As kids, many of us dreamed of waking up one day in an empty toy store, and, as if by magic, having a full run of the shop to ourselves.
ÀNI, a private resort on the southernmost shores of the island nation of Sri Lanka, just off the southern tip of India, operates as a type of wish-fulfillment for that childhood fantasy. Though, this time the spoils are very real and for very fortunate grown-ups.
It’s a deceptively simple premise: Guests who meet the minimum booking of six suites are guaranteed to have ÀNI’s five-acre oceanfront property to themselves. This means that, no matter if you’re a pair of hushed honeymooners or rowdy 30-person family reunion, the sprawling compound’s 15 modernist villas, two infinity pools with sweeping ocean views and staff of 30 — on-call masseuses, a state-of-the-art kitchen overseen by a top chef, fleet of tuk-tuk drivers, neighborhood guides to nearby villages, babysitters at the ready, you name it — are “all yours,” as ÀNI likes to say.
In many ways, the property is a bellwether for a new era of what one might call "seclusivity," where the exclusive private-yacht experience is married with the crowds-free pleasures of a secluded destination. But the uniquely Sri Lankan combination of sleepy natural splendor (looking out over the tranquil expanse of Indian Ocean, the next landfall is Antarctica) and sleepless service punctuated by random acts of kindness (a quill of dried inner bark from a native Ceylon cinnamon tree might pop up as a gift in your room) means that this all-encompassing escape feels surprisingly unfussy and familiar.
The Check In
The name ÀNI is a play on andjani, a Swahili word roughly translating to the “road” or “path ahead.” More realistically speaking, however, one needs to plan ahead. For visitors touching down in Sri Lanka after a particularly long journey, we recommend a jet-lag pit stop with a night at The Wallawwa, a restored Dutch colonial mansion with 200-year-old tropical gardens, just 15 minutes from Colombo Airport. Rest assured: With its ancient jackfruit trees and handsome mid-century rooms, this dazzling Teardrop-Hotel property, as one British journalist remarked during a recent stay, is “arguably the world’s most glamorous airport hotel.” From there, cruise over to the island’s southern shores via a quick 35-minute sea-plane flight to Mawella Lagoon or a longer, but no less scenic, few-hour drive through the rice paddies and cinnamon plantations along the country’s perimeter. Upon arrival, ÀNI’s traditional front desk “check-in” process is quick: A glass of freshly-pressed coconut water, a wet compress to counter the South Asian heat and, well, that's it. Everything else is taken care of.
The Look
With a level of white-glove perks that few, if any, other resorts in Sri Lanka can touch, the property is more like a vision for an utopian island village than a by-the-numbers vacation getaway. A series of manicured sloped pathways connect the property’s various shingled villas, with smaller pathways branching off to a fitness center, outdoor tennis court, wellness spa and vast grass lawns. The compound’s central hub, a two-story open-air pavilion, is all Burma teak, antique Sri Lankan sculpture and vaulted ceilings. The sharp, clean lines act as a frame for the menagerie of mischief endemic to Sri Lanka’s south coast. Look up and you may find the Sri Lanka White-Eye, a small native passerine bird, whistling on the ruffled edges of a fan palm. Tufted gray langurs routinely dart across the grounds, just out of the corner of your eye. A few steps from the pool’s submerged chessboard, a staircase leads to an empty stretch of gold-sand beach save for the occasional monk tending to a seaside Buddhist temple, curious street dogs and nesting sea turtles.
The Rooms
With interiors made of materials like rough-cut stone, granite and terrazzo and an earthy palette of browns and beiges, the property’s villas are both tranquil and stately, as if a Tropical Modernist was commissioned to design a Malibu beach house. Like the rest of the property, everything is designed around outdoor living. The room’s anchor, a central king-size bed, faces floor-to-ceiling glass doors that reveal a private plunge pool. (And, more often than not, a peacock or two admiring their plumage in the reflective water.) The bathroom’s circular bathtub is large enough to fit a Sri Lankan blue whale. Still, the biggest luxuries are the most thoughtful, such as a teak basket for daily laundry service and an outdoor “rain” shower with a small rock garden as your bath mat.
Food and Drink
A teaching kitchen for outdoor cooking classes. An alfresco lobby bar. A troop of satellite bartenders who dispense fresh ice cubes into neglected cocktails left out in the sun. Afternoon tea service on one of the cliffside lawns. Barefoot dinners in the shallows of the pool. A tuk-tuk tour of the nearby farmer’s markets.
