F ORT BAZAAR GALLE FORT, SRI LANKA
THIS NEW-KID-ON-THE-BLOCK BOUTIQUE HOTEL
Hidden away down a side street in Galle’s UNESCO-protected ancient fort, has been earning itself some column inches since opening last year, and it’s easy to see why. Slick and contemporary, colourful but serene, it wears its Moorish influences well, without looking like a cookie-cutter copy of a standard Sri Lankan resort. Nearly all of the 18 bedrooms are built around a central two-storey, Portuguese-tile-lined courtyard, decorated with frangipani trees and eucalyptus bushes. Hidden staircases wind their way to the swimming pool and impressive Z spa.
FORT BAZAAR GALLE FORT, SRI LANKA THIS NEW-KID-ON-THE-BLOCK BOUTIQUE HOTEL Photo Gallery
There’s even a cinema tucked away behind the courtyard. Double rooms are small but sweet, with shuttered windows, vintage travel posters and modernist concrete bathrooms. We’d recommend the three double-height Upper Suites overlooking the red-tiled townscape. Sample a cocktail on the terrace as you watch rickshaws zoom past; bagsy a sofa in the lobby and chat to your fellow travellers, or pop into the brasserie-style restaurant, Church Street Social, to try Sri Lankan delicacies such as buffalo curd and kithul jaggery (a sweet made of refined sugar cane).
OUR KIND OF LUXE
Shopping in Galle Fort, a gorgeous 18th-century walled town, is fantastic, with exceptional clothing boutiques, antiques shops and tea specialists. At nightfall, head to the fort’s walls to watch the sky turn a bright mix of yellows, pinks and purples. Incredible sunsets come as standard here. GO Greaves India (greavesindia.com) offers five nights in a Banyan Bedroom from £1,440 per person, including breakfast, return flights with Sri Lankan Airlines, airport transfers and a tour of Galle.
