Best for: A romantic getaway sequestered away among Sri Lanka’s electric hill country. Location: While you’re just a 20-minute walk from central Ella, the private estate is quiet, save for the peaceful song of the spectacular birdlife. Can’t-miss feature: A dip in your private hot tub as the monsoon rain beats down on the rolling hills surrounding you, creating a cascade of milky mist. In a nutshell: Uga’s newest property, Uga Ghiri, is an all-inclusive, boutique resort comprising 15 large villas finished to exceptional standards. With expansive views across Ella’s emerald hills and over Nine Arch Bridge, the private terraces yield some of the best sunsets on the island.
Not rooms, rather villas — of which there are 15, each with its own outdoor area and hot tub overlooking Ella’s rolling tea country. They are generously sized, too, at over 111 square metres, with free-standing bathtubs, a double sink overlooking the rolling hills, and a living room area complete with a flat-screen TV. The villas feel designed for romance, and you’ll certainly want to be comfortable with the person you choose to bed down with here, since a glass wall separates the toilet and shower rooms. While the hotel’s main house adheres to the estate's former colonial design, the villas are far more modern, though not totally devoid of character, with traditional winnowing trays adorning the walls and a large geometric trunk bar featuring a kettle, a mini bar (sans alcohol) and a selection of teas.
Uga hotels are known for their creatively contemporary Asian and international cuisine, and the menus at their newest property follow a similar suit. The one indoor-outdoor restaurant brings multi-hyphenate cuisine to the mountains across breakfast, lunch, dinner and afternoon tea — all included in the room rate. With rotating menus, there’s enough variety to keep it interesting; the kottu (a traditional Sri Lankan street food dish made with chopped roti and egg) is rich, with a balanced yet pronounced kick from fresh ginger and chillies. The afternoon tea is worth your time, too, and was among the best I tried in Sri Lanka thanks to its small bites, which are inventively crafted to include local flavours.
The hotel's infinity pool disappears into a canopy of trees, making it the ideal spot for birdwatching, if you're so inclined. There's also a spa that offers a decent range of Balinese-style treatments. Still fresh off its opening, the hotel's full plans are yet to be realised when we stay, but the bar's bones look regal and homely, with space for a roaring fire to warm up beside during those colder Ella nights. The hotel also plans to offer its own exclusive tea plantation tour and tasting sessions in collaboration with Amba Estate.
Staying here means you're well-located within Ella, just 10 minutes by tuk-tuk from the centre of town, which, since the pandemic, has become popular with backpackers, resulting in a slew of new bars and clubs that give the place an injection of cool. For those who retreat to the tea country to get lost in its acres of mountainous green terrain, there are several nearby hikes, such as Little Adam's Peak, as well as some easier walks, including to Diyaluma Waterfall and the nearby Nine Arch Bridge (around 30 minutes on foot). A visit to Amba Tea Estate was easily one of the best mornings of my entire ten-day trip across the island, with a fascinating guided tour of an organic farm that seeks to empower the local community and preserve Ceylon tea, a dying trade.
The latest property from Uga, Sri Lanka's homegrown sustainable luxury resort group, Uga Ghiri is set on the former Sutherland Estate tea plantation. Though the colonial manor house was knocked down, it has been rebuilt with close attention to period detail. Along with towering trees that have withstood decades and tea plants that date back centuries, the four-hectare estate is also home to an original pergola overlooking Nine Arch Bridge. Opened in July 2026, the property is the second of the brand's hotels in Sri Lanka's hill country, and it aims to support the surrounding environment through conservation programmes, while providing guests with the opportunity to learn about the country's environment with their on-site naturalist.
Make sure you see the sunset across the hills, ideally from the vantage point of your private hot tub. The sky is plunged into a canvas of oranges and pinks, and if it's been raining, the accompanying cascading mist looks mythical. Enjoy it with a cold ginger beer from the minibar, and keep your fluffy dressing gown close to wrap up in afterwards.
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