Newburgh Ella – The Tea Factory Resort is a Browns Hotels & Resorts hotel of about 40 rooms inside a tea factory founded in 1903, on the Passara Road above Ella. The restored factory keeps its industrial frame and its orange chimney, and the rooms, named after the grades of Ceylon tea, look out over tea terraces and towards the Ella Gap. The resort opened in early 2026.
All rooms have a king bed, air conditioning, a television, Wi-Fi, a work table and an attached bathroom with a hot shower and hair dryer. There are no fixed twin-bedded rooms. The categories are named after tea tips, from the entry Bronze Tip up to the Silver Tip rooms with the widest views:
Baby cots can be provided, subject to availability. Room views of the Ella Gap depend on the category and are not guaranteed in every room, so if the view matters, a Silver Tip room is the one to ask for.
There are four venues. 1903 The Dining Room, named after the year George Thomson founded the factory, is the all-day restaurant, built around local produce and tea-inspired cooking. Eastern Valley is a smaller, open-air Pan-Asian restaurant looking over the hills. Three Tips is the tea lounge, serving black, green, white and rare estate teas, and George Thomson – The Founder's Tavern is the bar for a drink in the evening.
The hotel's "Leaf to Luxury" experience takes you through the story of tea from the bush to the cup, with guided walks on the estate and the chance to try plucking alongside the pickers. SKY, the observation deck, looks across tea-covered valleys to the Ella Gap and is the place to be at sunset. The Ayuwása Spa offers Ayurvedic and restorative treatments, useful after a day of hiking. Mountain bikes can be hired, and there is billiards and other indoor games for a wet afternoon. Check-in is at 2 pm and check-out at noon.
The hotel sits about 4 kilometres from Ella town, and the Nine Arch Bridge, the stone-and-brick railway viaduct of the 1920s, is under a kilometre away in a straight line (the hotel puts it about 15 minutes away). The 45-minute walk up Little Adam's Peak starts around 10 minutes from the door, while the longer hike to Ella Rock is 25 to 30 minutes away. Ravana Falls and the Ravana Cave are each 15 to 25 minutes' drive, the railway loop at Demodara about half an hour, and Diyaluma Falls, the country's second-highest waterfall, about an hour and a quarter. Walkers can join sections of the Pekoe Trail, which passes nearby.
Yes. Ella railway station, on the scenic hill-country line from Kandy and Nuwara Eliya, is about 2 kilometres away in a straight line. Arrange a pick-up with the hotel or with us in advance, as the road climbs out of town along the Passara Road.
The hotel puts itself about 210 kilometres by road from Bandaranaike International Airport (about 135 kilometres in a straight line), a long drive through the hills, and about 100 kilometres from Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport in the south. The simplest way to arrive is a private transfer from Colombo airport to Newburgh Ella, which takes you all the way to the door.
It suits travellers who want a hotel with character in Ella: tea lovers, couples and families who like the idea of sleeping in a restored tea factory with big views, good food on site and the town's walks close by. Families and small groups are well served by the Silver Tip rooms. For more choice in the area see our places to stay in Ella, or the other Browns Hotels & Resorts properties around the island.
Bookable activities, tours, and tickets within a 25 km radius.
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