Luxury hotel holiday Shangri-La Hambantota Galle

The Shangri-La Hambantota Resort and Spa is a high-class luxury resort. Spacious and elegantly designed accommodation sits in luxurious tropical gardens; sports and excursions keep guests entertained and stimulated for the duration of their stay; and the famous CHI Spa offers rejuvenating Ayurvedic treatments. Perfectly situated for exploration of the more natural, remote southern coast of Sri Lanka, the Shangri-La is a fantastic addition to any tour of this enchanting island.
Included in your Expressions holiday
  • Accommodation in a double or twin room on bed and breakfast
  • Scheduled flights with Sri Lankan Airlines
  • Transport by private car with driver-guide
  • Concierge service and Expressions Holidays regional helpful hints
  • Optional room, board and flight upgrades. Details on request

Luxury bespoke holidays and tours to Shangri-La Hambanta Golf Resort, near Galle

Shangri-La Hambantota is a 5-star luxury hotel in a beautiful seafront location. With an excellent kid's club as well as Sri Lanka's only 18-hole golf course and a soothing Ayurvedic spa, this resort is perfect for couples and families alike.

Facts in brief

Official star rating 5

Location On the seafront near Hambantota, approximately 75-miles from Galle

Closest airport Bandaranaike International Airport

Distance from airport 130 miles

Hotel facilities and services

18-hole golf course with Coconut Plantation, Dune Area, and Sapphire Mine, Artisan village with shops and classes (pottery and ceramic hut, wood carving hut, weaving hut, and handloom and textiles hut), Barbecue facilities, Health club, Yoga sessions, Aquagym, Fitness classes, Ayurvedic and Chinese spa treatments in the CHI Spa, Cool Zone Kids Club, Kids and Teens Club, Jacuzzi, 2 outdoor swimming pools, Delicatessen, Library, Hair and beauty salon, Guest parking, Postal service, and Shopping arcade.

Complimentary

Wifi.

Land sports

Jogging trails, Barefoot bowling, Archery, Billiards, Darts, Petanque, Table tennis, Beach volleyball, Bike rental, Hiking.

Out and about nearby

Hambantota is a location known for its proximity to an abundance of natural wild- and plant-life, particularly due to the Bundala and the Yala National Parks, both of which make excellent day excursions, or later stops on your tour. Hambantota is home to a wide collection of colonial architecture, as well as salt flats, and ancient dagobas - dome-shaped memorial containing relics from a Buddhist saint, and viharas - a temple or monastery. The sacred city of Kataragama is also nearby, destination of many pilgrimage routes.

Special offers for this holiday>

Hotel excellent. Another great holiday organised by yourselves.
Mr L, October 2022

Holiday price guide Sample prices are per person based on two people sharing a Deluxe garden room for 7 nights

From about

£1,780

Holiday Code EXH1884

The prices displayed here are a guide only. Each holiday price will be tailor-made at the time of booking to reflect all actual costs including up-to-date special offers.

Luxury bespoke holidays and tours to Shangri-La Hambanta Golf Resort, near Galle

Room descriptions

Shangri-La Hambantota has 300 rooms with air-conditioning, satellite television, pillow menu, telephone, coffee and tea making facilities, minibar, Shangri-La toiletries. Check on booking if your chosen room has a balcony.

Deluxe Garden Room on ground floor with views of tropical gardens
Premier Room with views of lagoon, ocean, or golf course
Premier Ocean Room with ocean views
Premier Golf Suite in private building with separate living and dining room and golf course views
Premier Ocean Suite in private building with separate living and dining room and ocean views
Specialty Suite in private building with maximum space and ocean views
Janapathi Suite in private building with authentic Sri Lankan design, maximum space, and ocean views

Special offers for this holiday>

Hotel excellent. Another great holiday organised by yourselves.
Mr L, October 2022

Holiday price guide Sample prices are per person based on two people sharing a Deluxe garden room for 7 nights

From about

£1,780

Holiday Code EXH1884

The prices displayed here are a guide only. Each holiday price will be tailor-made at the time of booking to reflect all actual costs including up-to-date special offers.

Luxury bespoke holidays and tours to Shangri-La Hambanta Golf Resort, near Galle

The journey and how you get there

For a holiday to Shangri-La Hambantota Golf Resort & Spa in Sri Lanka, our clients fly to Colombo, usually with Sri Lankan Airways on a direct flight from London Heathrow (or with Emirates from other UK airports via Dubai). This hotel is 4 hours and 25 minutes' drive from Colombo airport and is either a stay in its own right, in which case you will have a car transfer to the hotel and back, or it is stayed at as part of a tailor-made touring holiday with a driver-guide, in which case the hotel is usually approached from Tea and Hill Country to the north or from Yala National Park.

Additional information

Children: With the Cool Zone Kids Club, ballooning, air walking, trapeze, drone-flying, kite-making and flying are available. There is also a children's pool and complimentary buffet food for children under 12 in two of the restaurants.

