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Sri Lanka
P1
The cult pocket city guides and mobile
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CITI PRESENTS LUXE CITY GUIDES
www.luxecityguides.com
SRI LANKA HAS HAD A
BUMPY RIDE IN THE PAST,
BUT THIS HISTORIC JEWEL
IS NOW ON THE REBOUND
AND SPARKLING MORE
THAN EVER, WITH ITS
RICH CULTURE, DUTCH,
PORTUGUESE AND
BRITISH INFLUENCES,
STUNNING LANDSCAPE
AND BEACHES, AND
PALATE-TINGLING FARE.
center; unspoilt beaches and sights for
the intrepid in the north and east, and
elephant and leopard-spotting in the
deep south. Sri Lanka has it all, and now,
so do you!
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LUXE SRI LANKA
Intro
The gems of this large Resplendent
Isle are spread far and wide; from the
chaotic west coast city of Colombo to
the fabulous villas and beach bungalows
in the south, as well as the wonderfully
atmospheric C.17th World Heritage-listed
Dutch colonial Galle Fort; cooler tea
plantations, hill stations and ancient,
sacred Cultural Triangle towards the
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• B
est time to visit the south and west
coasts is Nov-Mar; Apr-Oct is monsoon
season, but there’s still plenty of sun.
• B
anks and ATMs are few and far
between outside of Colombo,
so stock up when you can.
• B
eware of the local brew, arrack – one
is nice, two at most, three you’re under
the table, four you’re in an ambulance…
• E
nglish is widely spoken,
what, what!
• T
he currency is the Sri Lankan
rupee and cash is king.
• M
ost hotels and higher-end
establishments add a service charge,
but it’s nice to leave a little extra.
• B
andaranaike Intl Airport to Colombo is
approx 1 hr and US$20-26, be sure
to arrange transfers ahead.
• M
ost hotels/villas supply torches in
case of power cuts.
• K
eep your hotel, villa and driver’s
numbers on you at all times, and note
that phone coverage can be patchy
outside of the major towns.
• T
uk tuks are ok for short jaunts,
but bargain before you ride. Hire a car
and driver for longer trips, and bear in
mind if you keep your driver overnight
then you may need to assist with
accommodation costs.
• R
oads and traffic are at best dreadful
and Sri Lankans drive like lunatics.
Whatever you do, do NOT self-drive.
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LUXE SRI LANKA
Intro
• If you’re taking a villa, bring a stack of
gourmet goodies and wine with you on
the flight, there are no chic delis.
• T
he international code for Sri Lanka is
+94. Landline numbers begin with 011 in
Colombo, most mobiles start with 077.
• In an emergency it’s best to call your
hotel or villa rep. Ensure that you have
full medical evac insurance.
• M
ost businesses are closed on
full moon days (Poya) and national
holidays. By law, alcohol sales are
also banned on Poya days so watch
the sky or end up dry.
• B
ars and clubs are required to stop
serving alcohol and close at 11pm.
In reality, most keep on pouring
until around midnight and then
close by 2am.
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LUXE INSIDER
Shanth Fernando
Designer, restaurateur and hotelier,
Shanth Fernando is known as Sri Lanka’s
own Terence Conran, his work featuring
in the world’s most prestigious press from
Harper’s Bazaar to The New York Times.
With his interior design and lifestyle store
Paradise Road established in 1987, the
brand has now grown to five stores with
every aspect of design and merchandise
handled by Shanth himself. In 1998 he
opened The Gallery Café, which remains
one of the city’s most popular bar,
restaurants and galleries, and in 2007
Shanth opened his first hotel Tintagel,
followed in 2009 by Villa Bentota.
www.paradiseroad.lk
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LUXE SRI LANKA
Intro
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Shanth Fernando
1) WHAT’S THE BEST TIME
OF YEAR TO VISIT COLOMBO
AND WHY? ARE THERE ANY
SPECIAL EVENTS TO LOOK
OUT FOR?
