Sri Lanka Luxury: Anantara Kalutara Hotel Review

Unwind at this beautiful Bawa-designed boutique hotel along the southwest coast of Sri Lanka. Read on for my first-hand Anantara Kalutara hotel review.

Since my first Anantara experience in Bali more than a decade ago, I’ve sought out other Anantara properties around the world for their signature service, incredible food and tasteful décor that doesn’t sacrifice comfort for style.

Sometimes you discover a place that transports you away to a world that you never want to leave. It’s only happened to me a handful of times, where I check into a hotel and it physically pains me to think about leaving.

The people, the atmosphere, the room, the pool, the wonderful out-of-this-world hospitality: Anantara Kalutara is one of those places.

In fact, I loved this property so much that I booked a return visit in 2023 with my family – I’m pleased to report that Anantara Kalutara remains impeccably maintained and the staff are as wonderful as ever.

There is no shortage of luxury properties in Sri Lanka, they seem to be popping up like daisies left, right and center, but with all these options it may seem tough to pinpoint the best of the best. Located along the southwest coast of Sri Lanka, Anantara Kalutara joins its sister property, Anantara Peace Haven Tangalle, on this little teardrop-shaped island.

Located only an hour and a half away from Colombo Bandaranaike International Airport, Anantara Kalutara is a wonderful retreat that will make your troubles seem so far away.

Geoffrey Bawa is often considered one of the greatest architects of his generation, and is known for his signature style of combining sunlit, breezy structures with nature. We first stayed at one of his properties in Sigiriya, at the Heritance Kandalama, where he managed to effortlessly integrate the mountain with the design & architecture of the hotel.

Anantara Kalutara is one of Bawa’s final projects and blends together the island’s topical features and culture with colonial and local designs. The property retains many of Bawa’s original works including the main building with the arrival hall, lobby lounge and upstairs bar.

The Rooms at Anantara Kalutara

Anantara Kalutara has approximately 140 rooms and offers a number of options to suit different budgets and preferences: it has ocean view rooms, pool suites and two-bedroom villas just to name a few.

We have stayed in the deluxe lagoon view room as well as the ocean view suite and were blown away both times by the airiness and sun-filled space that we were to call home for the next few nights.

True to their design philosophy, the room is cosy and comfortable without being stuffy, or what I like to call understated luxury. Prior to your stay at Anantara Kalutara, each guest receives a pre-arrival survey in which you can select what type of pillow you want, and believe me when I tell you that these pillows make all the difference when you’re trying to get a good nights’ sleep. The duty manager even remembered my pillow selection 6 years later!

The massive balcony overlooks either the Kalu river and long pool area, or the ocean and sunset, and makes for a fantastic reading nook.

Step into the bathroom and you may never want to leave. The bathroom has two sinks, a freestanding bathtub, the dreamiest rain shower (+ regular shower head) and every amenity you could need.

The Facilities at Anantara Kalutara

Where do I start? Anantara Kalutara has a long main pool, adults-only pool and shallow kids pool, as well as a 24-hour fitness center.

Our toddler loved the shallow kids pool and there were plenty of steps so that he could join us safely in the sundrenched main pool as well. Unfortunately although you can access the beach from Anantara Kalutara it’s not the best swimming beach (head further down south to these southern Sri Lanka beaches) so I recommend sticking to the pools.

Spa lovers will rejoice at the signature spa which offers an assortment of ayurveda treatments, traditional massages, manicures/pedicures and waxing services. The spa has a total of 10 rooms, 4 of which are couple’s treatment rooms. I sat down with the in-house Ayurveda doctor, Dr. Nadeesha, for an in-depth consultation to find out my constitution and learn more about ayurvedic treatments and practices that could enhance my overall well-being.

After the extremely informative consultation (one of the things I learned was that I need to eat more astringent foods – ginger, lime, pepper!) I was led into the treatment room to join my partner for a pinda sweda treatment, an ayurvedic massage with cloth bags filled with herbs. The massage and treatment by the Balinese therapist is one of the best massages I have ever had in my life and it wasn’t long before I found myself drifting off and allowing my body and mind to relax.

You might also like: Learning about ayurveda at Jetwing Ayurveda Pavilions

The spa also offers a variety of yoga lessons including Acro Yoga, Kundalini Yoga and Hatha Yoga. I tried out a hatha-style class with the local yoga teacher and was impressed by the amount of information he shared about each asana (pose).