Special offers

Call to make your booking and save an extra £50 per adult Call us instead of emailing us when you are thinking of booking a holiday and save an extra £50 per adult (in addition to any special offers that might be available). We want to talk to you to discuss your requirements and a phone call is usually the best way for you to define what you want enabling us to respond more accurately. We want to talk to you and you save an extra £50 per adult.

Hotel excellent. Another great holiday organised by yourselves.
Mr L, October 2022

Holiday price guide Sample prices are per person based on two people sharing a Deluxe garden room for 7 nights

From about

£1,780

Holiday Code EXH1884

The prices displayed here are a guide only. Each holiday price will be tailor-made at the time of booking to reflect all actual costs including up-to-date special offers.

Luxury bespoke holidays and tours to Shangri-La Hambanta Golf Resort, near Galle

Highlights of Galle and the south coast

Fascinating Galle has plenty to offer the visitor: Galle Fort – UNESCO World Heritage Site, and one of the few living fort cities in the world; Walk around the ramparts of Galle at dawn or at sunset; Arts & crafts shopping – jewellery, lace, rush & reed, home décor, furniture, antiques, batik and boutiques; The Dutch Reformed Church; Galle Literary Festival in January; National Museum; Maritime Museum in the Dutch warehouses of Galle Fort, just re-opened; Galle Markets; Galle Cricket Stadium; Hot-air balloon ride (December to April); River boat trip. A little way inland from Galle/Koggala: Hiyare Nature Reserve (volunteering possible); Kottawe Nature Reserve; Kanneliya Forest; Samakanda (organic farm, visit, walks and lunches available upon request); Village life bike rides; Handicrafts in the villages e.g. lace-making, rush & reed, woodcarving; Yatagala Temple. On the way from Galle to Yala you can enjoy: Stilt Fishermen; Cinnamon plantations; Unuwatuna beach; Martin Wickramasinghe’s house – museum (literary and 20th century life); Koggala Lake; Hinduangoda White tea factory and estate; Lace-making – Weligama, Dickwella; Surfing – popular surfing beaches from Unuwatuna to Mirissa; Weligama Bay; Coastal villages and fishing harbours; Whale Watching and Dolphin Watching (from Mirissa); Diving (from Mirissa); Deep-sea fishing trips (from Mirissa); Provincial town of Matara (Dutch heritage – fort and church); Dondra Head and Dondra Lighthouse; Kudawala Blow Hole; Mulkirigala Buddhist temple (inland); Uda Walawe National Park and Elephant Transit Home (inland); Sea Turtles laying their eggs on the beach, usually February to July (Rekawa Turtle Project); Kalametiya bird sanctuary; Bundala Nature Reserve (bird-watching mainly); Yala National Park; Kataragama – centre for Buddhist, Hindu and Muslim pilgrimages; Tissamaharama - ancient ‘tank’ and dagobas.

Cultural highlights of Galle and the south coast

There are many places to visit in Galle and the area along the south coast of Sri Lanka. In Galle itself, Galle Fort is home to a national museum housing Dutch and Singhalese exhibits of historical interest as well as a newly-opened Maritime Museum, a lighthouse and a 17th century Dutch Reform Church. The narrow streets within the Fort are fascinating for their architecture, lined with official buildings, shops and old town houses, some of which have been converted to stylish villas and boutique hotels. Outside the ramparts, Galle functions busily as a provincial town and port - brightly painted fishing boats line the shore and there is a lively market area with a whole pavilion dedicated to fish. Galle and the surrounding villages are full of artisans – lace makers, jewellers, woodcarvers, painters and people making things out of coir, rush and reed. The National Crafts Council has a centre by the old entrance to Galle Fort and there are plenty of small shops selling crafts, jewellery and antiques, as well as a few designer boutiques. Slightly further afield, there are numerous beautiful beaches and fishing villages including Thalpe, Unuwatuna, Matara, Koggala, Weligama Bay and Tangalle, as well as a number of National Parks with plenty of wildlife.

Festivals in Galle and the south coast

January: The Galle Literary Festival - this 4-day festival brings together Sri Lankan and international authors from around the world for writing workshops, talks, exhibitions and more at various locations in Galle. Past guests have included Vickram Seth and Gore Vidal. July: Unuwatuna Perahera - a 7-day festival commencing on full moon day. Matara/Dondra Perahera - with dedications to Lord Vishnu. Kataragama Esala Festival - a 10-day festival when pilgrims give penance to the Hindu war god, Skanda. July to September: Kite flying on the ramparts of Galle

Climate in Galle and the south coast

The average temperature on the South coast is 32° C with 65% humidity, though it is cooler and more humid in the west, getting progressively hotter and less humid the further east you go, especially the east of Tangalle. The evenings are a little cooler and the coasts enjoy sea breezes. Rainfall is experienced mainly during the south-west monsoon from May to August. The ‘calm’ season is December to April, when the seas are general calm and there is little rainfall. Whilst the sea appears calm out of the monsoons, there are still undercurrents and riptides.

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