3) WHERE DO YOU GO TO
UNWIND AND RELAX? WHAT
MAKES IT SPECIAL?
A walk round the Beira Lake,
Independence Square or down Galle
Face Green by the sea. The Beira Lake is
November through to February just to
unique for it’s city center calm and it is
experience the buzz of the city. Although
Colombo itself doesn’t really have a better still relatively quiet. Independence Square
has a new walking path and we are able to
time of year, the events of interest are
‘Nawam Perahera’ (February) and ‘Vesak’ enjoy the important structures like never
before. Walking down Galle Face Green
(May) in addition to newer festivals such
is incomparable, soaking in the positive
as Galle Literary Festival (January) and
energy of the sea and seeing different
Colombo Fashion Week (February).
walks of life enjoying kite flying, street
www.galleliteraryfestival.com
eating and paddling in the water.
www.colombofashionweek.com
2) WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE
THE MOST UNDERRATED
SPOTS IN COLOMBO? WHAT
MAKES THEM SPECIAL?
4) WHAT ARE 3 OF YOUR
FAVORITE RESTAURANTS
IN TOWN AND WHY? WHAT
DISHES DO YOU ORDER?
The Fort area and Pettah, these are
areas with an energy not found
anywhere else in the city.
The Gallery Café of course, London
Grill at Cinnamon Grand and Palmyrah
Restaurant at Renuka Hotel. Order Black
Pork Curry, dessert and cocktails at The
Gallery Café, Chateaubriand and any
steak at London Grill and hoppers with
traditional curries at Palmyrah.
5) WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE
PATISSERIE/CAKE SHOP OR
BAKERY IN COLOMBO, AND
WHAT DO YOU ORDER?
The Gallery Café is known for the
best cakes in the city. For some local
charm, buy ‘kade paan’ (shop bread)
and ‘kimbula bunnis’ (sugar buns) at
Torrington Bakery at 85 Thimbirigasyaya
Road, while Esmeralda’s on Flower Road
has the city’s best cream buns!
www.paradiseroad.lk
www.paradiseroad.lk
www.cinnamonhotels.com
www.renukahotel.com
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LUXE SRI LANKA
Intro
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THE WALLAWWA
THE DUTCH HOUSE
TINTAGEL COLOMBO
Hotel
Hotel
Hotel
With the somewhat inconvenient
flight arrival times, the trek into town
and overnight stay in Colombo can be
avoided at this handy chieftain’s abode
turned mod Asian, manor-cool 17-room
retreat. Despite being close to the airport,
silence reigns by the bijou pool, in the
garden, spa and library and the chef
is equally adept at spicy curries and
Western faves. Smart!
Set high on a hill, this dashing, foursuite C.18th manor just a few minutes
from burgeoning enclave Galle Fort on
the south coast is blissfully child-free
and peaceful, with elegant antiques,
modern art, cool verandahs and a
steamer chair-strewn croquet lawn.
Each romantic bedroom features full air
conditioning and mosquito-net-draped
4-poster beds, with breakfast and lunch
served anywhere on the property, and
dinner served next door at glamorous
sister property The Sun House.
This former prime minister’s colonial
manse has been fabulously revamped
into a sultry 10-roomed pleasure palace
by local style-meister Shanth Fernando,
complete with elegant dining options
The Courtyard and Dining Room, plus
vibrant Red Bar. Each individually
designed suite is unique in a handsome
palette of chocolates, stripes and
neutrals, with luxury bed linens and
towels, and an extreme eye for detail as
you’d expect from the country’s most
famous interior designer.
