T

he phenomenon that is Aman is a singularly puzzling one. It’s a chain, yes, but one with seemingly all the strengths and none of the weaknesses that that implies. On the up side there’s consistency of experience, which Aman offers in spades — just ask the “Aman junkies,” who, as legend has it, will crisscross the globe to stay at every single Aman property but nowhere else. On the down side would be homogeneity, even boredom; but this is a problem Aman does not have. Aside from some common architectural threads and a devotion to the modern and the minimal, every Aman hotel is an individual — there would be no mistaking the Moorish style of Amanjena for the alpine-Zen style of Amangani in Jackson Hole.

And there’s no mistaking Amanwella for anywhere but Sri Lanka. Here on a crescent-shaped beach lined with coconut groves stand thirty suites, from the outside, traditional wooden bungalows, while the interiors are bold and minimal, almost spartan in sharp lines of wood and concrete, with high loft ceilings and sleek modern furnishings. Plunge pools, private terraces and deep free-standing soaking tubs are standard, and every room looks out over the beach.

At just thirty suites, Amanwella is decidedly on the small side — there’s a heightened sense of privacy, and even in the restaurants or the library there’s little chance you’ll feel crowded. And there’s ample opportunity to get away; either to your room for a private spa treatment, or out and about, either down the beach for a dive or a swim, or out into nature, into the jungle that lies at Amanwella’s doorstep or to the real wilderness of the Bundala and Uda Walawe national parks.

How to get there:

Flights arrive at Colombo, on Sri Lanka’s west coast. From there it’s a two and a half hour drive down the coast to Galle, and another two hours east along the coast to Tangalle. Alternately, air taxi or helicopter service can be arranged from Colombo to Tangalle or to Dickwella, fifteen minutes from the hotel.