The Villa Bentota

Mangrove-scattered sands cloak Paradise Road The Villa Bentota in a rusticity that’s fabulously at odds with its orderly garden surrounds. Dating back to the 19th-century, this gorgeous Bentota boutique hotel was renovated first by iconic Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa, and more recently by design guru Shanth Fernando, who transformed it into the south-west coast’s most sensational seaside retreat.

Massage room, shop, gallery, gardens, free WiFi in public areas. In rooms: flatscreen TV with cable, minibar, Spa Ceylon Ayurveda for Paradise Road toiletries.

Tucked away by the garden, Superior Suites 3 and 4 have the broadest beach-facing balconies on the first and second floors with Suite 4 boasting super sea views. Garden-gazing bath tubs are the stars in Superior Suites 5 and 6, or for extra luxe Executive Suite 1’s clandestine courtyard comes with a private plunge pool.

A slender lap pool with parasol-topped terrace stretches across the garden to a shady sea-view pavilion; a smaller, shallower lawn-edged pool languishes in a frangipani-flecked inner courtyard.