18 Upper Dickson Road / Galle
+94 91 438 0275
65 Rosmead Place / Colombo 7
+94 11 460 2121
www.thedutchhouse.com
www.paradiseroadhotels.com
Minuwangoda Rd / Opatha / Kotugoda
+94 11 228 1050 / 15 mins from airport,
45 mins to Col
www.thewallawwa.com
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LUXE SRI LANKA
Intro
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CEYLON TEA TRAILS
THE GALLERY CAFE
THE SUN HOUSE
Hotel
Dining
Dining
Hill Country chic! 20 elegant rooms
(including 13 suites) divided between
4 lakeside colonial tea planter’s
bungalows with hot and cold running
butlers and all mod cons. Relaxed,
communal dining or à deux at one of
the many little tables dotted on the
verandahs and in the teahouse in the
pretty gardens. Peace and quiet –
home, sweet home.
Located in the former offices of prolific
and influential Sri Lankan architect
Geoffrey Bawa, this ‘see and be scene’,
semi-alfresco, low-lit lovely set around a
glowing courtyard provides stylish and
delicious international fare, an ambient,
social bar with great cocktails and an
upstairs gallery for a little side dish of
culture with your lunch or dinner.
Only minutes from Galle Fort, this
former Scottish spice merchant’s
house is now a divinely appointed
and welcoming 7-room boutique hotel
offering some of the most romantic
alfresco dining in the south. Try their
famed Sri Lankan curries, sambals and
string hoppers on the garden terrace,
plus signature arrack and rum cocktails
at Dicks Bar. Book ahead for dinner if
you’re not staying at the hotel.
2 Alfred House Road / Colombo 3
+94 11 258 2162
Hatton / Nuwara Eliya
+94 51 7 388400
www.paradiseroad.lk
www.teatrails.com
18 Upper Dickson Road / Galle
+94 91 438 0275
www.thesunhouse.com
RAJA BOJUN
NUGU GAMA
THE CHECKERBOARD
Dining
Dining
Don’t let the faux rustic, village-themed
angle of this hotel city slicker put you
off, it’s definitely worth enduring for its
fantastic native fare (as authentic and
spicy as your throat will allow) served
under the garden’s vast 200-year old
banyan. There’s a ‘cultural’ show every
Monday 8-9pm which you may wish to
avoid, or not...
Cinnamon Grand Colombo
77 Galle Road / Col 3 / + 94 11 249 7468
dinner daily, lunch weekends only
Consistently good and very popular,
sea-view, airy dining room famed for
its delicious curry buffet, and lunumiris
made of onions, dried chili and fish chips
ground up with salt and lime, that the
locals will cheerfully warn you ‘can burn
your stomach’. Caveat emptor!
Ceylinco Seylan Towers
90 Galle Road / Colombo 3
+94 11 471 6171
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LUXE SRI LANKA
Intro
Claim your spot on the signature,
perfectly positioned, black and white
checkerboard terrace or beside the
seaside promenade with its fabulous
sea views at this historic hotel. It’s the
best spot in the city for sundowners with
ravishing sunsets, although bear in mind
the service can be rather hit or miss as
the waiters are often somewhat antique.
Galle Face Hotel / 2 Galle Road
Colombo 3 / +94 11 254 1010
www.rajabojun.lk
www.gallefacehotel.com
www.cinnamonhotels.com
P6
Bar
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7° NORTH
PARADISE ROAD STUDIO
BAREFOOT
Bar
Shopping
Shopping
This buzzy poolside bar and
Mediterranean tapas-style restaurant
with a sprawling alfresco deck boasts
views over Beira Lake. Wednesdays,
Fridays and Saturdays are the hotspots,
but do be aware there is live music most
nights, so if you prefer a quiet cocktail,
check out The Checkerboard instead.
Where to begin? Shanth Fernando’s
lifestyle store is the default stop-off
for any stylish homemaker or interior
designer. From ceramics to fabrics,
glass, cutlery, linens and glass, nothing
appears in the store that he hasn’t either
designed himself or rigorously reviewed
and approved. They don’t call him the
Terrence Conran of Sri Lanka for nothing.
No trip to Sri Lanka is complete without
a visit to this haven of hand-dyed, handwoven, jewel-hued fabrics, home and
tableware, bedding toys, books and art.
