The Hill Club

NUWARA ELIYA: 'The Hill Club'

by sonnen_blume about NUWARA ELIYA: 'The Hill Club'

a night in a single room sets you back with US 60,-. this is one of the most memorable places, I ever stayed. also, because they gave me a hot-water-bottle to warm up the sheets as I went to bed. 'The Hill Club' now admits ladies as well... it was THE club for all the english tea-barons to spent their weekends. it's not that ladies were not allowed at all... for certain female visitors of the members, there are backstairs...anyway, here you have to dress up for the 5-course-diner, which is served by waiters in white gloves, who know their jobs . the rooms are ok, mostly you pay for the atmoshere. in the reading room, you can sink in a creeky leather chair and imagine what all these important men might have talked about... years ago. it's a place full of ghosts.

A taste of the past.

by grandad about The Hill Club, Nuwara-Eliya

The Hill Club is straight out of the history books, with emphasis on the colonial past! Stepping inside of the Hill Club takes you back years to the time when the privileged few would enjoy this little piece of "Club England" in Sri Lanka.
Become a member of the Hill Club for the period of your stay and take away na membership plaque as a momento of your stay. The Hill Club's attraction is in the experience of the past - it is in every sense of the word, old!
Men must wear a jacket for the evening meal and if you didn't bring one they will find one for you - they matched my size and colour, no mean feat!
The menu is extensive but alas the kitchen does not afford the means of fullfilling the menu - best ask what is available before you place your order.
The Hill Club is a unique experience not to be missed and being alongside the Nuwara-Eliya Golf Club is well placed to knock around a few balls if you feel inclined.

The Racecourse

by mafi_moya

A colonial legacy, this is as far as I know the only proper race course in Sri Lanka. Horse racing is big business in Sri Lanka - bookmakers make a fortune from people betting on races held in England, and names such as Ascot and the Grand National are well known. I'm not sure how often the course is used for horses but there are plenty of ponies hanging about, cricket matches going on, a rubbish dump in the middle, and it's used as a shortcut through the town!

Tea Pickers

by freya_heaven

Unfortunately the photo has not come out well,(if you enlarge it it helps) but all over the tea growing areas, you can see in the distance colourful moving dots.

Get closer you can see they are women picking tea.

Nuwara Eliya

by tim07

My hotel was about 15km from the centre of Nuwara Eliya. I only really visited it to get provisions. The place was bustling with lots of traffic. Among the modern buildings you could still find traces of its colonial past.

My hotel 'The Tea Factory' was on a hill overlooking Kandapola. Getting there from Nuwara Eliya was up a pot holed dirt track, this was quite an ordeal, especially in the afternoon rain. Because of this evenings were restricted to the hotel. The highlight though was the view of the morning sun rising over the tea plantations.