Ellerton

A charming estate bungalow, a little corner of England, set in tropical gardens and mountain tea plantations only half an hour south of Kandy

For a flavour of plantation life in colonial Ceylon, this hilltop retreat does the job nicely. A vintage bungalow, topped with a green corrugated iron roof, it was built for the manager of a large tea estate. In the sitting room, there are comfy sofas, copies of Country Life, a zebra-skin rug spread-eagled on a polished ox-blood floor, a grandfather clock chiming the hour as though nothing has changed since 1910. But don’t imagine that this is some sort of time warp. When Richard and Cary Goode bought the Edwardian house in 2006, its only inhabitants were an army of termites. What you see now is the result of hard graft and sensitive reconstruction.

Set in 9 acres of former tea, coffee and spice plantation, there are 6 homely guest rooms, a pool, an alfresco dining pavilion, planters chairs on lazy verandahs, and a terrace with terrific views - from the gardens, an oasis of tropical greenery, across deep lush valleys towards the Mawanella mountains. The setting is so peaceful it would be easy to forget that Kandy, Sri Lanka’s second city, is just down the road, within easy day-tripping distance.

Highs

• Rates include all drinks, breakfast and bike hire
• A lovely infinity pool with that dreamy backdrop of highland tea gardens and distant blue mountains
• Lazing on a verandah, admiring the wildlife in the gardens - a profusion of fruit and flowers, birds and butterflies
• An easygoing, convivial atmosphere - more house party than hotel
• Good food (wild boar curry, fish in a ginger and lime sauce, passion fruit souffle), no set mealtimes
• The highland weather. OK, so it rains now and then, but it’s cooler than the coast, and not as chilly as the higher hill country

Lows

• The Garden rooms by the pool can be noisy; we would recommend a room in the main house
• Though friendly and helpful, the service can be a little laid-back at times
• The neighbouring tea factory can be a bit noisy (mostly the rumble of vehicles and machinery)
• There’s no air-conditioning in the rooms, but at 2,500ft up, you don’t really need it
• A bit out of the way - and hold tight on those hairpin bends!