Ambassadors House

Ambassadors House – Sri Lanka Villa

Even by Galle Fort’s standards, there are few villas as sizeable as Ambassadors House, a seventeenth-century villa nestled within this UNESCO-certified old town. Gloriously decadent and nostalgic, this five-bedroom mansion built in the Dutch colonial style exhibits soaring ceilings, thick walls, highly polished floors and a pleasing rooftop garden.

In a former life, Ambassadors House was favoured by the Sri Lankan Ambassador to Pakistan, Iraq and Bangladesh for entertaining, and with such generous proportions it’s easy to see why. A huge living room, open on three sides, welcomes you into the villa and spills onto a double-colonnaded veranda. Across a courtyard, deeper into the villa, is a dining room furnished with a grand table for ten. Three ensuite bedrooms open onto an elongated pool whilst a further two ensuite bedrooms are situated upstairs, with direct access onto an expansive dual-level roof terrace, shaded from the sun.

The villa suits company, and is a fabulous place for families, inter-generational groups and clusters of friends to relax and unwind. There is ample space for everyone to find their own little corner for stealing away or for socialising, depending on the mood. The personable staff team tend to every request and ensure that the youngest family members are kept entertained; there’s a fan-cooled TV room flanking the pool terrace and the villa is equipped with a number of kids’ facilities including stair gates and games.

From its prime location within atmospheric Galle Fort, you only need step out of the villa’s front door to regale in the history of this fascinating town with its narrow cobbled streets lined with charming centuries-old homes, museums, tiny boutiques, restaurants, ice cream parlours and cafes. Watching the sunset from the fort’s grass-tufted ramparts, as cricket games start up, is the best way to end the day. Galle’s golden beaches are only a ten-minute drive away.