Camellia Hills

Overlooking a mirror-still reservoir in Sri Lanka’s verdant hill country, Camellia Hills sits on a mountainside amidst emerald tea bushes and pine forests. A contemporary interpretation of a tea planter’s bungalow, the 5 luxurious bedrooms, living and dining areas are located across a series of levels, allowing guests to drink in the stunning panoramas while relaxing on cushy sofas warmed by an open fire, dining in the semi open air or swimming lengths in the refreshing garden pool.

Accommodation

There are just five very individual timber-floored bedrooms at Camellia Hills. Each gazes through picture windows over the Castlereagh Reservoir or the lush surrounding hills. Bedrooms are all distinct in design and layout yet equally comfortable and luxurious. The cosiest are our two Camellia Bedrooms while the three roomier Lakeview Bedrooms boast far-reaching views of the entire Castlereagh Valley from private furnished garden terraces.

Bedrooms are usually booked individually, however our boutique bungalow is small enough for groups and families requiring privacy to take the whole house for themselves on an exclusive basis too.

Camellia Bedrooms

Our two stylishly-furnished Camellia Bedrooms are unique in layout and position, yet promise an indulgent stay in the hills. Both bedrooms are equipped with wardrobes, armchairs, desks and ceiling fans, and have private white-tiled ensuite bathrooms with strong showers.

Norton, to the front of the bungalow, is a Castlereagh Lake-facing room with king-sized four-poster bed, sitting area and ensuite bathroom. Twin-bedded Maskeliya gazes south easterly across a lush jungly hillside, and is an elongated room with a private garden-view terrace.

Lakeview Bedrooms

Our three Lakeview Bedrooms are contemporary in arrangement, and are luxuriously furnished with king-sized beds for indulgently gazing over the Castlereagh Valley and lush tea hills. Each bedroom is equipped with wardrobes, armchairs, desks, and ensuite bathroom with a powerful shower and twin wash basins. Two of the three bedrooms also come equipped with a bathtub. Lakeview Bedrooms also directly access the garden from their private furnished terrace.

Dickoya is a big family-friendly bedroom bathed in light. It’s ensuite bathroom, with bathtub, connects it with a second single room with pull-out trundle bed, making it suitable for families of four. Osbourne is unique for its twin aspect mountainside and lake-facing views, and has a private decked terrace and big ensuite bathroom with rain shower and bathtub. Warleigh, on the lower ground floor, opens directly onto the lawn through three sets of French windows. It’s roomy and secluded, and a favourite with honeymooners.

Location

The Castlereagh Valley, near Dickoya, is a country standout for its absorbing scenery – an arresting panorama of rich greens and blues. At its heart is a mirror-still reservoir dotted with islands that floods seven kilometers of a long, deep valley. Flanking Castlereagh Reservoir on either side are steeply rising hills sporting acres of neatly manicured tea estates topped by thick manes of trees. Whether the sun is shining in a cornflower blue sky or the clouds are descending into the mountains en masse, the views from the bungalow are always dramatic.

The closest town to Camellia Hills is Dickoya, a bustling settlement standing at an elevation of 1,200-metres, notable for its colonial-era clubhouse, the Castlereagh and Dickoya Cricket Club (formerly the Daramulla Club) whose ageing timber-panelled interiors take you back in time. Enroute to Dickoya is Warleigh Church, a bijou British-era lake-facing chapel whose graveyard is littered with tombstones engraved with European names – testament to the region’s colonial history where European planters crossed oceans to carve out a future in Ceylon Tea.

One of the best ways to travel into and within the Hill Country is by train, and the closest railway station to Camellia Hills is Hatton, a busy provincial town with a lively local market. Alternatively, swoop in on a seaplane, landing in Castlereagh Reservoir, and transported up to the bungalow along the tea lined estate roads.

Dining

Camellia Hills is your home-from-home in Sri Lanka’s emerald hills. Butlers are poised to pamper guests and dining here is relaxed, personalised and atmospheric. The views take centre stage too; sip sundowners beside the crackling fireplace in the convivial high-ceilinged sitting room while gazing at the far-reaching valley views or feast on delicious contemporary dishes from a curated Sri Lankan and international menu from a breezy lake-facing terrace.

Guests will dine on an All-Inclusive basis which includes breakfast, lunch, dinner, complimentary soft drinks, beer and house wine, alcohol with mixers and tea or coffee throughout the day.

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