Add a positively lovely little courtyard
café that turns out an excellent limed
calamari pasta, plus fab cakes, and
you’ve got two of life’s greatest pleasures
covered in one sweet spot.
Cinnamon Lakeside / 115 Sir Chittampalam
A. Gardiner Mawatha / Colombo 2
15 Alfred House Gardens / Colombo 3
+94 11 249 1948
+94 11 250 6844
706 Galle Road / Colombo 3
+94 11 258 9305
www.cinnamonhotels.com
www.paradiseroad.lk
www.barefootceylon.com
MM IBRAHIM
ESALA PERAHERA
(FESTIVAL OF THE TOOTH)
BALLOONING
Shopping
Activities
Activities
If you find yourself in Galle Fort it
would be silly not to visit this most
talented of jewelers. Reputable and
trustworthy, ask to see the unset gems
and design your own bauble to remind
you of Ceylon, or if time is short, choose
from the glittering array of chunky silver
cuffs, and precious or semi-precious
delights that are ready to wear.
47 Church Street / Galle Fort
+94 91 223 4253
A riot of color and pageantry at
the end of July, this perahera is the
island’s best, with ten days of exotic
processions of elephants, dancers
and drummers culminating in the
parading of the Buddha’s Tooth. The
whole of the island packs into Kandy,
where the final three days are the best,
and if you have booked well ahead you
will be able to view it from a balcony
room at The Queen’s Hotel. Don’t
however make the mistake of staying
here overnight, and avoid being at
street level at all costs.
There really is nothing quite like the
perfect peace and tranquility of floating in
a hot air balloon over the early morning,
misty countryside in the amazing Cultural
Triangle of Kandalama, Dambulla and
Sigiriya, affording bird’s eye views of the
breathtaking monuments and jungle.
Adventure Asia
+94 11 586 8468
www.ad-asia.com
The Queen’s Hotel / Kandy
+94 81 223 3026
www.queenshotel.lk
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LUXE SRI LANKA
Intro
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SRI LANKAN ROADS
AND DRIVERS
HUMIDITY
Run to those hills to escape!
Absolutely insane!
LUDICROUS INTERNATIONAL
FLIGHT TIMES
Highly inconvenient, not to mention tiring.
ALCOHOL SALE BANS
ON POYA DAYS
Dull dry spells, so make sure you stock up.
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LUXE SRI LANKA
Intro
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ARRIVE IN STYLE
SIGHTSEEING
KANDY CLIMB
Bone shaking rides across poor country
roads to get to your destination are an
all too often occurrence in Sri Lanka,
but treat yourself by chartering a
Sri Lankan Air Taxi and arrive in style
and in one piece!
Seeing the Cultural Triangle by foot can
be a hot and tiring affair, but imagine
seeing the Cultural Triangle in your very
own hot air balloon! Well, you can with
Adventure Asia.
The long and tortuous uphill journey
to Kandy can be a nightmare by road,
so consider jumping aboard the fab old
Viceroy Express and steaming up to
Kandy on board a classic locomotive.
www.ad-asia.com
www.jftours.com/
viceroy-vintage-train-tours
www.srilankan.com
SAFARI
WATER BORNE
Hiring a luxury yacht to go whale and
dolphin watching is great fun, but better
yet consider hiring a simple sailboat from
Mirissa Water Sports. All the young staff
are tsunami survivors and your custom
helps their education and employment.
