Gracious and welcoming. Cool scented towels are passed around with tongs by a smiling staff member. We are invited to sit at an expansive wooden table and handed chilled glasses of fresh fruit juice.
A 7m blue tiled pool looks irresistible just beyond the dining pavilion. Privacy from neighbours is created by a 4m-high stone wall.
Our room:
We are taken up a set of stairs and into a spacious airy bedroom through a solid wooden door, which features an iron key. Wide polished wooden floorboards appear smoothed by decades of foot traffic. A king-size canopy bed with soft mosquito nets and a riot of pillows sits in the centre of the room. Overhead, a fan gently stirs the air.
Genuine heritage furniture and a solid circular table occupy opposite ends of the room, which I pace out at 7m by 8m. A daybed is along one wall and a tall, dark wooden cupboard opens to reveal ample deep shelves for our brief stay.
Bathroom:
The cream plastered shower has an enormous overhead rose and a separate hand-held hose. Personalised soaps sit beside the marble hand basin. At the opposite end of the room, a deep freestanding bath sits by shutter windows so you can literally soak in the ocean view. His and her baskets are available for laundry.
Food and drink:
Breakfast is served at the pavilion table. A cooked option is available but I try a bowl of buffalo curd with fresh fruit. Curd set in fired clay bowls is sold at roadside stalls around the country. The containers are set out like a house of cards, which disappears during the day as customers snap up the delicacy. The Rampart Street kitchen has placed a small jug of palm sugar treacle on the table. It is a sin to eat curd without treacle and I am not about to commit one. The breakfast is delicious.
Verdict:
Hard to beat really. The restored 19th century English merchant's property is a calm oasis in the bustling heart of a town soaked in history. A beautifully finished boutique property, Rampart Street invites leisurely inspection to get a sense of the commercial currents that flowed through its passages two centuries ago. With just four guest rooms, there is no sense that your comfort is crimped. Mod cons blend tastefully with the villa's heritage features, which is a terrific achievement because Galle's planning rules are appropriately strict to protect its World-Heritage status.
CHECKLIST
The Rampart Street Villa is at 25 Rampart Street, Galle Fort, Galle, Sri Lanka. Phone: +94 112 340 033.
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