Villa life

There is a new element to having a holiday at home in Sri Lanka - actually staying in a private home. I don't mean renting a room in someone's house or checking into one of those small, charming guest houses that are to be found beside the beach from Mount Lavinia to Hambantota. I have discovered Luxury Villa Living - and I love it.

There is something blissfully seductive to wake up in a sumptuously furnished bedroom between crisp cotton sheets, head on downy pillows, and to glimpse through the window the glint of the sun on the patio swimming pool. Even more enticing is to know the pool is exclusive to oneself and family. The pleasure of staying in a villa is it isn't shared with strangers.

The other joy - one any housewife would appreciate - is that there is no self-service. Everything is done by the trained villa staff on demand. The welcome greeting "make yourself at home" couldn't be more inviting.

Even in my wildest dreams my own home is not like these luxury villas in the south. They are owned by expat Sri Lankans and foreigners who have invested money to build holiday villas for themselves. It seems the perfect way to have a holiday because one can rent the whole villa and share it with family or friends and never have to see another tourist.

Because these villas are actual homes, they have been created to be a joy and a comfort to their owners rather than being utilitarian in furnishings and ambience. This makes every villa unique, although they all share evidence of their owners' good taste.

While some of the villas have been converted out of existing properties, others are modern buildings. All, however, exhibit features familiar in smart Sri Lankan beach properties: high ceilings, open shutters to let the breeze flow through, good wooden furniture including antiques, private patios, and that wonderful ambience of being able to do exactly as one wants.

Luxury villa living, of course, includes staff, always obliging and eager to help. Even if one's request isn't what they're used to, they'll do their best to satisfy. Catering depends entirely on what guests want and if madam insists, as I did, in helping out in the kitchen with a special sauce, that's accepted.

When we packed up to leave after a weekend of pretending we were the wealthy owners of our beachside villa, we felt we had found a second home. Actually we had found seven second homes, since that is the number of villas managed for their owners by a Galle based enterprise called Olanda Villas.

Their portfolio of villas includes one that is actually in Galle Fort, called Orchard House. This has four double bedrooms (four-poster beds) and lots of period antique furniture, sculptures and foliage. There is even a small swimming pool in the garden.

Close to Galle at Hapugalla is an intriguing place known as Bethel Blonde. This is a large, Dutch-style building with colonial furniture and an open-air pool. It has long corridors leading to four bedrooms and is set in a spice garden. There is a distinct atmosphere of relaxed homelines about the place, as though it belongs to an author or publisher.

A few miles along the coast from Galle, the village of Talpe is home to three of the Olanda villas. Dalip is ideal for a big family as it has a kids' pavilion with two bedrooms complete with TV and play items for children. In total there are five double bedrooms, a lounge, and a swimming pool overlooking a garden leading to the sea.

The intriguingly named It - a literary reference? - has five bedrooms around a central pond and a large garden leading to the beach. There is a pavilion for dining and lounging, a lounge in the main building, and a modern swimming pool. If was completed refurbished after the tsunami. A villa called Pink opened with three bedrooms, a billiards pavilion, and a lounging area of cement benches by the sea.

A swimming pool is planned for its big garden.

In nearby Unawatuna, the Ambalama is of Balinese design with modern furniture and sculptures. Its four rooms are small and cosy with louvered windows overlooking a swimming pool and the sea. There is wooden deck around the pool for sun lounging and a pond in the garden.

Mandalay is further along the coast at Koggala, facing Madol Duwa Island and visible from the Koggala bridge. It is a garden villa with three bedrooms. Two are on the ground floor, with open roofed bathrooms and a private garden lounge. There is a suite with kingsize bed on the first floor with a view of the lake. There is a swimming pool with a pavilion and a deck for sun lounging. The building has the uncluttered look associated with a Geoffrey Bawa design.

We found that renting a villa is actually a cost-effective way of having a holiday with family and friends. Had we all stayed in a beach hotel it would have cost more and wouldn't have been so much fun, nor would we have had such keen attention paid to our every desire. Living the luxury villa life makes sense. Luckily.

Bianca Perera