The Olanda Beach House is an elegantly-restored walauwa or ancestral home with spacious rooms, spectacular views, a beautiful beach frontage and a large garden. The building follows the traditional architectural style with verandahs that skirt around the premises, wooden columns, terracotta floors, high roofs and large doors opening out to the garden – all of which invite in the tropical sun and ocean breeze.

Accommodation
Olanda House has three large bedrooms that open out to the garden and can comfortably sleep up to six adults. The ensuite bathrooms include open-air showers, elegantly designed to provide tranquil moments amidst flowering frangipani trees. One bathroom has a large cement bath tub ideal for a flower bath. The rooms are furnished with canopied king-size four-poster beds.

Facilities
The living room opens out to the verandah, pool and magnificent views of the Indian Ocean. A separate pavilion by the swimming pool houses the formal dining room, a well-equipped kitchen and a games room with a snooker table. Meals are also served on the verandah of the main house. Both Western dishes and Sri Lankan rice and curry are served. Discuss your menus with the cook and he will ensure that fresh fruit, vegetables, and seafood from the daily catch are prepared to your liking. Relaxation comes easily at Olanda House. Lie back in a planter’s chair on the verandah; sit on the lawn surrounded by coconut trees; or settle into the cemented recliners by the edge of the sea. The villa is staffed with a cook and housekeeper.

Excursions
Nearby beaches at Unawatuna, Mirissa and Weligama Bay are all prized beaches for swimming and snorkeling. Take a boat ride on Koggala Lake and wander inland into a different landscape of mangroves and islands, inhabited by numerous species of birds. Just 20 minutes away is the historic Galle Dutch Fort, a UNESCO-protected World Heritage site and a melting pot of cultural influences. Several hours can be spent wandering along narrow streets; well-preserved ramparts overlooking the cricket stadium, the lighthouse, and browsing through antique shops. Several boutique hotels offer fine dining. For the more adventurous, a jeep safari to the Yala or Uda Walawe wildlife parks or trip to Sinharajah rain forest may appeal.