Karpaha Sands

Rooms

The 17 suites are housed in well-designed and luxurious South African tents, each set a good distance apart from their neighbours. There are 3 versions – beachfront Palam Suites; garden-wrapped Kolaya Suites; and larger Seed Suites, which sleep up to 5 in 2 ensuite bedrooms (1 double, 1 twin + an extra bed). In a nod to the diversity within Sri Lanka, Palam means fruit in Tamil, Koyala is Sinhalese for leaf. You're introduced to your lovely butler on arrival, with whom you can communicate via your in-tent mobile phone which is pre-loaded with menus and other useful information.

Interiors are similar throughout. Timber floors, honey-coloured furnishings and kingsized beds, steamer trunks and cushions, photographs of local life and beachscapes on the cushions and walls. The open-plan bathrooms have free-standing tubs and a private walled courtyard with a waterfall shower for open-air bathing. Despite the fact you're camping, there are safes, bathrobes, bluetooth speakers, tea/coffee making facilities and minibar fridges. Tented suites are mosquito-proofed and have side panels that can be rolled up for air circulation. There are ceiling fans as well as air-conditioning units, which, given the canvas structure, worked surprisingly well.

From our Palam Suite we could lie back in bed and savour 180-degree ocean panoramas and the sunrise. However, these suites aren’t as private as the garden-based Kolaya Suites, where we stayed on our most recent visit, so it just depends which you prefer – privacy or sea views.

Features include:

• Air conditioning
• Bathrobes
• Bluetooth sound system
• Coffee / tea making
• Cots available
• Fan
• Hairdryer
• Minibar
• Safe box
• Toiletries
• WiFi

Eating

The open-sided first-floor restaurant makes the most of the panoramic coastal views, and its protruding balcony is a superb spot for starlit evening meals. Sourcing ingredients in this remote region of Sri Lanka is a real challenge, but the hotel manages to offer a wide-ranging menu of international cuisine; the menu was surprisingly long. Unsurprisingly, fresh fish and seafood feature highly. Expect a full range of dishes from traditional rice and curries to Thai-style salads, daily specials, classic western-style dishes including pasta and chef platters.

Breakfast is served until a very civilised 1030am, and you get a lovely fresh fruit platter, a tier of freshly-baked goodies, and again a big choice including Sri Lankan or traditional dishes such as eggs Benedict or hoppers and dosas with coconut sambal and fish, chicken or vegetarian curries, French toast or waffles, or your choice of eggs, cereals, yoghurt or plant-based patties. Try the freshly made juices or imaginative smoothies and healthy shots.

You can have snacks poolside all day, and for a really special treat, arrange a barbecue on the beach – we feasted on beautifully flamed seafood from lobster to tuna, accompanied by salad and prawn ceviche.

If you're in desperate need of a change of scene, the nearest restaurants are in Passikudah, a 30-minute drive away; this is a well-developed bay home to a number of high-end resort-style hotels.

Features include:

• Bar
• Kids' meals
• Restaurant
• Room service

Activities

• Walk – the beach stretches for miles and is mostly deserted except for fishermen who tirelessly cast their vast nets into the sea
  
• Relax! This coastal setting is extremely tranquil and encourages you to put your feet up, bathe in the infinity pool and the warm ocean and absorb this rare serenity
  
• There are body boards to borrow, as well as bikes to explore the region
  
• Be indulged at the twin-roomed Shanti spa, which is set in serene garden surroundings and offers a wide range of Ayurvedic and other massages (including hot stone and oil), and treatments
  
• For coastal cruising, boat trips, kayaking and jet skiing, make for Passikudah (30 minutes away), which is the east coast’s watersports hub
  
• On site there's volleyball, pétanque, and cinema under the stars (choose your movie, and recline on squashy bean bags)
  
• For culture, head into Batticaloa, a refreshingly sedate Tamil town ringed by lagoons that’s home to a handful of colonial sights
  
• Or day trip to Polonnaruwa (1.5 hours), a 12th-century World Heritage Site

Activities on site or nearby include:

• Birdwatching
• Boat trips
• Boules
• Cycling
• Jet skiing
• Kayaking
• Swimming
• Traditional cultures
• Volleyball
• Watersports
• Well being

Kids

Families are very welcome and we saw several enjoying the property on our most recent visit. Note there are no lifeguards or specific organised family activities but there's lots to do. There's plenty of sandy space to roam, a wonderful infinity pool, and the sea is flat, calm and safe for swimming, especially Jan-Sept.

Best for:

All ages

Family friendly accommodation:

All tented suites can accommodate additional kids. You can either add a baby cot and the sofa bed, or have an extra bed added to the sofa bed. The Kolaya Suites are the most suitable for small families as they have enclosed plant-walled gardens which are good for containing roaming children. The Seed Suites, which are also surrounded by private gardens, have 2 bedrooms and can sleep up to 6.

Cots Available, Extra Beds Available, Family Rooms

Distances:

• Airport: 40 mins' drive (Batticaloa); 6 hours (Colombo)
• Hospital: 30km
• Shop: 4km

For more family-friendly places, see our Kids Collection

Location

The hotel is located on Kalkudah Beach, 9km from watersports capital Passikudah, on Sri Lanka’s east coast.

By Air
Colombo Bandaranaike is the closest international airport (266km), but it's a good 6-hour drive away so an alternative is to fly with domestic airline Cinnamon Air to Batticaloa Airport, an hour’s drive from the hotel.

Getting Around:
If you don’t have your own transport, the hotel can arrange transfers from the airport, and tuk-tuks for local travel.

If you want to hire a car and driver for your whole holiday, enquire through our Tailormade Tour Operator for a customised tour of the country; they can collect you at Colombo airport when you land, drive you to the hotel, then drive you to your onward destination(s) after your stay, as well as taking you on all day trips etc.

Detailed directions will be sent when you book through i-escape.