Welcome to the finest private estate on Sri Lanka’s South Coast
Ranawara Villa is a private, exclusive-use estate on Sri Lanka’s southern coast near Tangalle. It has seven suites, a 33-metre infinity pool, 23 acres of tropical gardens and 400 metres of near-deserted beach, all reserved for your group of up to 14 guests.
What does “exclusive use” mean?
It means there are no other guests. The house, the gardens, the 33-metre infinity pool, the dining areas and lounge spaces are yours for the whole stay. So is a team of 18 staff led by our villa manager, Senaka, alongside live-in chefs, butlers, housekeepers and round-the-clock security.
What’s at Ranawara Villa?
The main house is part colonial palace, part open-air pavilion, with wide, welcoming rooms that open onto the pool and views across the gardens to the Indian Ocean. Five suites are in the main house with two cabana suites nearby in the gardens. Each has a king-size canopy bed and its own en suite bathroom.
There's a library for the long afternoons and a cinema room for the evenings, an expansive veranda for early-morning yoga or night-time drinks. There’s also a spa cabana for massages within earshot of the waves, and a lawn that tends to become a cricket pitch by teatime. The staff have been known to accept a challenge.
What’s the food like?
Our resident chefs cook fresh every day, mixing Sri Lankan dishes with international favourites. Breakfast is served al fresco in the pagoda by the pool and you can enjoy dinner by candlelight under the stars. Dietary requirements are handled without fuss. Guests tend to single out the fish, and the tuna sashimi in particular.
What is there to do nearby?
The Kalametiya Bird Sanctuary is on our doorstep and best seen by boat. Udawalawe National Park is close enough for a day safari among wild elephants. Turtle-nesting beaches line the coast, and Galle Fort is about two hours away. We arrange drivers, tuk-tuks and packed lunches. That said, plenty of guests find little reason to leave the estate.
What do guests say?
Reviews of Ranawara Villa are consistently five stars, with the same themes coming up again and again:
“The villa is absolutely stunning – the photos cannot do it justice.”
“Saying we were looked after is an understatement…we felt positively spoilt!”
“Honestly, we lived like royalty for a week.”
Above all, guests mention the exceptional service and care from Senaka and his team, and the overwhelming sense that every need was anticipated.
Who is Ranawara for?
Ranawara suits multi-generational family holidays, milestone birthdays, friends travelling together, and even weddings in the gardens. It works for any group that wants a place entirely to itself.