27°C / 81°F

Villa Talangama

Overview

 

This three bedroomed villa, set back from the Talangama Wetlands and bird sanctuary in the outskirts of Colombo, is best described as a ‘village in the city’. Adjacent to a reservoir it enjoys a quiet, unspoilt setting, seemingly a world away from the commercial heart of Colombo. A departure from the sharp symmetry of the Colombo city hotels, the villa is something more earthy and resonant with the raw, asymmetries of nature. Rough walls, cement floors, open air bathrooms, colonial style verandahs in a fusion of the old with the new. Villa Talangama typifies this architecture; a new style, a Simply Sri Lankan style, a place to flee to from urban chaos. 

The house embraces the main features of modern Sri Lankan architecture. A verandah, a courtyard with a tree, vertically open spaces, open-air bathrooms…. threaded together, the house is a series of spaces reaching into each other; sharing light, ventilation and ambience. It is the elegance of the interiors that creates the ambience. Subdued, unbleached handlooms grace simple furniture. Occasional cupboards of rich toned Jak wood, match the staircase that winds up out of the living room. Sepia prints frame a lost era of Sri Lankan life, in contrast to the modern abstract motif tiles that, highlight the courtyard wall. Beneath the stairs, a trembling pool recollects the wetland beyond.

 

Location

Villa Talangama is an ideal starting point for travelers arriving in the country or visiting the City of Colombo (as an alternative to city hotels) or for departing visitors at the end of a tour of the island. 30 minutes away from downtown Colombo and about 30 minutes from the Kottawa entrance to the Southern Highway E01. With the opening of the Colombo-Airport Expressway E03, the journey from and to the villa and airport is reduced from the previous 1.5 hours.

 

Available services

 

Three resident caring staff including cook. Meals are served when and wherever you please, al fresco dining by the poolside or in the elegantly laid out dining room facing the ochre coloured pebbled courtyard. Both Western dishes and Sri Lankan rice and curries using locally available ingredients are served. A small selection of alcohol is available. Should they wish Guests can bring their and no corkage is levied.

Activities & Highlights

 

The surrounding Talangama wetlands stretching for more than 1km is a birds’ paradise with over 45 species of birds inhabiting this area including Purple Swamp hens, Pheasant-tailed Jacanas, White-breasted Water hens and Spotted Doves, along with the endemic Purple-faced Leaf Monkeys, water monitors, and numerous species of butterflies. The Royal Colombo Golf Club is thirty minutes away. Many options for shopping, dining, and entertainment are available in the city of Colombo just a  40 minute drive away from the villa.