DOORNBERG - The Dutch House in Galle Ranked ‘Hippest Hotel’

Nissanka · **Posted:** Sun Aug 28, 2005 11:45 am

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DOORNBERG - The Dutch House Ranked ‘Hippest Hotel’ in SL

Thursday, July 14, 2005

The style and ambience of The Dutch House in Galle won the four-suite boutique hotel a place in the 20 top “Hippest Hotels” in the world, announced recently in one of the UK’s leading newspapers, The Sunday Times.

Style icon, Herbert Ypma, author of the annual ‘Herbert Ypma Hip Hotels’ series, has included the hillside mansion in his list of all-time favourites, describing the property as “the most fantastic example of Dutch colonial architecture”.

“Brilliantly, it has survived as a house. Rooms and spaces are used as they would have been originally. It’s so tempting for hotels to turn the main house into a reception area, but at Doornberg [its original name] the enormous bedrooms, which were built in 1712, remain untouched. Every one is charged with history: the ambience is colonial grandeur without the clichés,” said Mr Ypma.

“It’s not just the bedrooms that are immense; the bathrooms are too. But the real draw is the pace of the place,” he said.

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May 29, 2005
Sunday Times, UK

The hippest hotels in the world

If you like doilies and net curtains, look away now. Herbert Ypma, the man behind the chintz-free Hip Hotels series, picks his overall top 20

DOORNBERG
Galle, Sri Lanka

Galle was an important supply stop for the Dutch East Indies Company when bringing back spices from Java and Sumatra, and Doornberg was the home of one of the Dutch fleet’s admirals. It is built in a beautiful position on top of a hill, and it’s the most fantastic example of Dutch colonial architecture.

Brilliantly, it has survived as a house. Rooms and spaces are used as they would have been originally. It’s so tempting for hotels to turn the main house into a reception area, but at Doornberg there were seven enormous bedrooms when it was built, and there still are. Every one is charged with history: the ambience is colonial grandeur without the clichés.

It’s not just the bedrooms that are immense; the bathrooms are, too. But the real draw is the pace of the place. Doing nothing, very slowly, is the order of the day. It’s so seductive and peaceful.

Details: 00 94 91 438 0275, www.thesunhouse.com; suites from £180. Airline Network (0870 700 0534, www.airlinenetwork.co.uk) has flights from Gatwick with Qatar Airways, via Doha; from £482. Hotel transfers take 4hr and cost £35

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