Hotel Tea Garden

The star on a lush tea plantation :

by Beverley Jansz

Tea Garden Hotel, built in the heart of Watawala on a 50-acre tea estate on the Colombo-Nuwara Eliya highway, is a holiday maker's paradise.

Just a 15-minute drive from the Hatton town and a 10-minute drive from Ginigathhena, the hotel is in close proximity to Sri Lanka's most beautiful waterfalls, Devon and St. Clair. The hotel is also close to two unique locations - the old British Hill Resort of Nuwara Eliya and the holy mountain Sri Pada.

Standing on a beautifully landscaped garden surrounded by tea plantations, the Tea Garden Complex has three mega sized bedrooms, 10 cabana type rooms and three middle class rooms, all with modern facilities.

All rooms are equipped with hot/cold water, well polished floor, colonial type fire places, telephone, room service and other facilities needed for a peaceful holiday.

The plus point of Tea Garden Hotel Complex is that the Colombo-Badulla 'Udarata Menike' train and other up country trains run adjacent to the hotel, and at night tourists enjoy a panoramic view of the lip up trains which make the hotel an ideal location for train spotters.

Managing Director of the Hotel Tea Garden is leading hotelier, K. Kugumar who also runs the 'Peak Rest' at Hatton. General Manager of Hotel Tea Garden, A. Prabakaran said that the hotel's lobby floor and fireplaces are done with Rangoon teak.

'Mountain Bungalow' also run by the Tea Garden Complex, is situated at the top of a beautiful mountain. The bungalow is of a modern type and has three bungalows with polished wood floors and attached bath, each room equipped with a small fireplace.

The Hakgala Botanical Garden, World's End, Sri Pada, Belihuloya, the Elephant Orphanage at Pinnawala, the Peradeniya Botanical Gardens and Castlereigh Reservoir are some of the destinations for day trips from Hotel Tea Garden while the hotel arranges guides and transport facilities on request, Prabakaran said.

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