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During my travels in Sri Lanka in February 1998, I had the opportunity to stay at some wonderful old hotels, all of which dated back to many years before Ceylon (as it was then known) gained its independence from Great Britain. |
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My first stop was at Queens Hotel in Kandy, a classic centrally located hotel overlooking the main square in this pleasant, hill country community. I had learned a couple of weeks before I arrived, while still travelling in India, that Prince Charles was scheduled to come to Kandy to participate in the celebrations of the fiftieth anniversary of Sri Lanka's independence. A few days later I learned that Hindu terrorists had bombed Kandy's famous Temple of the Tooth, so called because it is said that the Buddha's tooth resides there. This caused the heir apparent to English throne to change his travel plans in favor of the more secure capital city of Colombo. I took this to be good news since I had feared what the onslaught of so many dignitaries might do to my confirmed booking. I arrived in Kandy, at the hotel, shortly after sunset, whereupon I made an alarming discovery. Queens Hotel was boarded shut. Clutching the fax of my confirmed reservation I impressed myself upon an attendant stationed near one of the back doors. The man proved, in keeping with a quality I found throughout Sri Lanka, extremely helpful and responsive. It turned out that Queens Hotel was across the square from the Temple of the Tooth and that the terrorist blast had blown out many of the hotels windows. While I was pleased to learn that reconstruction had already begun, it was immediately evident that it would be weeks before the repairs would be completed. Which of course didn't do me any good at all... |
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The attendant led me inside until we found ourselves in the shuttered and thorougly darkened lobby of the closed hotel. From there he rang up a sister property, the Hotel Suisse. I had been confirmed in at Queens at a rate of 25 US dollars and my new friend must have tried for ten minutes to get the Hotel Suisse to honor the rate guaranteed in my booking at Queens. Only hearing one side of his conversation, I wasn't fully sure that there was even a room available at the Hotel Suisse (a far greater concern at this point than the price). Finally I got this point across and I found myself with a secured reservation at the Hotel Suisse at the staggering rate of 54 US dollars, with a 20% discount thrown in as good measure for my troubles. Upon arrival at the Hotel Suisse, I planted myself at the upstairs bar where I proceeded to enjoy three tall, cold Sri Lankan beers and unwind from the day's exertions. (I had started the morning in the Maldives and then spent much of the afternoon running errands in Colombo before catching the train to Kandy.) The facilities were grand and lovely; the drinks cold; and the food plentiful. I was ready for the next leg of my journey. |
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The next day I was off to the legendary hill station of Nuwara Eliya (pronounced new-REAL-ee-a). There were really only two choices of where to stay in Nuwara Eliya: either the Grand Hotel or the Hill Club. The latter had a policy of accepting foreign tourists as temporary members. I opted for the Grand Hotel. After a four hour train ride through the tea estates, I arrived
in Nanu Oya (the transfer point on the rail line for Nuwara Eliya). My guide book had warned me that car fare was likely to be 250 rupees from there to town. Upon leaving the train, I met a pleasant gentleman who had just brought some folks down to meet the train. He offered me a ride into town for a mere 50 rupees. Remembering the experience one has with touts when traveling in India, I begged off, explaining that my priority at the moment was securing a return ticket to Kandy in the next day's observation saloon. My new friend then came to my assistance which, it turned out was quite useful, since booking the reservation and buying the ticket involved a complicated three step process in which one was obliged to traverse the length and breadth of the station. Upon arrival at the Grand Hotel, I quickly acceded to his offer for a ride back to Nanu Oya the next day. The hotel was large and comfortable; the buffets plentiful and satisfying. |
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| Having seen a BBC news segment on the Hill Club a few days earlier while still in India, I decided I must check it out. I walked over and presented my credentials (consisting most significantly of a 50 rupee note) and was welcomed as a temporary member. I wandered around the club and was particularly impressed by the billiards room. No doubt this whole place really had been picked up from someplace in England and plopped down here in the Sri Lankan mountains. |
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I left Nuwara Eliya without further event, travelled on to Kandy for another night at the Hotel Suisse whence I headed on to Colombo where I had booked myself into the legendary Galle Face Hotel. This grand edifice, looking westward across the ocean, first opened its doors in 1864 and seemed quite proud of its rich and occasionally eccentric past. The views from the outdoor cafe at
sunset were heart stopping; I can think of no better place to recover from a day of hot and dusty walking with a cold beer. Sri Lanka's most famous foreign resident, Arthur Clarke, author of 2001 A Space Odyssey, had just completed his latest novel while living at the hotel. And despite some less than savory rumours about his personal life which were circulating in the English and South Asian press, his bust was still proudly displayed in the hotel's foyer. |
