Heritance Tea Factory

What it is

The hotel is a converted tea factory. G. C. Wickremasinghe, a director at Aitken Spence, saw the neglected factory at Hethersett Tea Estate in 1992 and proposed turning it into a hotel. The conversion was overseen by Nihal Bodhinayake, who received a commendation at the 1996 South Asia Architecture Awards, and the hotel began operating in 1996 as The Tea Factory Hotel.

On 15 December 2009 it was rebranded as Heritance Tea Factory, the fourth hotel under the Heritance name. It won a merit award at the 2001 UNESCO Asia Pacific Heritage Awards, and Wikipedia calls it the country's first theme hotel.

Inside the factory

The conversion kept parts of the working building. The reception hall was the old drying room and has a steel latticed atrium, and the upper floors, where the tea once wilted, became bedrooms. There are two restaurants and two bars. One restaurant, TCK 6685, is built from a train car and serves seven-course meals; the other is called Kenmare and serves à la carte.

Where it sits

The hotel is in Kandapola, about 14 km from Nuwara Eliya, at around 2,000 m. Our Sri Lanka itinerary lists it as a heritage option for the Nuwara Eliya night.

Rooms and the rate

Time Out lists the hotel at a range of US$156.40 to US$365 a night. That range gives no dates, so treat it as a rough guide. Our itinerary prices its Nuwara Eliya night at Jetwing St Andrew's, not here.

Who it suits

It suits travellers who like a building with a past and want a night in the tea country, close to the estates.

It is a poor fit for anyone who wants to stay in Nuwara Eliya town itself, since the hotel is some distance away.