were always going very strong. You probably won't find the calmness of the Maldives here, although it's the same part of the Indian Ocean. Sometimes you were swimming against the current that was pulling you out into the ocean instead of to the beach. Eventually we got to some calmer areas, protected by natural boulders. I enjoyed it, especially because of the lack of people.

Galle is an old fortified city founded by Portuguese colonists in the 16th century. It has small cafes and shops (tourist centred) and a laid back atmosphere.

We really liked the old town and we could actually unwind while shuffling through shops (some really unique ones, not always the same tourist crap) and having good coffee. Next time we are gonna spend a few nights here as well.

The views of the Indian Ocean, the sound of the waves, the new and nice interior (and exterior) of the hotel and the wonderful staff ended our stay as amazing as it started in tea country.

Good

• Nice location directly at the sea
• Great coffee served in little French Presses
• Food was fresh and tasty
• Modern, but true-to-island-living designed rooms
• Friendly staff

Bad

• No own beach
• Pool quite small

For a complete trip report (with more photos) you are welcome to read my blog as well: https://www.continentaltraveller.blog/home/2018/01/15/sri-lanka-in-style-part-2-kandy-galle-and-the-beach