5°59'28"N 80°44'41"E M Beach Hideaway, Sri Lanka

The property’s passionate owner and designer – principal of Studio Mondadori – has elevated the local vernacular into a luxury beach house, with traditional wooden shutters, terracotta roof tiles and exposed beams framing living spaces that bring the outdoors in.  

Hardwood chairs, cool polished surfaces and woven rattan furnishings in a palette of cinnamon, ginger, charcoal and ivory imbue interiors with a sense of serenity and permanence. Each of the four double guest bedrooms (two in the beachfront pavilion, which houses indoor living and dining spaces; and two overlooking the pool) has an ensuite bathroom.

Beyond the lap pool, within the walled garden, an open-sided pavilion based on an ambalama – a shelter traditionally built to provide pilgrims and travellers a place to rest – offers additional alfresco living and dining areas. Days are spent at the pace of nature, and staff are on hand to prepare breakfast, lunch, aperitifs or dinner beneath the stars.

Magical sunrises kiss the morning awake, the golden light stealing over the sea and onto land. Let the rhythmic rise and fall of the waves lull you to sleep and soundtrack blissfully relaxed days – this is the perfect place to press pause.

How far to the nearest…

• Beach 10m
• Neighbour 50m
• Café/ Restaurant 200m
• Shop 7km
• Town 7km
• Airport 215km/2.5h drive (Colombo)

Location Mawella is rightly recognised as one of the country’s loveliest and quietest swimming beaches; the beach house is set just behind the new breakwater, built to provide the local fishing community with safe harbour for their boats.

Build The layout and design of each pavilion maximises natural ventilation and climate control through use of traditional materials and natural shade, including terracotta tiles, wooden shutters and deep-set verandas.

Energy Gas cookers. Electricity and water from local network. Guests are asked to use air-conditioning sparingly before bedtime if needed.

Environment Expect to share the grounds with local wildlife, from langur monkeys to lizards; the flower gardens are planted with endemic species, and vegetables and fruit from the villa’s organic kitchen garden will feature prominently in the meals cooked for you.

Community The team of local staff all live onsite and will happily advise you on the best places to visit or make arrangements for you.

Digital detox No TVs, so you can properly switch off, although WiFi is available, should you want it. 

Creature comforts Air-conditioning in bedrooms; Sonos sound system plus portable speakers.

Ride out the monsoon showers of the wet season (May–July) and you can have this remote region almost entirely to yourself. From November to April, the Southern Province’s mild climate and calmer seas attract surfers, adventure-seekers and whale-watchers.

Engage

A 10-minute tuk-tuk ride will take you to some of Sri Lanka’s best surf hangouts; hire a board at Hiriketiya, or find Tangalle’s best waves for beginners or boardmasters with Bandula Surf School. Visit Unesco world heritage site Galle fort with its 17th-century Dutch ramparts and iconic lighthouse. Board a boat from Mirissa Beach for a glimpse of the planet’s mightiest marine mammals: blue whales feed and breed at the edge of the continental shelf. Scale the rock of Mulkirigala to admire the frescoes and carvings in its millennia-old cave temples, or track leopards and wild elephants in a national park – Yala (in the east) and Udawalawe (in the north) make for adventurous day-trips.

Savour

Sri Lankan food is fragrant and deliciously spiced: add a little zing to your morning hoppers with a coconut or onion sambal. Try deliciously soothing local buffalo curd paired with lime-dressed papaya; mussels plucked from the rocks over the headland and cooked in a curry; or fresh-from-the-sea fish simply grilled with organic vegetables from the villa’s kitchen gardens.

Go slow

Sleep by the pool as the shade moves through the palm fronds. Stroll the length of Mawella beach, counting cows and listening for peacocks. Take a dip in the ocean at sunset. Watch monkeys and monitor lizards go about their business. Explore the mangroves of Mawella Lagoon with its flotilla of waterlilies and nesting birds, or trace turtle fin-prints in the sand where hatchlings head to the ocean at Rekawa Beach.