Nine Skies Villa

Nine Skies is an early twentieth-century colonial bungalow set high on a tea-covered hillside at Demodara, just outside Ella, looking out over the famous Demodara Loop, where the hill-country railway spirals around the valley. Restored with a light, contemporary touch, it pairs period character with genuine comfort and an unusually attentive team, making it a superb choice for couples, families and friends who want the best of Sri Lanka’s tea country in complete calm.

The thirteen-metre infinity pool runs along the edge of the garden with uninterrupted views across the valley and hills, with a timber deck, loungers and umbrellas beside it. Landscaped gardens of flowering beds, hedges and tall trees surround the house, and the long covered veranda is the place for breakfast, afternoon Ceylon tea and dinner with the mountains in view. From the villa, guests can walk part of the Pekoe Trail towards Ella.

Inside, the living room centres on a stone fireplace, with plush sofas, armchairs, arched doorways and high ceilings, and the dining room has a ten-seat table and tall windows to the garden. Four bedrooms have four-poster king beds and the fifth has twin beds, all with carpeted floors, writing desks, armchairs and en-suite bathrooms with soaking or freestanding tubs, and several rooms open onto their own terrace or veranda. Breakfast and dinner are included, cooked by the in-house chef, and a fifteen-strong team takes care of housekeeping, laundry and round-the-clock security.