High Tea at The Grand Hotel in Nuwara Eliya

The Grand Hotel might be the most beautiful hotel in all of Sri Lanka. We got to explore it’s public spaces, and have high tea there!

Nuwara Eliya (pronounced Nureleeya) is a pretty little town high in the mountains.  Its main attractions are Gregory Lake, which is very pleasant to walk around, flowers in April, warm days and cool nights, and many pretty hotels. It’s also called little England because lots of the buildings look like they belong in the British country side.

One of the most historical and beautiful hotels in Nuwara Eliya is the Grand Hotel.   The original building, a little bungalow called 'Barnes Hall', was constructed as the holiday residence for Sir Edward Barnes, the fifth Governer of Ceylon in 1828.  It was occupied/owned by various British rulers/business men until 1892 when it became a hotel. I'm not sure when it grew from a bungalow to its present form.  But clearly it did.

It has grand woodwork, lights, and other architectural details.  A beautiful garden with parrots, magnolia trees, giant ferns, fountains, and so much more!  

Today, we splurged. We went to the Grand Hotel for high tea.  I wasn’t sure what that meant exactly.  At the Grand Hotel, it meant for each person, about 8 bite size sandwiches/canapes, 5 bite size desserts, and 8 cups of tea.  Served by waiters in sharp uniforms.  In such a lovely atmosphere!  All for about $15/person.  Amazing!      

 Pictures
1- The original Barnes Hall, courtesy of the Interweb
2- A parlour in the Grand Hotel.  The baby grand magically played all on its own!
3- The swimming pool at the Grand.  Pretty
4-One of several dining areas at the Grand.  We were hoping to have a buffet dinner in one of them.  It didn't happen.  There weren't enough hotel guests to justify the elaborate set-up.  Likely because of the Corona virus and Easter 2019 violence.  Another large hotel in Nuwara Eliya told us they had over 350 cancellations in February from Chinese tourists because of the virus
5-Me at high tea, behind our pretty tower of goodies.
6- A better shot of the tea room. 
7- The public bathroom at the Grand.  Beautiful!  And notable because so many bathrooms in Sri Lanka are more....basic....
8- The grounds at the Grand were amazing!  Beautiful.  Whimsical.  Notice the hedge/tree shaped into a ?? monster???
9- This is only one section of a loooong sculpted hedge.  Amazing!!
10- This stand up/squat toilet was not at the Grand.   It was at the National Museum in Colombo.  It was for aristocrats/kings.  Many public/restaurant toilets are standup/squat.  But not nearly as pretty, or clean.  The upside of having to use these toilets for the last two months....I'm getting much better at squatting!!!
11- I think this little structure at the Grand is intended as a prayer area.  Notice it has 4 spaces. One for each left to right: Buddhists, Hindus, Catholics, and Muslims. It's nice to feel that, at least mostly, all these religions co-exist peacefully.