Castlereagh Bungalow is the lakeside romantic of Ceylon Tea Trails, the Relais & Châteaux tea resort of Resplendent Ceylon. With a pink-peach facade and summerhouses looking over the water, it stands in a wooded glade on the banks of the Castlereagh reservoir, 1,120 metres up in the tea country south of Hatton.
The bungalow is on the shore of Castlereagh Lake south of Hatton, close to Dunkeld and Summerville bungalows across the water. It has its own dock, so guests can come and go by boat or kayak, and the boat from Summerville saves a longer drive round on estate roads.
Resplendent Ceylon gives the drive from Colombo airport to Tea Trails as about 160 km and four and a half hours. Seaplanes land on Castlereagh Lake, and the train to Hatton is a scenic alternative. Book the Colombo (CMB) Airport transfer to Castlereagh Bungalow.
Castlereagh has five rooms:
Butler service, Wi-Fi and laundry are included. There is no air-conditioning, as the hill-country nights are cool.
The first bungalow on Castlereagh Estate was built in the 1870s; after a fire in 1915 the present house was added in 1925. Inside are a library in bright berry colours and an elegant dining room, and the wide veranda looks over a sweeping lawn to a pool shaded by giant trees, with a heated jacuzzi tucked away in the greenery.
Stays at every Tea Trails bungalow are fully inclusive: meals, afternoon cream tea, wines and spirits, laundry and the "Tea Experience" tour with the Tea Planter in Residence at the Dunkeld tea factory across the lake. Guests can dine at the other bungalows, kayak on the lake, walk or cycle the estate trails and join excursions to Adam's Peak and Horton Plains National Park. A minimum stay of two nights applies. For the other four bungalows see Ceylon Tea Trails.
Bookable activities, tours, and tickets within a 25 km radius.
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Pre-book a private vehicle for arrival, departure, or onward travel.
