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The Grand Hotel in the hill station Nuwara Eliya has a heritage exceeding a 100 years. The former residence of Sir Edward Barnes, Governor of Sri Lanka from 1830 to 1850, the Grand Hotel is an excellent example of a mansion from the Elizabethan era. It retains the stateliness and grandeur of a Colonial Mansion and rightfully claims its place as one of the best hill country hotels in Asia.
Facilities
Main restaurant overlooks the beautiful gardens and offers a wide choice in both Western and Eastern cuisines
The coffee shop located close to the main restaurant, specializes in serving light meals and snacks
Public bar is a popular meeting place for guests
Billiards rooms has 3 billiard tables of international size and standards
The Supper Club serves a la carte meals in an intimate and romantic atmosphere (plus dance floor)
The third bar is a dispense bar which serves the Main restaurant, coffee shop and lounge areas
Play golf at Nuwara Eliya Golf Club which is a 117 year old golf course. The Golf Course starts from one corner of town and is nestled into the valley, between the town and the surrounding forested hills
Accommodation
156 Elegantly furnished rooms including 3 Presidential Suites and 3 Deluxe Suites overlook the magnificent, award-winning gardens of the Grand Hotel filled with beautifully laid out beds of flowers.
The Deluxe and Standard rooms are equipped with piped music, heaters and well appointed bathrooms with bath and shower.
Additional features in the 65 deluxe rooms include TV with national channels, Mini Bar and a range of guest amenities.
Excursions
The Galways Bird Sanctuary is within the town limits, and a 27 acre park is best seen in the month of April – when the official Nuwara Eliya “Season” gets underway.
This is the time of year when the sport of kings – horse racing – happens at the Nuwara Eliya Race Course. Boat rides on Lake Gregory, Garden and Flower shows, motor racing, golf and tennis tournaments take place around this time of year.
Visit one of the many tea factories perched high in the hills surrounding Nuwara Eliya, and learn how Sri Lanka’s “Green Gold:” is manufactured. It is here that the crème de la crème of Sri Lanka’s teas – the fragrant and delicately flavoured “high growns” – flourish.
Join the colourfully attired tea leaf pluckers as they skillfully move between the tea bushes, deftly picking “two leaves and a bud,” tossing them over their shoulders into wicker baskets slung on their backs.
Visit Hakgala Botanical Gardens
World’s End” is a terrifying escarpment which drops vertically for about 1,000 feet (328 meters) and falls away almost as steeply for another 4,000 feet (1,312 meters). Black Eagles, Blue Magpies and other rare birds are found here, along with the occasional leopard, deer and jackal.
The Nuwara Eliya town is located at the foot of “Pidirutalagala,” the island’s highest mountain which stands 2524 meters above sea level.
Move a bit further and climb Adam’s Peak, the famed holy mountain which has been a place of pilgrimage for over 1,000 years.
