An Iconic Sri Lankan Tour with Resplendent Ceylon
Dreaming of a Sri Lankan holiday but can’t decide what kind of trip you feel like? Why not combine three of the best holiday experiences imaginable for the ultimate adventure!
Conceived by Sri Lankan tea producers and founders of Dilmah Ceylon Tea, the Fernando family, Resplendent Ceylon comprises three distinctively original resorts – Ceylon Tea Trails, Cape Weligama and Wild Coast Tented Lodge.
The only Sri Lankan member of Relais & Chateaux, Resplendent Ceylon’s five-star resorts offer discerning travellers a remarkable circuit across Sri Lanka with experiences that have been carefully curated to offer an authentic, intimate exploration into the country’s essence.
Ticking off three of Sri Lanka’s most sought-after destinations – the beautiful tea estates in Hatton, Yala National Park and the striking coastline of Weligama – the luxury collection takes guests on a journey into the heart, soul, history and gastronomy of the magical island.
Private tea tastings, cooking classes, guided safaris and whale watching, bike rides that explore the tropical vibes of rural charm, and guided explorations of World Heritage sites are some of the experiences you’ll enjoy in this one-of-a-kind luxury voyage.
Resplendent Ceylon Founders
Founder of Dilmah Tea and Resplendent Ceylon, Merrill J Fernando, and his sons Dilhan and Malik.
CEYLON TEA TRAILS
For the first leg of the journey, sink into old-world colonial charm in tastefully resorted classic plantation bungalows that represent Sri Lanka’s tea heritage at the inimitable Ceylon Tea Trails. This resort promises gracious living in the heart of emerald tea blanketed mountains.
Ceylon Tea Trails comprises five restored historic tea planter residences (aka bungalows that are named after the tea planters who originally inhabited them) perched at an altitude of 1,250 meters in Sri Lanka’s panoramic Ceylon tea region. The 27 rooms & suites with period furnishings, gracious butler service, and gourmet cuisine create an ambiance that has made Tea Trails the gold standard for luxury in Sri Lanka.
Each bungalow is unique and offers guests the non-hotel, private house ambiance that is the hallmark of the award-winning Tea Trails experience. Follow the Tea Trail from one bungalow to the next, staying a night or two at each or just laze in one. This is the ideal setting for trekking and biking against the breathtaking backdrop of mountains, lakes, winding roads, and waterfalls.
If you prefer to unwind, observe life on a working tea estate while being pampered by your butler, enjoy a spa treatment, croquet on the lawn or sunbathe alongside the pool. Or explore the lush tea fields & visit a century old factory for a gentle education in the art of Ceylon Tea.
Ceylon Tea Trails
Relaxing views over beautiful gardens and tea fields from your quaint bungalow.
WILD COAST TENTED LODGE
Next, immerse yourself in the enchanted wilderness of Yala National Park with a bespoke, experiential safari at the chic Wild Coast Tented Lodge. Wild Coast Lodge redefines “safari” as a holistic wilderness experience. The estate is blessed with diverse habitat, ecology and scenery across the five sectors of the Yala National Park Complex and Bundala National Park which is a Ramsar Wetland.
The resort aspires to showcase the entire spectrum of nature - leopards, geology, botanical diversity, critters, mammals, birds and reptiles. But that’s just part of the story. Steeped in the jungles of Wild Coast Tented Lodge's surrounding national parks are remnants of civilisations past, and ancient jungle monasteries, archaeological sites and places of worship that date back to mythical eras of the gods.
Wild Coast Tented Lodge is adjacent to Yala National Park, renowned for its leopard population. This spectacular luxury tented camp is situated on a rugged, empty beach, overlooking the Indian Ocean. The unique design sees the man-made structures blending seamlessly into the surrounding landscape, thanks to the use of carefully selected natural materials.
The use of arched fabric structures allows each of the 28 tents to take on the shape and colour of the rocks and boulders that lay scattered nearby, whilst a clever layout in the shape of a leopard’s paw print alludes to the area’s most famous resident. The open-air bamboo-clad Ten Tuskers bar and Dining Pavilion – designed to mirror the boulders scattered across the golden beach beyond – wrap around the resort’s enormous free-form swimming pool.
Guests can enjoy creative daily-changing menus of authentic Sri Lankan cuisine in the restaurant, as well as sundowner cocktails and picnics al fresco on the sand dunes, watching dusk settle over the Indian Ocean.
Wild Coast Tented Lodge
Your private cocoon invites nature inside with stunning floor to ceiling glass doors. If you’re lucky, you might even wake up to a leopard outside!
CAPE WELIGAMA
Finally, explore the stories of Southern Sri Lanka at the beautifully designed Cape Weligama that sits atop a cliff with vistas along the island’s tropical coastline. The resort’s experiences are carefully curated to offer an authentic, intimate and exploratory journey into the heart, soul, history, and gastronomy of this magical island. They also offer activities with healthy doses of fun, adventure and pampering, along with a holistic wellness offering for guests to escape their urban life and soothe mind, body, and soul. A selection of engaging activities for families – with a special selection for kids – are on hand as well, to round out the perfect getaway.
Nestled into the natural slopes atop Cape Weligama’s striking headland, a collection of 39 Suites and Villas create the welcoming illusion of a traditional Sri Lankan village. Yet beneath local terracotta-tiled rooftops, stylish interiors unfold as generously sized contemporary living quarters, surrounded by tropical gardens, named after a distinguished explorer or writer whose historic Ceylon journey captures the spirit of Cape Weligama.
The Villas are set within eight gardens in the upper part of our headland, comprising two or three Villas in each plus a large, shared infinity edge swimming pool. The Ocean Pool Villa and Duplex Two Bedroom Cape Pool Villa enjoy private 15m pools. The Suites are located at the lower level, around the Cove Pool. They are especially well suited to families or friends travelling together.
Cape Weligama
Pull up a pew at Cape Weligama’s famous infinity pool and enjoy a sundowner in serenity.