A visit to Yala National Park can be a
very long and exhausting experience, but
visit on one of Kulu Safaris very stylish
tent tours, and you’ll do it in comfort and
luxury. Also available for Wilpattu and
elephant-filled Udawale national parks.
www.kulusafaris.com
www.mirissawatersports.com
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LUXE SRI LANKA
Intro
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LUXE ITINERARY
Romance
The opening of the Southern Expressway
means that it now only takes an hour
(down from 4 hours) to visit Galle on the
south coast and its fascinating, 400-year
old Dutch colonial fort, so it’s feasible
to make a day trip, but why not treat
yourself to a romantic stay at the divine
Dutch House (see LUXE Loves). Once
there, zip down the hill and into the fort
for an amble in the atmospheric and
buzzy colonial streets. You’ll find plenty
of shopportunities, but be sure to look out
for Mimimango for lovely drifty separates
and accessories, Barefoot for rainbowcolored textiles, bags and homeware,
Olanda for some lovely salvage, custom
furniture and architectural antiques,
and M. M. Ibrahim (see LUXE Loves) for
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LUXE SRI LANKA
Intro
serious bling – ask to see the unset gems
and design yourself a bauble to remind
you of Ceylon in years to come. Lunch!
You can’t work on an empty stomach,
and Galle Fort Hotel is perfectly placed
when shopper’s shoulder sets in. The
delightfully spiced menu of the Dining
Room will soon have the wind back in
your sail, so to speak. For something
truly lovely and memorable, while at the
same time being charitable, give Mirissa
Water Sports (see Drab vs Fab) a call, and
get out on the beautiful ocean for some
whale watching. The best time to spot
blue whales off the coast of Sri Lanka is
between December and April, and the
40-minute trip down the coast to Mirissa
is charming with the ocean never far from
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LUXE Insider
LUXE Loves
your sight. When the sun sets, you’ll be
wishing to draw up a chair at the bar in
Amangalla, the seriously stylish colonial
hotel in the fort, before heading back up
the hill and a welcome alfresco supper in
the garden at The Sun House and final
nightcap at Dick’s Bar. Careful with those
arrack-based cocktails!
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Style
There was a time when Colombo was
considered more as a necessary evil
and somewhere to be suffered en route
to or from the airport. In recent years,
however, this city has become a buzzing
hotspot of good dining, accommodation
and some seriously addictive shopping,
and now with the bonus of the superswift Southern Expressway you can visit
Colombo for the day and be home for
supper in Galle in less than an hour.
If you plan on staying in Colombo, do
make sure it’s at Tintagel (see LUXE
Loves), where interior designer and
lifestyle guru Shanth Fernando hits
all the glamour buttons and serves up
an exceptional ambience with service
to match. Want to shop the look? You
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LUXE SRI LANKA
Intro
haven’t got far to go. There are two
Paradise Road stores in town (see
LUXE Loves), the Dharmapala Mawatha
branch also has a great little café for
that all important java moment. You’re
going to be doing some serious retail
damage and so a car and driver from
Diethelm’s is going to be rather handy
to carry about all your booty. Next stop,
Barefoot (see LUXE Loves) for a huge
range of colorful textiles and homeware
products from oven gloves to fabric
covered notebooks all in their signature,
fabulous stripes. Tummy rumbling?
Fret not, you’re already at the perfect
lunch spot, Barefoot’s courtyard café
is a perennial favorite away from the
madness of the city outside, and better
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LUXE Loves
still, it has free WiFi. For designer duds at
discount prices it’s always worth a look at
Odel Unlimited. This slightly odd mishmash of a department store may not be
Barney’s, but dig deep and you can often
find some nice surprises that won’t break
the bank. Lastly, take a quick look around
Raux Brothers, an excellent starter pack
of antiques, soft furnishings, repro and
contempo furniture in teak, mahogany
and iron, they’ll ship, tweak and custom
design as well. With your steamer chair
safely purchased, it’s on to Gallery Café
(see LUXE Loves) for sundowners and
supper. Stylish day, hey?
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Culture
P12
Stunning painted caverns, mountain
citadels and big Buddhas, one ticket
gets you into three of the island’s most
spectacular sites (your driver or guide
will arrange this for you), but there’s
stacks more to see if you don’t mind
beating about the bush. You’ll need at
least two days to see it all. Remember
to remove shoes and hats and cover
legs and shoulders when visiting
religious shrines or places of worship.
