Santani

The most striking feature of Santani is the minimalist, award-winning architecture in a stunningly beautiful location amongst the picturesque hills, around one hour outside Kandy.

A wonderful way to arrive is on the seaplane to Koggala Lake, just 40 minutes away by road. This is a retreat for grown-ups only (no children under 12 allowed) and the resort has been designed as a place to escape any stress and to completely revive your body, mind and soul. The striking architecture was designed to celebrate and embrace the incredible views so that the mind is only focused on the beauty of the surroundings.

The 20 rooms here are divided into Mountain and Garden View Chalets and all feature en-suite bathrooms with rain shower and private balcony. Mountain View Chalets offer either a King size or Twin bed arrangement, each in a stand alone building. Garden View Chalets have King size beds and come with a private garden terrace. Extra beds are not possible in the rooms.

The excellent gourmet cuisine served is based on a bespoke menu concept; all meals are personalised whether guests have signed up for a wellness package or not. This intelligent concept of eating focuses on the rasa haya or six tastes concept. This means that all meals throughout the day and wherever possible for each meal are customised to balance out the six main tastes (such as sweet, salty etc.) and are designed to avoid food

cravings. Those staying on bespoke wellness packages will have their meals further customised based on their body type and the nature of their wellness package. Because of this approach, the chef will speak to guests individually regarding their requirements. Special diets and requests are easily catered for here on request.

There is no pressure or obligation to book in on a full spa programme during your stay here, guests can either enjoy a totally personalised wellness package or simply enjoy being here with a few lovely treatments during the stay. The spa operates around the principles of Ayurveda. The facilities of the spa are second to none and the tri-level spa is the largest in Sri Lanka, and also has the island’s first complete hydrotherapy facilities complete with salt bath, sauna and steam. There is also a yoga shala and daily morning and evening yoga and meditation classes(complimentary).

Finally, Santani has been designed in such a way so that neither air-conditioning nor heating are needed, and this reduces the hotel’s energy consumption by about 70% compared to standard hotels. Stilt construction for most of the buildings allows for natural thermal flows to cool the rooms, the stilts also ensure minimal contact with the earth below. The spa is entirely underground, providing natural cooling. Almost 80% of the wood used for both structural elements and furniture is recycled.