Tea Factory Hotel
Kandapola, Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka
The Tea Factory Hotel in Kandapola, in the highlands of Nuwara Eliya in Sri Lanka, is one of the most memorable hotel experience I have ever enjoyed. The Tea Factory Hotel was originally the Hethersett tea factory. This is where some of the finest tea in Ceylon was produced. The building was constructed by the British in 1935 at an altitude of 6,800 feet in the town of Kandapola. It functioned as a factory until 1973, when it was abandoned as a result of the nationalization of tea plantations.
The structure is common in the hill country of Sri Lanka. It consists of four upper lofts with pine floor boards supported by Jarrah wood joists. After it ceased being a tea factory, it was used as a storehouse for fertilizers and lime.
Tea Factory Hotel in Kandapola, Nuwara Eliya.
In 1992, the director of the Aitken Spence Hotel Management company chanced upon this abandoned building, and immediately recognised its heritage value as well as potential for development. He directed his company to purchase the building and began a restoration process to turn it into a themed boutique hotel that will accentuate its historical significance.
Transforming a lowly factory building into a luxurious hotel poses unique challences. It was decided that the exterior would be restored to its original 1930's state. After much consideration, the management also decided to keep most of the tea-making machinery as in integral part of the interior deco. As you explore the hotel, you will come across these machinery which are set to "work" at specific times of the day!
Conservation work on the building delighted in highlighting the industrial character of the building in the design of the hotel's public spaces. However, private spaces such as the bedrooms were designed to be comfortable retreats for the guests.
The intention is to integrate the tea-maching equipment into the deco in a way that will delight the guests.
Specific sections of the building was converted for appropriate uses. The original boiler, for example, became a new, modern kitchen. The 70 feet tall masonry chimney that once emitted smoke from the boiler room now expels cooking fumes. In a similar fashion, the sprinkler tank is converted into the tank for the sprinkler system.
The Tea Factory Hotel has fifty-seven rooms complete with en-suites. A newly designed lateral bracing supports the additional load required to putting up the rooms in the lofts. To differentiate between the original and new material, the old steel was painted green and the new in red. And I must say, the resulting combination can only be described as charming!
The continuous vertical open space which once allowed the flow of hot air for the tea drying process is left as it is. this space extends all the way from the four upper lofts down to the basement. In keeping with the industrial theme of the hotel, the ground floor was cement-rendered and laid with jarrah planks which were screwed into the floor with oversized brass screws, creating a delightfully industrial ambiance.
The industrial theme continues into other sections of the hotel. The restaurant has a buffet table constructed from recycled tea chests with a canopy of hand-beaten copper sheets fixed with copper studs to two giant steel wheels from the engine room. The lobby glass panels are etched by sand blasting while the lighting consists of industrial glass lamp shades.
Front view of the Tea Factory Hotel in Kandapola, Nuwara Eliya.
The porch.
View from the loft to the basement.
Upward view of the loft.
Sitting area, Tea Factory Hotel.
Another sitting area.
The dining room, Tea Factory Hotel.
The dining room, with the buffet canopy of hand-beaten copper sheets.
There are areas for those seeking more private dining.
My bedroom at the Tea Factory Hotel.
The machinery for tea drying is still working, and extends from the lofts down to the basement
Members of AsiaExplorers enjoying dinner at the Tea Factory Hotel. ...well, 'enjoying' might not be the most appropriate word to use when you just discovered the price of dinner here.
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