Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Weibo, and Wechat (id: sugarednspiced).
Amangalla
Add: 10 Church Street, Fort, Galle, Sri Lanka
Tel: +94 91 223 3388
Website: www.aman.com/resorts/amangalla
Price: 725 USD/night and up
Visited: Oct 2017
It was such a pleasant surprise to discover that there is an Aman property in Galle, Sri Lanka, where I would be attending a wedding. Set within the ramparts of the Galle Fort, Amangalla is part of this more than 400-year-told UNESCO World Heritage Site. I immediately reserved for three nights, eager to experience living on this historical site…but a few days before departure, I received an email from the hotel saying that their AC system broke down. Uh oh.
一向非常喜歡安缦集團的我，這次在規劃斯里蘭卡行程時驚喜地發現加勒城牆內有家Amangalla安缦伽拉，屬于聯合國世界遺産地的一部分。預定了三晚，滿心期待入住這座充滿韻味的古建築，沒想到在啓程的幾天前突然收到來自安缦伽拉的郵件，非常抱歉地通知說酒店的冷氣壞了…诶？！
The hotel proposed three options: 1) Move my reservation to Amanwella (stunning property, but two hours away from Galle and too far for the wedding festivities), 2) Reserve a boutique hotel in Galle on my behalf (but…but Aman!), and 3) Provide a small portable AC in the room (Is that going to work given the intense humidity of Southeast Asia?) Hmm…tough one.
In the end I decided to stay with Amangalla, and…what a charming stay it turned out to be!
酒店給了三個方案：1）改訂至另一家安缦酒店Amanwella（車程兩小時，這次去參加婚禮不方便），2）幫我預定加勒另一家精品酒店（可是就想住安缦呀！），以及 3）在房內提供移動型小冷氣（東南亞熱帶天氣，小冷氣有用嗎？）…唔，棘手啊。
雖然有點擔心沒有正常冷氣系統要如何承受東南亞熱帶的天氣，不過考慮後決定照原計劃入住安缦伽拉。結果，渡過了充滿驚喜的三天美好時光，真慶幸來了…
Galle’s tumultuous history spans more than 400 years, and Amangalla, nestled within its fort, reflects this deep history. Built in 1684 and once used as an army command center, it was later renovated to become the New Oriental Hotel in 1865. Its last owner, Ms. Nesta, sold the property to Aman on her 90th birthday, with all but one request – that the only house on the property to be kept for her husband, who, to this date, still travels to Galle from London once in a while.
斯里蘭卡曾被葡萄牙、荷蘭、英國殖民，而安缦伽拉也體現了這數百年來的曆史文化變遷。始建于1684年的建築曾作爲殖民地駐軍的指揮部，後來于1865年被改建成了新東方酒店（New Oriental Hotel），最後一任主人Nesta女士在她90歲生日這天把幾代相傳的房産賣給了安缦集團，唯一要求是要將建築群內的獨棟別墅留給她先生Rainey（如今他住在倫敦，寒冬時都會回來度假呢）。
Despite having been renovated for modern comfort, Amangalla has retained the period charm of a bygone era. Polished teak floorboards date back to the building’s origins, and the interiors are decorated with antiques that span centuries. Inside the resort, there is also a library that collects memorabilia from New Oriental Hotel, which is fascinating to see. It is as if the passage of time has slowed down around this part of the world.
安缦在翻修過程中保留了原有的傳統風格。酒店的入口是大禮堂，在荷蘭殖民時代被叫做Zaal，高聳天花板上懸挂著吊燈和緩緩轉著的吊扇，連時間的流動似乎都慢了下來。空間內妝點了古色古香的桌椅、古董銀器、充滿了懷舊氣息的白麻桌布，以及由于年代久遠踩上去吱吱作響的抛光柚木地板，還有個收藏了來自新東方旅館珍貴紀念的圖書館，可以隨意浏覽。
The resort is dotted with quiet, charming corners, adorned with fallen frangipani flowers at every step. Just breathing in the air seems enough to calm the mind…
酒店內處處都是慵懶舒適的空間。這邊一對躺椅、那邊一座沙發、遍地都是隨風而落的雞蛋花。光是呼吸這裏的空氣，心情就放松了。
Climbing the stairs up to the third floor, there is a magnificent view of the neighborng red roofs and beyond them, the Indian Ocean. The butler told me that this is an excellent spot for sunset viewing, though unfortunately during my three days of stay at Amangalla, I was either out or it was raining during sunset hours.
