Teardrop Hotels Relaunches Geoffrey Bawa’s Iconic Country Estate – Lunuganga

An important part of Sri Lanka’s cultural heritage, Lunuganga re-opens as a nine-bedroom property.

Teardrop Hotels announced its partnership with The Geoffrey Bawa Trust to revitalise and relaunch Geoffrey Bawa’s Lunuganga estate on the Southwest Coast of Sri Lanka. The nine-bedroom property includes Bawa’s original home with its unique charm and quirkiness, in addition to a three-bed house he designed and built in Colombo, which has been painstakingly reconstructed brick by brick on the grounds of the estate.
Lunuganga forms an important part of Sri Lanka’s cultural and design heritage. Acquired by famed architect Geoffrey Bawa in 1947 as one of his first projects, Bawa worked tirelessly to transform the house and the gardens from a derelict rubber estate into one of the most beautiful gardens of the 20th Century. Elements of Italian Renaissance gardens, English landscaping, Japanese garden art, and the water gardens of ancient Sri Lanka combine to form Bawa’s most extravagant creation – a mecca for those passionate about landscape design and architectural history.

The original house, comprised of a former 1930’s plantation bungalow with six private guest suites, is an ode to “tropical modernism”. This features an interesting blend of antique and modern furniture with traditional and contemporary art, which is reminisent and a trademark of Bawa’s eclectic signature style. The Bawa Trust and Teardrop Hotels have enured that the changes to the house were kept to an absolute minimum, allowing guests to enjoy the space exactly as Bawa intended them to.

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Lunuganga now also includes the three-bedroom house of Bawa’s dear friend, Ena de Silva. A batik artist based in Colombo, Silva and her husband Osmund commissioned Bawa to design their home in 1962 – a pivotal project in his life’s work and the first time he executed the joining of radically modern design with traditional Sri Lankan elements. In 2009, Ena sold the house to The Bawa Trust, which initiated the transformation of the property brick by brick from its location in Colombo to Lunuganga. The house took three months to disassemble and six years to rebuild, led by Architect Amila de Mel and conservation specialist Nilan Cooray. Everything from the frangipani tree in the front courtyard to the slabs of river stone remains just as it was in the original house.


A representative of The Geoffrey Bawa Trust comments: “We are delighted to partner with Teardrop Hotels in the running of Lunuganga. They will bring in their successful style of boutique hotel management to the property and offer their luxury hotel service to guests who are keen to experience the unique country estate living style envisioned by Geoffrey Bawa.”

Henry Fitch, Managing Director of Teardrop Hotels adds: “The spectacular location and stunning gardens are a masterclass in landscape design. Lunuganga is one of the most treasured properties in Sri Lanka and Teardrop Hotels is thrilled to have been entrusted with its management.”
A night at Lunuganga – in either the main house or the Ena de Silva villa – is pried from USD265++ (RM1,128.90) for two people sharing, inclusive of breakfast. To celebrate the relaunch, Teardrop Hotels is offering guests a 20% discount on all rooms booked before November 31, 2020 – which can then be used anytime until April 31, 2020.

About Teardrop Hotels

From a 17th Century townhouse in the legendary Galle Fort to traditional tea planters’ bungalows high up in the hills, the Teardrop collection of beautifully renovated, historic properties are sewn together by three founding principles embodyign genuine Sri Lankan hospitality; fabulous Sri Lankan and Asian fusion cuisine using locally sourced fresh ingredients; and experiences that put guests face to face with the warm and colourful sights and sounds of Sri Lanka, the teardrop island. With three fully renovated tea bungalows that opened in 2017 and 2018, guests are now able to journey through the country and explore the island’s hotspots taking in the mountainous jungle, vivid green tea plantations, tropical palm-lined sandy beaches and colourful culture whilst staying at Teardrop’s collection of boutique hotels. Teardrop Hotels properties include:
The Wallawwa, Colombo: Opened in 2008
Fort Bazaar, Galle Fort: Opened in 2016
Camellia Hills, Hatton: Opened in 2017
Kumu Beach, Balapitiya: Opened in 2018
Goatfell, Nuwara Eliya: Opened in 2018
Nine Skies, Ella: Opened in 2018
Lunuganga Estate, Bentota: Opening August 2020
Pekoe House, Kandy: Opening in 2021

For more information: Log on to www.teardrop-hotels.com or IG @teardrop_hotels or email: enquiries@teardrop-hotels.com

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