Serene Pavilions - Unparalleled Luxury

Departure Time:     1900 hours

Departure Venue:   Fort Bus Stop

Travel mode:          Colombo-Matara Bus

Adventurers:          Avanti & Anushan Selvarajah

Serene Pavilions was a water paradise. Located directly between the towns of Panadura and Wadduwa, we reached here by around 9pm (with the after-work traffic), and almost lost our way, but managed to catch a tuk-tuk driver who knew the way and took us there along what they also call ‘hotel road’.

Serene Pavilions cannot be seen to the main road, and is hidden away in the by-lanes of Wadduwa. Crossing a railway track, and onto an almost cobbled-like narrow street, we soon came upon a set of large wooden gates which were thrown open upon arrival… and we were, at once, thrown into a blissfully tranquil, beautiful and serene world that was Serene Pavilions.

Walking through these majestic gates, you pass pond number one, beautiful with multi-coloured fish and many pretty plants. As we were delayed by the work traffic Managing Director and Owner Anura Lokuhetty had left for the night, we were told; but the hotel’s Rooms and Sales Division Manager, Pushpitha Udawatte, and reception assistant, Tyrone, were all too happy to take us in!

Refreshing ourselves with warm towels, Tyrone gave us a quick tour of the place as he led us past a lotus-filled entrance pond number two and the hotel’s centrally located swimming pool, bordered by picturesque lawns and palm trees, to our private abode. 

It was not even a ‘room’, it was a HOUSE! All to ourselves, and complete with a kitchen, living and dining areas, bedroom, WALK-IN CLOSET, in-door jacuzzi, our very own private plunge pool and not to mention the highly personalised butler service available 24 hours a day! Sigh!

First things first, Ruwan – our butler – filled up the Jacuzzi and set about making the place more comfortable for us, which included turning down the beds, drawing the bedroom shades, taking our bags upstairs, and even writing down our meal preferences for the night (making use of the hotel’s á la carte service, we chose to eat dinner at our ‘home’)! We could have gotten used to that!

 

I was more than eager to get into the bath-tub, which was near overflowing with bubbles… in addition to the atmosphere that Ruwan created by lighting candles all over the bathroom. Ah, heavenly!

By the time we had cleaned-up and changed into clean clothes (now hung in the WALK-IN CLOSET!), Ruwan was already back with our meal… Walking downstairs we were greeted by a table set for two, complete with glasses of wine and candles.

It was by far the second most romantic meal of my entire life!

After dinner of lamb chops, mashed potatoes and veggies, and red wine, and a fancy dessert, we were too stuffed to move! We then spent a few more minutes walking around the place, taking it all in (!!) and then locked up and went upstairs to bed. A FOUR POSTER BED!! with the softest pillows (not softer than Jetwing’s! ;) and the most comfy bedspreads… just lying on that bed was enough to knock-out even the toughest sleeper!

 

Early the next morning, we were up, and drew up the windows (with remote controls… from bed!) only to look out into the sea! It was a beautiful sight… Lazily dragging ourselves out of bed, we spent a few minutes having tea in our personal balcony (already prepared and brought up by Ruwan) and watching the pigeons perched on a roof nearby. Bliss!

Washing and changing (in the WALK-IN CLOSET!) for the day, we headed down, choosing to enjoy breakfast at the Pavilions (main) Restaurant, observing the sights and sounds of the morning hours.

The meals were gourmet, to say the least, and the potions were more than one can fathom. For breakfast, I first eggs and bacons and sausages etc, then moved on to cornflakes and finished up with pancakes with blueberry syrup; and Anushan started with cold cuts, went on to eggs, sausages and bacon and ended up with pancakes with maple syrup… delicious!

The fresh fruit drinks and freshly baked bread basket only added to our guilty pleasures!

I am sure I left Serene Pavilions five pounds heavier than I arrived – we checked this on the high-tech weighing scale in the room!

After eating, we definitely needed the exercise, and decided to explore the place… Starting at the front entrance, we met the hotel’s Mine-Host Manager, Diedre Moore who asked us to feel free to roam the place at leisure. After bidding a good morning to Pushpitha as well, we were left to our own devices, to explore the hotels surroundings.

Serene Pavilions has a totally of 12 pavilions – eight ocean pavilions, and four garden pavilions – each beautifully designed and furnished with modern amenities, in addition to its very own Sanskrit names – such as Shama meaning serenity and control of mind, Nanda meaning joy, Prema meaning love and desire, Karishma meaning miracle and so on.

Our pavilion was called Shanthi, meaning ‘peace, serenity and an undisturbed state of mind’.

We ventured into the Serenity Spa, which is run by experienced Balinese therapists, and the hotel’s well-equipped Asana Gym.

A unique feature about the Pavilions Restaurant, and the Amritha Bar (below it), was that it seemed to actually float on water. This building is surrounded by a body of water, off which light reflects, creating the effect of a floating restaurant.

We then went for a dip in the hotel’s centrally located pool… Why we picked this pool over our private plunge pool is as this pool had underwater Jacuzzi beds! You had to be there to believe it!! A bed, that is a jacuzzi, under the water, so you could lie down and “feel the bubbles”!  It was awesome! (see Anushan’s face in the picture!)

After lying here for while, we decided to try our private plunge pool as well…  After swimming around awhile, and generally chatting and taking pictures to our hearts content, with music blaring from our stereo system, we were finally hungry again.

Drying up and dressing again, we decided to have lunch by the main pool…

The three-course lunch was a regular thing here. We were first overwhelmed by the scrumptious seafood (yet spicy) soup, then went on to a plate of meats, grilled potatoes and vegetables, and finally ended up with a taste-bud ripping, sugar-coated five-star dessert… Oh my! It was a wonder we could still stand by the end of it! J

 

Stuffed again we caught a quick 40 winks before we finally realised that we needed to get on our way, and leave this pampered paradise.

So we packed our bags, (bid goodbye to the WALK-IN CLOSET), thanked Pushpitha, Ruwan and Diedre for a wonderful stay and made our way out the great wooden doors and into the dusty roads of Wadduwa (and back to Colombo)…

The food and service at Serene Pavilions was exquisite… and I can’t wait to go back! (if I can!).