Villa Mount Cinnamon

We stayed at Mount Cinnamon for 4 days at the end of August and were treated with the utmost kindness and consideration. The on-site staff of Thilak, the two houseboys and chef and the driver were charming and nothing was too much trouble. The setting is awesome at the top of the Hill; the villa is absolutely beautiful (designed by an associate of the renowned architect, Bawa) with the most amazing artwork. The drive is steep and muddy, but worth it for the Cinnamon Museum on the way up, and Mount Cinnamon (the villa) with its pool and enormous garden area overlooking the bay. We were treated to tasty breakfasts and dinners, chauffeured from Mirissa to Yala National Park and to Galle, had afternoon tea and tea tasting at the associated Virgin White Tea plantation (run by Herman, who is an absolute treasure and even couriered my forgotten glasses back to me) and got to see the local wildlife - peacocks, monkeys, colourful birds and a litter of stray pups and their mum. If you are looking for a holiday with lots of access to local amenities, restaurants, nightlife etc - do not book Mirissa Hills. If you want somewhere to relax totally, be surrounded by amazing sights and sounds and be treated with care and charm, we cannot recommend Mirissa Hills and its properties enough. We were extremely fortunate to have the villa to ourselves for 3 of the 4 days and this added to the sense of serenity. The only two minor niggles - it is a long drive from Colombo airport and the traffic generally is chaotic. We flew from Dubai where all the flights are overnight, so the car journey made it a long trip. There is an internal flight to Koggala and if you are visiting for a short-break, consider this. We also found the menu options for our fussy 13 year old a little limited, but we know that this will be addressed by the team.

Staying here was heaven for us. We had been travelling in this country for more then 3 weeks and this was the perfect place to end it: living like gods, peacefull on the hill. Large and clean rooms, nice swimming pool, friendly staff and yes it's true: the food they serve is amazing. Even if we try hard, we simply can't find a negative thing to mention.. The road to the place is steep but a tuktuk will take you up or down easily. We found out about this place via the brand new edition of Lonely Planet, it's their best choice in Mirissa.