Nuwara Eliya is one of the places that many people, irrespective of age, who are planning to go on an excursion as soon as they get a holiday.
Nuwara Eliya is a leading tourist destination known worldwide as ‘Little England’ due to its mild climate and beautiful surroundings. Being popular among both local and foreign tourists, there are hundreds of tourist accommodations in the Nuwara Eliya area. Among them, there are some special places with an ancient history dating back to the British colonial era.
Post office
The Nuwara Eliya Post Office is a prominent Victorian architectural building that stands out to anyone visiting the Nuwara Eliya city centre. It is considered to be one of the oldest post offices built in this country. Beyond just a post office, it also serves as a sightseeing spot for tourists visiting the city. It is known that foreign tourists coming to Sri Lanka like to send a commemorative postcard to their loved ones from the post office’s souvenir shop.
The records of the post office show that the colonial British rulers built this in 1894.
The two-storied building is entirely in red brick following the Victorian architectural style. The slope is too steep. The clock tower designed in connection with the building enhances the beauty of the building.
Crafted from brass and steel, this watch is powered by a heavy handspring. It was built at that time to meet the postal needs of hill planters and Englishmen coming to rest. Although modernised later, the old architectural elements have been preserved in this building.
Grand Hotel, the home of Governor Barnes
The Grand Hotel is considered to be the oldest tourist accommodation in Nuwara Eliya.
In 2018, the CNN travel website named Nuwara Eliya Grand Hotel as one of the best hotels in Asia. In 2018, a dessert, strawberry pizza, prepared at this hotel attracted worldwide attention. According to reports, Sir Edward Barnes, the governor, built his official mountain residence at the site of the Nuwara Eliya Grand Hotel. It is a rather large single-storey building. Later, the quarters were enlarged and converted into accommodation. It was called Barnes Hall.
Reginald Downhall, a planter and member of the Constituent Assembly, purchased Barnes Hall in 1843. He maintained it as a guest accommodation. About 50 years later, in 1891, this building was bought by the European-owned Nuwara Eliya Hotel Company. They built a new building there and renovated it as a tourist hotel with more facilities. The architectural plans have also been prepared in the English Tudor style. After that, it was named Grand Hotel, which means the biggest hotel in Nuwara Eliya.
Hill Club
The Hill Club was inaugurated in 1876 to meet the lack of a club in Nuwara Eliya for Europeans. W. H. Walker and H. Saunders, who were coffee growers, came up with the idea. They initially started a billiard room and a restaurant in a small building. It is said that coffee, and tea planters were the first to build this club.
In the beginning, all its members were foreigners. Edward Roslin became the first president of the club in 1899. The Hill Club, which gradually grew bigger and bigger, entered a beautiful two-storied granite building in 1930. The portico in front of the building has given it more beauty. It was developed by three companies based in England and Colombo.
The membership of the club was initially only for foreigners. It was considered to be the most well-equipped club outside Colombo.
From 1967, membership was opened to women. The clubhouse is situated on 26 acres of land. It is located on the Grand Hotel Road. It also has 45 guest rooms. Today, the number of local and foreign members is around 750.
St. Andrews Hotel
This hotel was originally built in 1875. It was first built on a plot of land gifted to an English civil servant by the Government. The building was originally called the ‘Scott Club’. The Scott Club became the St Andrews Hotel under a German manager in 1891. Its first manager was a person named Humbutt. It is located next to Nuwara Eliya Golf Course. The present building is 132 years old. During the First World War, the German management left it, and in 1918, Arthur Edward bought the hotel. At this time, the hotel was being upgraded to a two-storey building. The renovated hotel was opened in November 1919. In 1924, a cousin of wealthy businessman James Henry de Silva, became its manager. The hotel was closed in 1930 due to the world economic crisis between 1920 and 1930. In 1933, businessman James Henry de Silva’s family bought it. In 1992, it was renovated and 24 new rooms were added.