踩著看上去頗有歲月的階梯登上三樓回廊，望出窗外可看到層層叠叠的紅褐色屋頂。安缦管家說這裏是享受日落美景的絕佳地點，只可惜入住的三天不是人下午不在酒店內就是當天下雨，沒機會欣賞到。
With only 29 rooms on site, Amangalla is the resort with the fewest rooms in the entire Aman Group. The room I stayed at, a Verandah Chamber (65sqm), is located next to the central garden and features Kingsize four-poster bed, living area with writing desk Pettagama chest, planter’s chair, and a dining table. One thing that I loved was the wooden floor, so comfortable to step on that I decided to go barefoot instead of wearing slippers.
安缦伽拉只有29間客房，是安缦集團裏房間數最少的，酒店也因此格外安靜，除了惬意還是惬意。我入住的房型 “遊廊居室“（Verandah Chamber）位于花園旁，65平米的寬敞空間內有四柱床、書桌、古董式木箱、藤木椅餐桌、儲物櫃。一般住酒店都習慣穿拖鞋，在這裏我卻選擇光腳，因爲細紋原木地板踩起來非常舒服。
Candle-lighting ceremony upon entering the room, for blessings.
入房時有點蠟燭儀式，聽管家介紹這是當地的習俗，有祝福的意思。
A spacious patio looking out to the tropical garden.
還有個舒服陽台，望出去一片綠意。
The portable AC that the hotel provided wasn’t super cooling and was actually quite loud – fortunately I’m not a light sleeper and was able to ignore the noise. However, one of the room windows had to be open at all times for the AC vent, which means that there were bugs from the garden inside the room and I was unfortunately bit by (probably) ants on my first night, resulting in some blisters. To Amangalla’s credit, the staff resolved the situation quite well – details to come later.
一開始提到入住的這幾天酒店冷氣壞了，配給房間的移動式小冷氣制冷功能老實說一般，而且聲音滿大的，還好我是很好睡的人，並沒被影響。不過因爲移動式冷氣有外接排風管，窗戶打開導致有蟲進來到床上，我在第一晚還被（應該是）螞蟻咬了。關于這一點安缦處理的不錯，稍後再說細節。
Bathroom with freestanding bathtub, twin vanities mirrors, separate shower/toilet. I was a fan of the window design (allowing for some view while having a good soak) as well as of the comfortable bath towels (so huge they could devour a person entirely).
房間的浴室有獨立式浴缸、雙梳洗台、獨立淋浴間和衛生間。喜歡這個可以透過小窗看到外面的浴缸，以及大到可以把一整個人淹沒的浴巾。
For turndown service each night, Amangalla brought me a little gift. The first night was a bookmark made from Lontar, an ancient form of paper, penciled with Sinhalese script. On the second night I received a set of vintage postcards, and a jar of tea on the third. Sweet little touches.
很貼心的是，安缦伽拉每晚做夜床時都有送小禮物，第一天是用當地産的棕麻做的、寫著斯里蘭卡語的書簽，之後還收到復古明信片和精美的茶葉。
Stepping down from the room, there was a tropical garden a a pool, with cabanas on one side and a set of daybeds on the other.
房間一下樓就是茂盛的花園和露天泳池，一側是休息涼亭，另一側是置身棕榈樹蔭之下的日光浴躺椅。
On thing to love about this pool is that it’s not only used for swimming or suntanning, but is also a lovely location of breakfast or afternoon tea. I’m not sure if other Aman properties also have this arrangement, but anyway it was a most pleasant surprise.
這裏很棒的一點是除了可以遊泳和做日光浴之外，也可以在池畔吃早餐或享用下午茶。我不確定其他的安缦是否也可以這樣安排，總之是個驚喜。
Breakfast was definitely one of my favorite moments during my stay at Amangalla. The menu features a range of local Sri Lankan specialties – hoppers, string hoppers, pittu, milk rice, kolakanda…all delicous things to discover.
早餐時間應該是我在安缦伽拉入住三日最喜歡的時刻之一了。菜單上有各種斯里蘭卡當地的特色：hoppers, string hoppers, pittu, milk rice, kolakanda…其中造型可愛的hoppers特別討喜，可以原味或加蛋，連續兩個早晨都選擇了它。
Breakfast can be enjoyed by the pool, on the sun-filled patio, in the tropical garden, or inside one’s room. Wherever you choose, the staff will make sure everything’s arranged on point.
剛才提到可以在泳池畔吃早餐，另外也在可以選擇陽光明媚的回廊，花園裏的露天餐桌，或是在自己房間裏。不管在哪裏服務人員都會安排的妥妥的，一切到位。
A friend staying at Amangalla at the same time got upgraded to a suite, and thanks to her I had the opportunity to enjoy afternoon tea in the comfort of her spacious living room, which undoubtedly felt more intimate than out in the lobby. It was raining on this particular day, and to be sipping hot tea along with dainty pastries with a local twist, it was pure bliss.
