Mango House is a beautiful little villa-meets-boutique-hotel in the Galle fort. The villa has seven rooms for rent, and has a very pleasing, warm old-school charm to it, with a simple modern twist. Considering the quality of our stay and the service, it’s very affordable – at about Rs. 10K for the ordinary double room, and 20K for the double room with a private balcony.
Ambience
Structure-wise, the place reminded us a little bit of the Galle Heritage Villa, with the upstairs balcony looking out onto the wide open living room, which faces lush garden on both sides. Mango House has a distinct style of its own though, very subtle, cosy and fashionable. The living area has old style cane furniture, pop-pink throw pillows and beanbags, a little touch of greenery, and lovely vintage posters on the walls.
There’s something classic about their combination of old world antique chests, colonial style banisters, cane chairs and clean white walls, while there’s none of the pomp that usually comes with those things. There’s a charming reading space upstairs, by the balcony, with fun Sri Lankan digests to browse through (Anura Saparamadu’s Vintage Posters of Ceylon, Juliet Coombe’s The Power of Sri Lankan Art), set atop an intricately hand-carved wooden table. There’s also a garden out front with a hammock and beanbags, that lights up at night, which makes a great hangout if you’re here with friends.
The Rooms
There are seven rooms available here with different features – we got the Balcony Room, which with service taxes and all that, cost Rs. 20K for the night. It’s a double room with a four poster bed, attached bathroom, A/C, satellite TV, and its own private balcony. It’s all very sparsely and tastefully decorated.
What was so nice about the place was that you didn’t feel like you were in Galle – it’s nestled between trees and quiet homes so you feel like you’re somewhere far, far away from busy streets. It’s pretty idyllic if you’re looking for a quiet, restful break from the city. If you split this double room with a friend, it costs Rs. 10K a head, which is good considering; and still there’s the Oriental Room for about Rs. 10K total, without the balcony.
Breakfast & Service
This is a bed & breakfast kind of place, so for breakfast you get to pick either Sri Lankan or English breakfast. We went for the latter, and it’s a very humble but satisfying serving of eggs, bread, chicken slices, tea, orange juice and a cup of curd and honey. While we could have had our breakfast in our private balcony, the living room downstairs makes a cosy dining space too.
They don’t typically make meals for other times at Mango House, but interestingly they collab with Crepeology in the Galle fort, so if you feel like a meal, you can make your order of crepes from here. There’s a self-service tea table by the stairs if you’re in the mood for tea whenever.
Service during our visit was very good – there’s a waiter and gardener who’s quite helpful, and a manager at the desk by the stairs in case you have any questions. Everything went quite smoothly when we were there, and though it’s a shared villa it’s somehow incredibly private, we barely saw the other guests who were staying over.
Conclusion
Mango House is a comfortable, cosy retreat with a style that’s both incredibly simple while still giving attention to detail. It’s one of the few places whose website has info and pictures that are very accurate. If you’re visiting the Galle fort and are looking for a place to stay, this one is definitely worth considering.
