Amangalla

At Amangalla’s seductive day spa, the Baths, candlelit treatment rooms lead off an arched hallway of low-lit cloisters. After your massage, hop between plunge pools, steam baths and saunas in the heavenly Hydrotherapy Rooms. You can succumb to the ancient indulgences of Ayurveda with three- to seven-day packages.

The library has a covetable collection of tomes on Sri Lanka. Adjoining it is a teensy museum devoted to the history of the hotel and its previous proprietress, Nesta Brohier. Smoking is allowed outdoors and in some rooms.