With

With
travel’s comeback in full swing, we’re waving goodbye to
solo trips and embracing big group
getaways to reconnect with the friends and family we’ve longed
to see IRL for the last couple of years.

Yet planning a full-blown family affair is tricky. You need to
ensure there’s no fighting over bedrooms, people are well fed and
the wine is free-flowing. Gran needs something to occupy her days,
your room needs to be as far away from your mother-in-law’s as
possible and your youngest siblings need to be kept busy, so that
they won’t keep pushing you off the lilo every five minutes.

Enter ÀNI, a hotel-private-home hybrid whose fully staffed
villas are located in some of the most beautiful beachside
locations in the world. Our pick? ÀNI Sri Lanka.

Sleeping up to 30 across 15 suites, with a team of 30 –
including spa therapists, tennis coaches, renowned chefs and
personal trainers – coming as standard, the sprawling villas
haven’t scrimped on size, service or luxury. The sprawling grounds,
overlooking a prime slice of Sri Lanka southern coast real estate,
conceal gyms, tennis courts, four swimming pools, barbecue areas,
yoga pavilions and serene al fresco dining spots, all punctuated by
clusters of swaying palm trees, babbling streams and gushing
waterfalls.

If finding a tropical crash pad suitable for your nearest and
dearest is on the horizon, then point your compass in this
direction. Your every wish will be met by the superb crew, evening
entertainment comes easily and the (largely) locavore food offering
deserves a standing ovation.

You’ll be hard-pressed to think of something that hasn’t been
thought of – from the swift unpacking of suitcases to the
refreshing fresh juices pressed into sweaty palms, impromptu palm
readings, sunrise yoga classes, spontaneous tennis tournaments and
farewell fire show and gala dinner. The only problem? How will any
future family getaway ever measure up? Fear not: there are a
further three ÀNI locations to explore down the line…

Rooms

Not rooms, full-blown suites. All 15 are decorated with teak
wood, lots of authentic, local artefacts and complimentary mini
bars stacked with healthy snacks (think cashews, dried fruit and
oat cookies). Our room, 105, was next to the yoga pavilion and,
thanks to being slightly removed from the other suites, offered
bundles of privacy, making it ideal for morning dips in the buff in
our plunge pool and lengthy outdoor showers. The emperor-sized bed
– with its silk-worm-soft sheets (Soho Home, who?) – looked out
onto the luscious grounds, and came complete with a remote control
ready to let the morning sunlight stream in, while the bathroom
possessed a bathtub so big that we wouldn’t be surprised if Tom
Daley trained for the Olympics in it.

What’s for breakfast?

What’s not for breakfast? Fuel up on an array of
fresh-out-the-oven pastries that traverse the globe – doughnuts,
croissants, cream-piped delights – bowls laden with just-picked
fruit, countless breads, preserves, cheeses and cold meats. Oh, and
if that stomach-bursting banquet isn’t enough for you, there’s an
order-what-you-like breakfast policy that covers everything from
omelettes to eggs benedict and full-on fry-ups.

How about lunch and dinner?

Nightly three-course affairs are each worthy of their own
Michelin star. Chef Cyril Human cut his teeth at Soneva Fushi and
Aman’s Amanwella, and his Asian-influenced menus show both talent
and a flair for bold flavours. Every meal seemed to, somehow,
surpass the last, with highlights including full-blown barbecue
banquets featuring tables laden with expertly charred meat and fish
– the plump lobster tail with fennel slaw was faultless – and Sri
Lankan curries ranging from fiery dahl, cashew curry and seared
snapper to rolled-fresh sushi and bowls of piled-high pad thai.

Is there a bar?

Of course. Several, in fact. Our favourite, and our chosen spot
for downtime days (read: every day), enjoyed while flitting between
pool and sun lounger, was the sunken pool bar with chess board. We
don’t play, but it looked great on our camera roll.

Amenities

There is certainly no shortage of things to occupy even the
fussiest of family members. Are you ready? Count four infinity
pools, one of which has a slide (and that’s not including the
individual room plunge pools), tennis courts, basketball hoops,
table tennis, pool tables, a cinema room, wine cellars, a spa with
two nimble-fingered masseuses, a professional telescope for
stargazing and – need more? – an outdoor shuffleboard court that a
win on will help you claim bragging rights for the rest of your
stay.

How about their green credentials?

Guests are handed refillable water bottles on arrival, while
cocktails, smoothies and ice coffees all benefit from
alternative-to-plastic straws. Single-use plastic is barely in
evidence. Beach clean-ups occur every morning and, in
turtle-hatching season (October to April), the staff make
considerable efforts to ensure safe passage for the newborn
babies.

What about accessibility?

Good, with gentle slopes, ramps and a lift in the common areas
to accommodate.

How to get there?

We’ll never get bored of the smug settling-in face we
unashamedly pull when we’ve been upgraded or have been lucky enough
to be bumped up to business. Yet when we laid eyes on Qatar’s Airways’ new Qsuite category on the
London-to-Doha leg of the journey, our grins went from
self-satisfied to Cheshire Cat. Akin to a boutique hotel in the
sky, this is much more than just a flat-lay bed. These contraptions
can be turned into double beds for couples, configured into a
quadrant for business meetings or arranged to accommodate family
mealtimes.

And the food? Standout. Forget lukewarm chicken or beef ready
meals: we’re talking a full-blown, dine-on-demand tasting menu that
takes you on a gastronomic journey. If that doesn’t take your fancy
(it will), there’s a “Stadium Snack” menu, in honour of the
upcoming World Cup, dishing up the likes of fish and chips and
cheeseburgers. Helping you slip into a restful slumber is a set of
White Company PJs (yours to keep), plus slippers, a light duvet and
a dreamy massage option. We’re quite sure we never want to fly any
other way again.

Things I should know

Properties are luxe and the team – each and every one of the
30-strong ensemble – went above and beyond, continuously. Hot
towels were swiftly handed out after execurisons; sunglasses were
spritzed, polished and cleaned while their owners lounged by the
pool; morning coffee orders remembered and delivered without a
single syllable being uttered; fresh mint smoothies provided in
time for morning beach walks; palm readers arranged for our troupe
of curious guests. Our every whim was indulged: monkeys shooed,
air-con on, towels laid out and Spotify playlist cued up, all in
time for our morning workout

Within a short walk I can find

Head to the wooden steps hidden by bushy palms: they will lead
you down to the vast, virtually empty (except for a gaggle of
fisherman searching for their morning’s catch) sandy beach. This is
the stereotypical Sri Lankan landscape you’ve spent months lusting
over on Instagram/ Pinterest/TikTok
(delete as appropriate), and it’s well worth visiting at sunrise,
when the skies turn the colour of coconut ice.

A short drive away, you’ll find the ÀNI Art Academy. Students
apply from all over the country, eager for the opportunity to hone
their skills. Materials, housing and food are all provided, and
many of the graduates go on to run galleries, sell artworks or
become teachers themselves. Founder Tim Reynolds is a keen
philanthropist and has opened an art foundation in each of ÀNI’s
destinations: Anguilla, Dominican Republic,
Thailand and, of course, Sri
Lanka.