Fort Bazaar, Galle: Room 3, a Library and Hopper Benedict

From the private roof terrace of Room 3 at Fort Bazaar, I could look straight down onto Church Street. Below me, the cobblestones ran past one jeweller’s window after another – a scene that is quintessential Galle Fort – and it’s a view I’d happily wake up to again. The balmy tropical weather and the old-world architecture combined to make me feel as if I were somehow wrapped up in a Somerset Maugham novel.

I spent two nights at this very elegant hotel and it made a lasting impression, from the friendly staff to a room I’d ask for by name. In fact, I’d ring in advance and say, “Please, please can I stay in Room 3.”

A Merchant’s Townhouse Reborn

Fort Bazaar occupies a 17th-century merchant’s townhouse on Church Street – by some accounts once the home of a spice merchant – that lay derelict until 2006. Bringing it back to life took around a decade. Teardrop Hotels, working with Colombo’s PWA Architects, restored the building before it opened in 2016 as an 18-room boutique hotel.

Today it’s a boutique hotel and spa, and it feels spacious and calming from the moment you step inside. Rooms are set around a traditional courtyard, and there’s a pool, the Z Spa and Church Street Social, the hotel’s oh so chic restaurant and bar.

Fort Bazaar also feeds my love of heritage boutique hotels. I always find them intensely interesting, imagining the people who once filled the same four walls and courtyard. I grew up in an Australian home that was 180 years old, and it also boasted a courtyard. So I grew up playing in a garden within a building – and feel nostalgic about courtyards and how these spaces within spaces feel personal, playful and private.

The Library

What really drew me to Fort Bazaar, though, was its library. It’s a magnificent room, yet very homely, with beautiful tall windows framed by olive green shutters, comfy lounges and shelves of books to read. All I wanted to do was settle snugly into one of those lounges with a novel and idle away my time. My view is that all hotels should have a special room like this for guests to get lost in.

Room 3, an Upper Suite With Room To Breathe

My room was exceptional. Room 3 on the first floor is one of Fort Bazaar’s Upper Suites, private and wonderfully spacious, and I slept so soundly in its Balinese four-poster king-size bed that I didn’t stir all night. When I wasn’t resting in the open-plan lounge, I was out on my private roof terrace, peering down onto Church Street and watching the world go by. The suite is air-conditioned, with lavish amenities, a generous dressing area and a broad bathroom with a free-standing bath, a walk-in shower and a double sink.

This room is how you wish your own room would look: bathed in natural sunlight, airy and light, with space to move, relax and, quite frankly, never want to leave. Well, at least not for a long, very long time.

Best of all, there’s a bell: press it, and someone arrives at your door with champagne. Pure Somerset Maugham. If I went back to Fort Bazaar, I’d definitely be asking for Room 3 again.

A Breakfast I’ll Never Forget

Then there was breakfast, and one memorable dish: hopper Benedict. Hoppers – bowl-shaped pancakes made from a fermented batter of rice flour and coconut milk – are a huge part of Sri Lankan cuisine, and fun to make, as I learned at a cooking class during my earlier stay at Taj Bentota. Before that, the only hopper I’d heard of was a bellhop. Not this thin, crispy crêpe-like dish that can be filled with all manner of scrumptiousness.

At Fort Bazaar, the hopper comes topped with egg and salmon and finished with hollandaise sauce. It was absolutely delicious – a clever marriage of an island staple and a brunch classic which so happens to be one of my all-time favourites. I’ve always thought you can judge a good restaurant by the quality of the hollandaise and how well they poach eggs.

Watch our sister site The Carousel’s short video below. It opens on the verandah, where I sat for breakfast admiring the artistic patterned tiles running underfoot and a smiling waitress carrying two hopper Benedicts to the table. And check out the towering stems of pink heliconia which greet you at the hotel entrance, followed by a glimpse of the leafy courtyard and the homely library. Watching it myself, makes me want to relive it all again, and I definitely recommend you stay there.

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Out in the Fort with Juliet

During the day, I met up with Juliet Coombe – my new buddy, and a font of all knowledge about Galle and Sri Lanka. In fact, Juliet is now our Asia Editor on Women Love Travel and is already writing about the many secrets of Sri Lanka’s culture and rich biodiversity such as the mysterious loris. We went back to see Roberto, the head chef and owner of the exceptional fine dining Italian restaurant called AQUA Fort, then had a Lebanese lunch at Chambers, which Juliet told me is run by a family of lawyers – fitting, given the name. It was ridiculously tasty, and cheap.

Next, we visited a silversmith, who made a silver ring for me right in front of my eyes. Then my eyes got stuck on the sapphires. I walked away with pink sapphire earrings, a pink sapphire ring and elephant silver cufflinks for my son.

What I discovered is that Sri Lankan craftspeople can design simply anything and can copy just about anything, too. Next trip, I’ll bring more of my own jewellery to be reimagined – the perfect way to update old pieces.

Our last stop was Karma Collection, a dress shop where I visited over and over again. Before you knew it, I had one dress made in a fabric printed with leopards, and another copied from a dress whose style I love, in a fabric I picked myself. “Come back Monday,” they said. “It will be ready.” The good news for anyone not heading to Galle soon: you can buy Karma Collection’s clothes from Australia too.

Two nights were all I had, but they were enough to whet my appetite. Next time, I’ll be asking for Room 3 again – and a much longer stay.

Need to Know

• Location: Right in the heart of the fort on Church Street, with jewellers, galleries and cafés on the doorstep and everything within walking distance.
• The hotel: 18 rooms and suites with four-poster beds, plus a library, pool, spa and the Church Street Social restaurant.
• The room to book: Ask for Room 3 by number – it’s on the door – one of the Upper Suites, with a four-poster bed, a private roof terrace over Church Street and the champagne bell.
• What’s included: Breakfast, a US$25 spa credit, afternoon tea, complimentary wine, beer and spirits from 5pm to 6pm, minibar drinks and a guided Galle Fort walk. Learn more.
• Don’t miss: Hopper Benedict at breakfast, and a quiet hour in the library.
• Eat out: Chambers for delicious, well-priced Lebanese food inside the fort.
• Shopping tip: Pack old jewellery or a favourite dress. Galle’s silversmiths and tailors can remake or copy almost anything, and quickly – Karma Collection made my two dresses in a matter of days – so order early in your stay.
• Explore: Read my insider’s guide to Galle Fort with Women Love Travel’s Asia Editor, Juliet Coombe.

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