同住安缦伽拉的朋友被升等到套房，托她的福，我也在她套房的起居室裏享用了悠閑的下午茶。在房間裏喝茶比在大堂的感覺更私密，沒有人打擾，唯有需要時再打電話請服務員進來即可。這天外面飄著雨，坐在室內啜著熱乎乎的紅茶，搭配帶有斯里蘭卡當地特色的茶點，幸福感滿點。
Looove the bathtub by the window, and the creative bath towel animals done by the butler…(the sunglasses was part of his artwork, too).
超喜歡套房裏靠窗戶的浴缸，以及每天很有創意的毛巾動物系列（當天是鼻子上卷了鮮花的小象，服務員還爲它帶上墨鏡，有點幽默…）
The one thing I regret about this stay in Amangalla, was that I was so busy running about for the wedding festivities that I didn’t even get a chance to try its famous Ayurveda treatment, which can be personalized to include massages, anointments, reflexology and scrubs. I did, however, manage to sneak in half an hour at the hydrotherapy suite, which contains hot and cold plunge pools as well as steam rooms and saunas. This is free for hotel guests, by the way.
這次在安缦伽拉的一個遺憾，是由于參加婚禮的關系每天都有活動，最終居然沒有時間試試當地著名的阿育吠陀（Ayurveda）草藥按摩，做過的朋友說療程包含了按摩、精油按壓、冥想等，不能更棒。我在最後僅有的短暫時間內去踩點了一下水療套房（房客可免費預約使用），裏面備有冷熱水瀑布池、蒸汽和桑拿房，也是非常享受的了。
Lastly, a few words on the service at Amangalla, which was thoughtful and all-encompassing. It started with an ice-cold towel and a passion-fruit welcome drink upon arrival…
最後，不得不稱贊一下安缦無微不至的服務…比如抵達酒店時，服務人員立刻送來的冰涼毛巾和一杯百香果風味的welcome drink。
Continuing with morning yoga class in the outdoor pavilion (fresh king coconut juice after class was the best).
比如可以預定瑜伽課程，早上走出房間就來個身心的洗滌（課後那杯King Coconut椰子汁也非常貼心）。
Then, when we had to go to a nearby island for the pre-wedding party but did not want to go early with the bus, Amangalla arranged a private car for us, then called the island proprietor to make sure we got the boat ride across too.
比如朋友婚禮前夕在離加勒一個小時的小島上辦派對，我們由于沒趕上和大家一起做巴士，安缦幫我們安排了專車，並打電話給小島主人確保有船送我們到對岸。
And lastly, the bug bite incident. Waking up with two blisters on my leg did freak me out a little bit, and I immediately informed reception about this incident. During the one-hour I was at yoga class, they switched the room for me, and the hotel GM personally came by with medications. The blisters didn’t end up itching or hurting, and went away after a few days. Getting bitten by bugs certainly wasn’t pleasant, but I was satisfied with the way Amangalla resolved the problem.
還有我這次被蟲咬的事情。其實我不是一個很怕蟲的人（在非洲馬拉維做義工時房間裏蜘蛛蟑螂什麽都有，也安然睡了10天），不過這次被咬到起了兩個水泡還是讓我有些擔心。酒店在我上瑜伽早課的一個小時內完成換房間，總經理還親自拿了藥膏給我,後來水泡不痛不癢，過幾天就消了。雖然房裏有蟲這事令人有些不舒服，不過安缦的處理方式妥當，讓人滿意。
After these three days at Amangalla, I’m even more of an Aman believer. Though the stay wasn’t perfect, I was still charmed by this beautiful place and its immaculate service. Can’t say that I’m planning another Sri Lanka trip in the near future, but Amangalla would undoubtedly be an integral part of my itinerary if I were to come back again to this fascinating country…
一向是安缦粉的我，經過安缦伽拉的三日，陷的更深了。雖然這次入住體驗因爲空調、蟲咬等小波折所以並不完美，但仍然喜歡這裏處處透露的歲月迷人痕迹、喜歡無所不在的細致貼心、喜歡那份低調奢華的氣質以及融入當地文化的熱忱…
Amangalla 安缦伽拉
地址：10 Church Street, Fort, Galle, Sri Lanka
電話: +94 91 223 3388
網站：www.aman.com/resorts/amangalla
價位：每晚715美金起
造訪：2017年10月