Eco-Friendly Luxury in Sri Lanka

View of Kandy in Sri Lanka

When traveling to new places, it’s always a bit of a gamble to find accommodations that are amazing, yet reasonably priced – unless you are planning to stay in a chain hotel. I’m a bit of an adventurer, but I admit there are a couple of chain resorts that I love including the Four Seasons, The W Hotel, Anantara and a few other luxury lines. And while, I love these resorts, in truth I can’t always afford them (actually I rarely can afford them and can only justify staying if I can find a deal).

Then there are times when a boutique hotel is too tempting to resist, none of my standby places are located in the area I wanted to stay, or in the case of Sri Lanka, the country is just too interesting to risk being watered-down by a chain hotel. You want to stay in a place that is owned by someone who lives there.

So then the research begins. For me, it starts with Expedia just to get an idea on prices in the area and from there the search extends to AirBnB.com, Dwellable.com and homeaway.com. I then do extensive google searches to see what other bloggers recommend and what articles have been written about the area.

View of the grounds at the Bougainvillea - best eco-friendly resort in Sri Lanka (in my opinion)

I also have a folder on my computer full of links to cool places and bucket list ideas. It was in this folder that I had saved the information on the BV-retreat.com, aka Bougainvillea Retreat. (url http://www.bv-retreat.com)

The infinity pool at the Bougainvillea Retreat in Sri Lanka

This little gem of a place was written up in the CNN travel section on the best eco-friendly resorts in Sri Lanka. It’s located 30 minutes out of Kandy and is the last villa on one of the roads leading outside the city. It’s tranquil, gorgeous and exceeded all my expectations.

Relaxing poolside sofas at the resort.

Pi, the woman running the boutique resort is doing it on behalf of a friend and was so helpful. The only thing I knew about Sri Lanka when I booked the trip was Adam’s Peak was something I wanted to do and I knew from the blog posts I had read, that it was located somewhere around Kandy. What I didn’t know was that the airport is not located by Kandy. The airport is in Colombo and because the roads are so winding and busy, it’s a 3 to 4-hour drive from Colombo to Kandy. 

At first I thought, no problem, I’ll just rent a car, but Pi warned me that the roads aren’t really well marked, signage is an issue and people drive like crazy around the tight curves. Instead she offered the BV-Retreat’s driver for $70 a day. He would even meet us at the airport and drive us to the hotel so we wouldn’t have to worry about being stranded in a new country.

This turned out to be the best deal ever as the roads are a little crazy there.  I doubt I would have ever found the hotel from the airport. Plus, the driver took us to places we didn't know existed like the elephant orphanage, an herb farm and little temples in villages, etc.  He also did the talking for us as not everyone spoke English.

The living room with the view of the pool at the resort

The Bougainvillea has only 8 rooms and when my girlfriend and I arrived, we were the only people there – and had the house to ourselves. I also got it on a “stay two nights get the third night free” deal and this included a custom made gourmet breakfast. Not bad for $150 a night!

Our little table that they set for us each day.

Each day they would set up our little table for two. They only made enough food for the guests (us) and it wasn't like a restaurant where you could order. They gave a couple of choices in the morning and then would have it ready for us in time for dinner.  They always had a western and Sri Lankan option. I highly recommend trying the Sri Lankan option. Their food was so incredible and you won't find anything like it back home.

Another view of the pool

Also, you have to try their tea.  Sri Lanka is famous for their tea.  You'll see the fields all over the mountains. They brew it with real leaves (not bags) and they like it strong with milk.  I just like it strong so for me it was perfect. 

By the way, if you are thinking of retiring someplace, the owner told me this house with its infinity pool and amazing view was only $40,000. My only regret was not having more time just to sit and do nothing.  This place was so wonderful, you didn't want to leave.