Villa Sanasuma - A Beachfront Villa in Kosgoda, near Bentota

Villa Sanasuma has a beautiful tropical garden planted with a great variety of shrubs, palms, flowers, water lilies and orchids. The front of the property is mainly lawn and coconut trees, looking directly out over the ocean, with a private gate leading straight onto the beach.

The pool sits within the garden, surrounded by planting and shade, with a small garden veranda alongside, ideal for a book in the afternoon or a drink at sunset. Because the grounds are generous and the planting mature, the villa feels enclosed and private despite being right on the beach, and the coconut grove keeps most of the garden shaded through the hottest part of the day.

The centrepiece of the outdoor space is a large dining pavilion built in the traditional Sri Lankan style, used for both eating and lounging, and equipped with a barbecue and a wood-fired pizza oven. It's the sort of structure that changes how a holiday runs: long lunches that drift into the afternoon, barbecue evenings with the garden lit, and pizza nights that children request on repeat.

Meals can be taken here, in the open-plan dining room indoors, or on one of the verandas, all of which are positioned to catch the sea breeze.

Villa Sanasuma has a dedicated yoga pavilion set within the garden — a quiet, shaded, open-sided space for morning practice with the sound of the sea in the background. It's a genuinely uncommon feature at this size of villa, and it suits guests who want a structured start to the day without leaving the property. We can arrange visiting yoga instructors for you too

Villa Sanasuma has four bedrooms, each with its own ensuite bathroom, sleeping eight guests in total. Three look out over the Indian Ocean; the fourth faces the garden. All four are naturally ventilated in the traditional Sri Lankan manner, with ceiling fans and the sea breeze doing the cooling rather than air conditioning, which is part of what gives the house its calm, open, unhurried character.

The master bedroom sits on the first floor with a queen bed and an ensuite bathroom. Being upstairs, it takes the best of both worlds: the widest sea views in the house, and the breeze coming off the water. It's the room guests ask for by name on a return visit.

Two double bedrooms are on the ground floor, each with a queen bed and an ensuite bathroom, opening toward the garden with the ocean beyond. Both are a few steps from the pool and the dining pavilion, and being on the ground floor they suit anyone who would rather not manage stairs, grandparents in particular.

The fourth room is a twin, also on the ground floor, with two single beds, an ensuite bathroom and a garden outlook. It's the natural children's room: close to the other ground-floor bedrooms, set back from the water's edge, and an easy walk to the pool. Baby cots and high chairs are available on request.

The layout works well for two couples travelling with children, a family of six to eight, or a group of friends, with the master upstairs offering a degree of separation from the ground-floor rooms without anyone being far away.

Sanasuma is fully staffed by a resident couple who look after the house, home-cooked Sri Lankan food, generous hospitality, and the sense of being properly looked after rather than serviced. Meals are prepared to your preferences and served wherever you like: the pavilion, the dining room, or the veranda.

Meals are charged on ingredient cost, which means you pay for what's cooked rather than a fixed rate, an arrangement that works out well for families and long stays. Welcome drinks, daily cleaning, garden upkeep, electricity and water are included; extra beds, airport transfers and taxes are extra.