The hatha class involved a number of standalone poses (not linked with vinyasas) and is a good intro to yoga for people who have not practiced before, or are relatively new to the practice – if you have been practicing Yoga for a while you may find this style of teaching a little too gentle. If you are looking for a more flow-style class I would recommend advising the hotel ahead of time so that they can inform the teacher accordingly.

Wifi is available throughout the property (with the exception of the spa) and we were pleasantly surprised by the signal strength as we had experienced some connectivity issues previously at the Anantara in Tangalle.

Traveling with kids to Sri Lanka? The Aliya Kids Club at Anantara Kalutara is well-stocked with plenty of toys in their indoor space, but the real star of the show is the outdoor play set-up. Our little one spent hours happily splashing around in the wet play area.

In fact, I would say that Anantara Kalutara’s Kids Club is far superior to the one at Anantara Tangalle further down south (which is basically just one small indoor play area). For older kids, the teen’s club has a ping pong table, pool table and Playstation on offer, or they can try the on-site zipline and portfolio of water sports activities.

The Dining Options at Anantara Kalutara

Anantara Kalutara offers 5 dining facilities: Olu (international), Acquolina (Italian), Spice Traders (Asian), Upper deck (cocktail lounge) and Dining by Design, a private dining concept.

We tried the breakfast buffet and a-la-carte lunch at Olu and the food was fresh and tasty – I’ve always believed that you can judge a hotel by their club sandwich, and Anantara Kalutara did not disappoint!

The hotel’s second-storey cocktail lounge is the perfect place to enjoy a Sri Lankan sunset – be sure to order the signature mojito and delicious mocktails.

For dinner, we tried Spice Traders and was greeted with an amazing menu filled with delicious Indian, Chinese and Thai options. You must taste the beef massaman curry, garlic naan and fish tikka!

Acquolina serves up some exquisite Italian classics for a-la-carte lunch or dinner. We enjoyed the bruschetta and polpette pasta dish – unfortunately we ran out of room for dessert but this just means that a return visit will be necessary!

Note: As of 2023 the restaurants seem to be on a rotating schedule so not every restaurant may be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner – best to double check with reception for the up-to-date operation schedule.

The Service at Anantara Kalutara

You can’t go wrong with the quality of service at Anantara properties, and the level of hospitality at Anantara Kalutara is no exception. If you want to truly feel pampered on your vacation, then look no further than Anantara.

From Isuru who welcomed me at 1 am in the morning and Imran who greeted us with a massive smile at the front desk, to Rodney who hosted us at Olu and Dr. Nadeesha’s incredible warmth and patience, we truly left feeling like everyone had gone above and beyond to ensure that the stay was as enjoyable as possible. Click here to book your stay at Anantara Kalutara!

Things to Do Around Anantara Kalutara

If you want to step outside of the resort and explore the area, there are plenty of options. You can go on a local fishing trip to catch your own dinner with the help of the resorts “Fishing Guru”, sail down the Kalu on a river cruise, visit the Kalutara Bodhiya Buddhist Stupa, tour Geoffrey Bawa’s country residence, venture south to go on a mangrove tour in Bentota, go on a safari to Yala National Park or Udawalawe National Park, head to Galle Fort (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) and so on.

Getting to Anantara Kalutara

Anantara Kalutara is just 10 minutes away from the historic town of Kalutara and approximately 1.5 hours away from Bandaranaike International Airport. I would recommend ending your Sri Lanka itinerary here and allowing yourself to wind down after an action-packed holiday.

The hotel offers a luxury chauffeur service, or you can book your own transportation to/from the property (we paid approximately 14,000 Sri Lankan Rupees from the airport as of June 2023).

Click here to book your stay at Anantara Kalutara!

All-in-all, Anantara Kalutara is yet another Anantara property not to be missed! I hope this Anantara Kalutara review helps you as you decide where to stay around the island.

Visiting Sri Lanka? You might also find these guides helpful:

• Click here for the full list of 12 things you should know before your trip!
• For more ideas of things to do while you’re in Sri Lanka, read my 2-week itinerary around the island
• Venturing further south? Here is my ultimate guide to southern Sri Lanka
• There are some incredible boutique and luxury hotels in Sri Lanka – here is my guide to the best accommodation around Sri Lanka
• For more Sri Lanka travel tips and destination guides, head on over here

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No compensation was received for this review, however Anantara Kalutara offered my stay in 2017 complimentary, and I stayed again as a paying guest in 2023. As always, the opinions on Yogawinetravel.com are & (and always will be) my own!

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