The first sight that beckons your eyes when you enter the hotel with old world charm in the salubrious climes of Bandarawela is the gateman impeccably dressed in white shirt, shorts and stockings with matching hat taking your mind back to the colonial times.

Here the emphasis is on a bygone era and its charm. A 1950’s ranger, a classic Woolsely is parked outside giving you a hint of what is to follow.

What is unique about Bandarawela hotel is that the owners and the management have retained the colonial architecture of the hotel exactly the way it was more than a century ago.

Nestling on a small hillock in the heart of the Bandarawela town, this colonial edifice has with stood the changes of time and gone through its different phases. It has served as a planter’s club and a rendezvous for the British traveling to the hill country, a rest house a sanatarium for British soldiers and later as a tourist hotel patronised by both locals and foreign tourists.

With the carpeting of the trunk roads by the government Bandarawela is now only a four- hour drive from Colombo and two hours from Kandy. The journey from Colombo earlier needed at least six hours to reach this health resort, said hotel’s Manager Senani Perera, a graduate of the Ceylon Hotel School.

"We are now gearing for the Nuwara Eliya season which begins early April with a lot of festivities," he said.

Many of the seasonal travellers prefer to stay at Bandarawela and make a beeline to witness the events in NuwaraEliya, a hive of activity in April.

They want to avoid the hustle and bustle there and enjoy the quiet atmosphere in Bandarawela he pointed out.

In Bandarawela it self there are many festive activities organised by the local council he noted which could be a unique experience to the holiday makers he said..

The hotel is a stones throw away from the railway station and the holiday makers who don’t want to drive all the way to the hills from Colombo could travel by train and the guests checking in the hotel using this mode of transport will be picked from the station by the hotel staff he said.

Bandarawela Hotel has 33 rooms including the deluxe with all modern amenities. But what is unique about the rooms is the furniture, the bathroom fittings, large bathtubs in these spacious and cosy abodes, belong to the colonial times providing an ambience of the British era in the country .

The rare brass fittings which dates back to the 19 century are found in only in a few such places in the island. The large beds with well polished brass posts and knobs evoke nostalgic memories of a bygone era amongst guests.

The waiters are clad in white coats and sarong, which was the dress code of restaurants in the colonial times.This tradition is still maintained only in a few tourist hotels in the country Perera said.

The wooden floored restaurant in the hotel offers a wide variety of dishes with both western and oriental cuisine and table d’hote dinner he noted.