Khomba Beach House is heaven. Surrounded by 6 acres of gorgeous gardens, the house opens fully to the trees, birds, noises and sounds outside. The beach and sea lie just beyond this with a view through the trees. The sitting room is completely open to this view like a huge veranda. The bedrooms & bathrooms are huge, cool and well thought out and it slept nine of us comfortably.
We arrived to be greeted warmly by Cissara and his wife Indrani and a cup of tea for an 8 day stay. Breakfast, lunch, tea & supper were cooked by Indrani and were delicious, varied & always Sri Lankan - just what we wanted. We didn't taste better food than this anywhere in Sri Lanka. Better still, there is no menu, no cooking, no washing up, no cleaning & it is all provided with such care & charm.
The sea is warm, absolutely safe with no tide or rip currents, and not even very deep all the way out to the reef. We took two boat trips; the first was a fishing trip where we caught a barracuda (cooked by Indrani for supper), the second to see dolphin. On the second trip we saw super pods of dolphin i.e. hundreds and then, amazingly, two blue whale just 25m from the boat - a real thrill.
Another excursion was to the Wilpattu National Park where we were lucky again to see a sloth bear, leopard, elk, a crocodile, colourful birds such as bee eaters and hornbill. Although it's a long time in the car, worthwhile nonetheless.
A typical day was: wake and take a dip in the sea, back to the house where a cup of tea arrives magically, breakfast, back to the beach, on to the neighbouring hotel for swimming and cabanas, back to Khomba for lunch, siesta in a hammock in the garden or a massage, read, beach ball in the garden, cycle into the nearby town (bikes from Cissara), drinks, supper, bed.
We stayed over Christmas and it was a treat to get away from the commercial razzmatazz, overeating & drinking. It was a real rest, the people are really charming and Khomba is exceptional.
Thanks so much to the owners, Cissara and Indrani.