Amangalla breathes luxurious new life into the former New Oriental Hotel, a seventeenth-century colonial gem inside Galle Fort, the UNESCO World Heritage Site on Sri Lanka’s southern coast. Amanresorts has turned decay into decadence, restoring the now 28-room hotel and separate two-story house to its long-lost grandeur and adding a celadon pool and a holistic spa. Rooms are an elegant homage to colonial comfort—grand four-posters, long-armed planter’s chairs, and comfy cane chaises—and have no TVs. The service is unrushed but Aman excellent with a discernibly local touch: Mention a favorite dish to your driver and he might well suggest a detour to his mother’s kitchen.
