Casa Smeralda

Casa Smeralda is an intimate five-bedroom beachfront villa at Batigama, Dikwella, near Hiriketiya Bay, run with an Italian touch by Smeralda Resorts. With a tropical garden, a swimming pool and a wood-fired pizza restaurant facing the ocean, it feels more like a private seaside house than a hotel, and can be taken room by room or as a whole villa.

What are the rooms like at Casa Smeralda?

There are just five bedrooms, sold in three room types, and the whole house can also be booked together. The names below are the hotel's own.

• Double Room with Patio and Garden View – a single room of this type, with a double bed, an attached bathroom, a seating area and a private patio looking onto the garden.
• Double Room with Patio and Ocean View – two rooms, each air-conditioned with a double bed, an attached bathroom, a seating area and a private patio facing the ocean.
• Two-bedroom Family Room with Balcony and Ocean View – one air-conditioned family unit with two separate bedrooms and a private balcony over the sea, for families or friends travelling together.
• 5 Bedroom Villa – all five bedrooms together, with the shared seating areas, for a family or group who want the house to themselves.

Each double room takes up to three guests: two adults and a child or infant, three adults, or one adult with two children. Children aged 12 and over count as adults. A baby cot is provided free of charge (one per room), and there is a children's menu in the restaurant. Check-in is at 2pm and check-out at 11am.

What is the food like?

Casa Smeralda's own restaurant, Lido, is a beachfront venue known for its wood-fired Italian pizzas, baked in a traditional oven, along with fresh salads, sandwiches, homemade desserts and local and international dishes. It is surrounded by tropical gardens and looks out over the ocean, and suits a light lunch, a sunset aperitif or a relaxed dinner. Its sister restaurant Baia, with Italian, Mediterranean, Sri Lankan and Indian cooking, is at Smeralda Beach Hotel next door. The Smeralda restaurants are open to non-residents, and reservations are recommended for dinner.

What is there to do at the villa and nearby?

Days here revolve around the garden, the pool and the beach on your doorstep; Wi-Fi is free and there is free parking. The hotel can arrange excursions, taxis and special set-ups for birthdays, anniversaries and honeymoons, including a dinner table laid on the beach. The surf bay and cafés of Hiriketiya Beach are about 2 kilometres away in a straight line, while Casa Smeralda itself sits on Dikwella Beach. A short drive inland, the giant seated Buddha of Wewurukannala Viharaya is one of the largest in the country, and the sea spout of Hummanaya Blow Hole is a short drive east at Kudawella. Beyond Tangalle, about 11 kilometres away, lies the cave temple of Mulkirigala, and Smeralda Resorts also suggests Yala National Park and Galle Fort as full-day trips.

Is Casa Smeralda the same as Smeralda Beach Hotel?

No, but they are neighbours. Smeralda Resorts runs Smeralda Beach Hotel, about 200 metres away in a straight line, with eight ocean-view balcony rooms, its own pool and the Baia restaurant. Casa Smeralda is the smaller and more private of the two, with more space for families.

Can I arrive by train?

Yes. The nearest station is Wewurukannala, on the southern extension of the coastal line, about five minutes away by tuk-tuk or taxi. Smeralda Resorts puts the train journey from Colombo Fort at roughly three and a half to four hours, depending on the service, and can arrange a station pick-up.

How do I get from the airport to Casa Smeralda?

Casa Smeralda is about 162 kilometres in a straight line from Bandaranaike International Airport, and Smeralda Resorts puts the drive at around two and a half to three and a half hours, mostly on the Southern Expressway. The easiest way to arrive is a private transfer from Colombo airport to Casa Smeralda, straight to the gate.

Who is Casa Smeralda best suited to?

It suits couples who want a quiet beach base with good Italian food, and especially families or groups of friends who can take the family room or the whole villa and have the place largely to themselves, with Hiriketiya's surf and cafés a short ride away. For more choice nearby see our places to stay in Dikwella.