Santani Wellness Resort

Santani occupies forty-eight acres of a reclaimed tea estate in the hills east of Kandy, reached by a winding road that discourages casual visitors. The architecture is stripped back almost to nothing: glass, concrete and timber chalets that face the valley and leave the view to do the work.

The programme is the point. Guests are assessed on arrival and put on a personalised track combining Ayurveda, physiotherapy, yoga, meditation and a kitchen that cooks to the diagnosis rather than to a menu. The spa includes a hydrotherapy complex and a Finnish sauna cut into the hillside.

Kandy, with the Temple of the Tooth and the botanical gardens at Peradeniya, is under an hour away for guests who want a day out from the regime.