The Dutch fort Galle.
View of the Indian Ocean from the Galle Fort
This week I drove to Galle and not for the first time was blown away by the beauty and history of this fortified city and surroundings. The history of some its hotels and lodges are just as interesting as the history of this fortified seaside walled city built mostly by Colonials. I have taken some excerpts from the writings and descriptions of some authors who have like me found this city so fascinating.
The Dutch Fort in Galle close to the island’s southernmost point, 173km from Colombo, has the distinction of being the best-preserved sea fort in South Asia. A living heritage site, this 222-acre attraction is a superb blend of architecture, with fortifications that resemble those in the coastal areas of Portugal. The fall of Galle to the Dutch in 1640 saw its fortifications consolidated further along the lines of the fortified cities of Europe. The Dutch and the English colonial styles are evident in the deep verandahs of houses supported by timber or masonry pillars. Originally established by the Portuguese in the 16th Century, it reached its pinnacle under Dutch rule in the 18th Century, providing spacious housing, wide roads and all necessary facilities within its walls including an intricate sewage system that was ahead of its time. When it comes to fortified towns, nothing can compete with the Dutch Fort in Galle. This World Heritage Site on the south coast was the main port of call for ships sailing between the East and Europe.
Court of arms above an entry to the Fort
The original entrance gate to the Fort, on the northeast side of the peninsula still bears the carved insignia of the Dutch East Indies Company (or VOC, from “Vereenigde Oost Indische Compagnie”). The Fort also hosts some of the islands most exclusive boutique-style accommodation in former villas restored to their colonial glory.
Against this background, a consortium of British businessmen in 1863 acquired the imposing three-storied former Dutch – and latterly British – garrison building standing at the junction of Church and Middle Streets with a commanding view of the harbor, and set up a European-style hostelry that, with a shrewd commercial eye of the taste of Western travellers for the romantically exotic, they christened it The Oriental Hotel. Thomas Munson (Tom) Barker, ably assisted by his wife, became The Oriental Hotel’s first live-in manager. Competition was tough – at this time a dozen or more first-class hotels in Galle Fort and nearby catered to weekly passenger ships and other trade. Clientele could be tough, too – very early in the new hotel’s history; a mob of English seamen from H.M.S. Bernice started a full-scale riot in the bar. The Galle native police were unable to cope, and called for a force of 20 European constables to be sent from Colombo as reinforcements.
The New Oriental Hotel before it evolved into the now popular Amangalle
This (garrison) fort was converted into the New Oriental Hotel in 1865. Initially, the complex of buildings formed the headquarters of the Dutch commanders and their staff. During British rule, the complex was used as the quarters for their soldiers. It is now a heritage hotel under the Aman Resorts group of international hotels and in 2005 named the Amangalla.
By the later 1890s however, despite its “worldwide reputation”, the Oriental Hotel had fallen on hard times financially. For whatever reason, the British owners could not make it profitable. Even in Galle’s heyday, many ocean passengers preferred to make the half-day trip by fast mail coach to Colombo, where there was more choice of accommodation. By the early 1880s, Galle’s boom days were over, thanks largely to the new breakwater and harbor in Colombo, far better suited to take large ships than the former’s exposed and hazardous inner harbor. The collapse of the coffee plantation industry in the mid-1880s through blight, coming at the same time as the shift to Colombo, also hit Galle hard. The arrival of the
Walking down the streets of Galle Fort
railway in Galle in 1894 failed to halt the decline of the town as an entrepot. Many Burgher families migrated to the capital. In the late 1890s Bishop van Rhee of the Roman Catholic Church almost bought the Oriental Hotel for a new school to replace the St. Aloysius site in town, but his absence abroad at the crucial moment lost him the chance. Instead, the sale went in 1899 (registered as an agreement of sale in 1900) for a mere Rs. 40,000 to an extremely capable and shrewd local Burgher businessman named Albert Richard Ephraums (1846-1904). Thus began the remarkable connection between the soon-to-be-renamed New Oriental Hotel (NOH) and the Ephraums family of Galle, which would last unbroken for almost a century.
A Dutch Burgher Lady takes a Sunday stroll pass the Church back in the day.
On May 7th 1995 the New Oriental Hotel Galle in the Fort provided the venue for the 90th birthday party thrown by Aman Resorts, leaser of the hotel for the next quarter century, for Nesta Brohier, holder of the Dutch Order of the Orange Nassau and a lady of whom it has been written that for half a lifetime as the “grand old lady of Galle Fort” she watched over “the flotsam that ceaselessly flowed into the hotel and out”, and that as “a woman of great physical attraction, she exuded charm”. Nesta had been born in the NOH, in Room 25, which was then part of the owner’s suite.
A heady history indeed and those wanting to read more of this hotels history and the burgher families that shaped much of the towns history can read more in the interesting writings of Joe Simpson who has chronicled the centuries old little known saga in delightful detail.
Today the Amangalle stands elegantly where the New Oriental stood as the most eye-catching hotel inside the Fort continuing the legacy of the formers tradition for superior accommodation and service of more than a century.
