Your Gateway to Exceptional Hospitality
I still do not know what prompted me to invest in Eastland Bungalow back in 2006, a dilapidated estate planter’s bungalow in Kandy, left to ruin, with parts of its’ roof missing, doors and windows eaten away by pests, overgrown shrubs all around – haunted (I will come back to that later), spooky and ugly. On the brighter side, the adventurer inside me was already imagining what it might have looked like back in the 1920s, when plantation managers roamed the estates on horseback, well before motorized transport was introduced. The rain drops touching my skin felt like ice, the thick blanket of fog felt like I was in a movie set from Scotland and the cool breeze that added a touch of freshness made me wonder if there was any chance of giving the old bungalow some life. They say it’s all about the vibe, and the vibe was good, fast forward two months – Eastland Bungalow and all the land around it was officially mine.
The next step was to introduce my family to the property, and 6 months later, off we went, wife, children, dad, mum and sisters – first in a vehicle, then by tuk-tuk and the last half mile on foot. I am sure a lot of expletives were uttered along the way, as the folk from the city trekked up the mountain to witness my ‘investment’ in a property in Kandy (nope, didn’t tell them it was 50kms away in a completely different district). To this date, the words still echo in my mind when she went – “What the hell have you done! buying this haunted house?”. I couldn’t find the words to respond and offered a sheepish look instead that was followed by deafening silence from the entire family, broken only when we stopped for lunch on the way back.
The truth is, I have always loved taking on challenges, and after several solo visits to the property I finally embarked on a mission to restore the bungalow in 2008. A budget was set but it didn’t take long to realize that budgets meant nothing when it comes to construction in the country – particularly when it comes to restoring old properties.
The journey from thereon has been an experience of a lifetime. From getting to know the area, the people, the nature and wildlife around the property to enjoying the current product, it has been nothing short of exciting and it is today, one of our favorite getaways in Sri Lanka. We have learned so much with the experience and grown closer as a family as we went on with the restoration one step at a time. First it was the main building, to which we added a living room, a modern kitchen, en-suite bathrooms, a view point, a yoga hut, a pool table, garden lights, a floodlit badminton court, an apartment, a chillout lounge, a plunge pool, a fire pit, a cattle shed, a vegetable nursery, a paddy field, Bob the Bolero and a great team to ensure every guest experienced true Sri Lankan hospitality. We opened to friends and family in 2014 and have had visitors from all over the world with all of them curious to know how we did it, and full of praise for the location and the experience.
We truly believe in the ability of nature to heal the human soul and offer an experience that will leave you refreshed, rejuvenated and recharged for what lies ahead. Whether it’s a day or a week, we’ll be happy to help you disconnect from your daily routine and reconnect with nature and find peace with yourself.
"Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you."