Villa Indisch

This place is amazing. It is beyond clean. The many staff spend all day making sure it is spotless and it truly is immaculate. The food is the best I have eaten on my trips to the area and the service is faultless. Over all one of the best places I have ever stayed.

I stayed at Villa Indisch in December 2014 as part of an eight-person group, and the experience was utterly terrific. The villa itself is amazing (see photos), and the beach and pool are amazing. But the real reason was the staff: these dedicated, fun, smart, detail-oriented people made our week at Villa Indisch far better than we had anticipated. First, the food: the in-house chef, Ajit, cooks up anything you'd like. His Sri Lankan food is authentic and delicious, but he's well-educated and has worked at hotels abroad, and knows how to make almost anything happen. He cooked us a traditional Sri Lankan breakfast one day, then scrambled eggs and bacon the next. Grilled lobster outside on the lawn for dinner. He whipped up homemade ice cream, and learned our favorite dishes so he could supply them regularly during the week. Every time we ate offsite, we regretted it: why didn't we just get Ajit to make us lunch? He's awesome, and his crew in the kitchen were accommodating and talented. I also can't speak highly enough of the crew in the Villa. Our stewards, Sangheet and Dedunu, tended to our every needs. Ice-cold rosé delivered poolside on a hot afternoon. Laundry whisked away and returned. Accompanied bike rides to the nearby tea plantation. And we loved that they were not wallflowers: we really got to know them, and got to have fun cultural moments, trading jokes and language tricks, seeing the personalities behind the uniforms. When they see you tipsy at night and help you to your room, and then tend to your morning-after ailments with coffee and a greasy breakfast, there's not much to hide behind. They laugh with you. You're on vacation. The rooms are impeccably clean, thoroughly swept and reset every morning when you're by the pool. There are plenty of flying and crawling critters around in the humid tropical heat, but we had zero in our bedroom. A nicely-done mosquito net around every bed helps keep the inevitable bloodsuckers at bay while you sleep. The pool is gorgeous. The beach is gorgeous. The villa decor is gorgeous. I generally tire of a place after a week, but on my eighth and final day at Villa Indisch, I wanted to stay another week. Or two. I asked the head steward, Sanjeewa, about their annual rates. In his characteristic dry humor, he responded with a wry smile, "Yes, sir, I will check with my management and inquire about a discount." I could tell a dozen stories, but I'll stop. I don't usually get this effusive in a review as it is. Villa Indisch is great for groups who want to chill by the pool. It's also well equipped for families with kids (outdoor play areas, and the staff will tend to the children all day).