Anuradhapura: Centered around
the sacred Bodhi tree, this town
bursts with the remains of a once
huge, ancient city that was the seat
of Sinhalese power.
Sigiriya: This 200m-high clifftop
citadel is a real challenge of a hike,
so be smart and balloon or heli over
it (see LUXE Loves).
Yapahuwa: For an Indiana Jones setting,
go see these untouched stone ruins
standing like Aztec pyramids amid
amazing jungle foliage.
Polonnaruwa: A rambling complex
of ruins set in a leafy park close to a
lovely ancient reservoir. Go early to
marvel at the huge standing and
reclining Buddha statues before the
crowds get there, but watch for those
naughty, thieving monkeys.
The Elephant Gathering at Minneriya
Lake: Aug and Sep see the highlight
of the pachyderm social calendar when
over 400 trunked types converge.
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LUXE SRI LANKA
Intro
Dambulla: Brave the bats and venture
into endless caverns encrusted with
Buddhas and frescoes at the best
preserved cave temple complex in
Sri Lanka.
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LUXE Loves
PLACES TO STAY
Ulagalla Resort Raises the Luxe bar
with 25 mahogany terraced chalets
with private plunge pools, scattered
across the isle’s largest solar farm.
Kandalama Built overlooking the rock
fortress of Sigiriya, Geoffrey Bawa’s
masterpiece of modern design melds
beautifully into its surroundings. Stay in
the Sigiriya Wing suites if you can, and
make full use of the Six Senses spa after
your cultural days out.
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LUXE ITINERARY
The Essentials
ROMANTIC ITINERARY
STYLISH ITINERARY
CULTURAL ITINERARY
• Dutch House (see LUXE Loves)
• T
intagel
(see LUXE Loves)
• U
lagalla Resort
Thirappane / Anuradhapura
+94 25 567 1000
www.ugaescapes.com
• M
imimango
56A Lighthouse Street
Galle Fort / +94 91 224 2702
www.joedenmimimango.com
• P
aradise Road
(see LUXE Loves)
• D
iethelm Travel Sri Lanka
www.diethelmtravel.com/srilanka
• B
arefoot
41 Pedlar Street
/ Galle Fort
+94 91 222 6299
• B
arefoot / 41 Pedlar Street
Fort Galle / +94 91 222 6299
• O
landa / 30 Leyn Baan Street
Galle Fort / +94 91 223 4398
www.olandafurniture.com
• MM Ibrahim Gems & (see LUXE Loves)
• G
alle Fort Hotel / 28 Church Street
Galle Fort / +94 91 223 2870
www.galleforthotel.com
• M
irissa Water Sports
(see Drab vs Fab)
• A
mangallaa / 10 Church Street
Galle Fort / +94 91 223 3388
www.amanresorts.com/
amangalla/home.aspx
• K
andalama
11 Dambulla / Dambulla
+94 066 555 5000
www.heritancehotels.com
• O
del
Former Dutch Hospital Building / shop 6
Bank of Ceylon Mawatha, Fort Galle
Colombo 1 / +94 11 244 8873
www.odel.lk
• R
aux Brothers
7 De Fonseka Road / Havelock Town
Colombo 5 / +94 11 258 3813
www.rauxbrothers.com
• Gallery Café (see LUXE Loves)
• T
he Sun House
18 Upper Dickson Road / Galle Fort
+94 91 438 0275
www.thesunhouse.com
• D
ick’s Bar
18 Upper Dickson Road / Galle Fort
+94 91 438 0275
www.thesunhouse.com
P13
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LUXE SRI LANKA
Intro
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Drab vs. Fab
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Citi Prestige
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Your LUXE notes
2014.02.17
P14
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LUXE SRI LANKA
Intro
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LUXE Loves
LUXE Loathes
Drab vs. Fab
LUXE Itineraries