The Dutch Fort Hotel : A boutique hotel with an exquisite heritage
Interior of the the Dutch Fort hotel
Walking down past the beautiful Old Dutch Reformed Church built in 1755 next door to Amangalle and further down the street I came to the Dutch Fort Hotel. Managed by Mr. David Elgar an experienced hotelier and Australian, the Dutch Fort Hotel is a feast for the eyes and also for the lovers of the Forts history right back even further than the Portuguese. One of the suites was apparently the living area of the 14th Century Commander Chin Ho reminding us that the Chinese were here a full century before the Portuguese. The original foundation of this mansion is over 400 years old and was probably used by the Portuguese and Dutch as a trading office. The present hotel is a reflection of the grandeur of 400 years with the restoration completed by two enterprising foreign gentlemen who were experts at restoration. It was sold to a local family about 4 years ago and continues to be an attraction of old world charm and superior hospitality.
The hotel has 12 suites and averages almost full occupancy throughout the year at an average USD 250++. 50% of reservations are direct and the rest walk-ins and web based. General Manager David Elgar says he is very happy with his staff and is very content to be here. To understand the Galle Fort Hotel is to understand its history and the valuable contribution it is making towards tourism in Sri Lanka.
The Galle Fort was built first in 1588 by the Portuguese and then extensively fortified by the Dutch during the 17th century. It is a historical archaeological and architectural heritage monument, which even after more than 423 years has stood the test of time, due to extensive reconstruction work done by Archaeological Department of Sri Lanka. In 1988, UNESCO listed Galle Fort as a World Heritage Site. Prior to the departure of the most recent British administration the majority of properties in Galle were handed over to a predominantly Galle Muslim community. In those days other wealthy families would have used the GFT as weekend retreat.
Mr Azhar is the owner of a gem, jewellery, miners and exporters business, is located 3 shops down from the Galle Fort Hotel. He has been in the business for 50 years and his family are 3rd generation resident’s of Galle. His Uncle Mr Muhiden was the previous owner of GFH and conducted his gem distribution business from the hotel.
In 1999 the Sri Lankan government lifted the 100% tax on foreign ownership, which resulted in Australian, Karl Steinberg, and his Malaysian partner Christopher Ong purchasing the dilapidated and abandoned 17th century Dutch merchant’s house. Spending two years renovating the house using local craftsmen and traditional building techniques and by 2004 the Galle Fort Hotel opened.
The Galle Fort Hotel has won a number of awards including the 2007 UNESCO Asia Pacific Heritage Award of Distinction, for heritage conservation. It was the 2010 winner of ‘Sri Lanka’s Leading Boutique Hotel’ at the World Travel Awards. The hotel was again nominating in the 2015 World Travel Awards as Sri Lanka’s leading boutique hotel. In 2011 Colombo Fort Hotels an associate company of Lankem Ceylon PLC purchased the hotel.
The hotel offers and contributes to a truly historical cultural boutique experience. Its 12 individually designed suites open out to the centrally located inner courtyard and the 10m swimming pools offer’s a tranquil exclusive area for guests. The rooms are luxuriously and individually furnished with king-sized beds dressed with canopied mosquito netting, crisp white linen and comfortable pillows.
The ‘Admiral Cheng Ho suite’ is a large two-storey suite that commemorates the visit of Admiral Cheng Ho to Galle in 1406. The upper floor bedroom has a carved Chinese opium bed and work desk. A screen made from rare antique columns provides privacy from the living area below furnished with intricate pieces of oriental furniture and a day bed. The attached open-air bathroom has six-metre columns with a large elevated outdoor ‘waterfall’ shower.
The Grand Apartment is a grand suite and its 2,500 square feet occupies the entire top floor of the old wing. The room is divided into two king-sized bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms and a private verandah. The apartment features original 17th century artworks, antique chests and cabinets, an eight seater antique dining table and two large Dutch period four-poster beds.
The bar-cum-cafe is a great meeting point and has huge potential to attract greater market share. David the General manager plans to make it the hot spot of the area by making it more open and friendly to outsiders and passers by.
Open to non-guests the restaurant is very much in tune with the Fort prices and receives much positive feedback for its Sri Lankan style and western dishes and promotes freshly and locally bought produce.
David Elgar the General Manager has worked across multiple hospitality business sectors including hotel management, resort project management, high end luxury resorts, medi-spa health and wellness retreats, with over 30 years hands on hospitality experience. He has international experience working in ‘developing countries’ such as Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Fiji, Seychelles and now Sri Lanka.
He believes there is an art to managing people. The leadership style he adopts emphasizes and recognizes the importance of engaging with individuals in an approachable, constructive manner in order to achieve business success. As a Manager, he applies critical attention to the continued alignment of training staff, spelling out their expected roles and matching it by performance.
“I believe that while I am working and living in Sri Lanka I will not only be able to make a contribution to tourism in the country but also pass on my knowledge and skills to the staff at the Galle Fort Hotel and make them feel proud about who they are. Encouraging self-confidence and empowering people to think on their feet will improve self-worth and a hotel that promotes good energy is a hotel that will travel to great heights. This is my aim.”
The landscape of Galle Fort continually changes. Today a Museum occupies the stables; jewelry shops abound; cafes emerge from behind restored columns; interior design shops mingle with bookstores and fashion outlets and the supply of new hotels continue to grow. The number of hostels, hotels, boutiques, restaurants and shops are are too numerous to mention so we instead invite you to visit the Galle Fort and walk these beautiful old colonial cobbled streets and discover the treasures of the Fort for your self.
Jungle beach
Not far from the Fort is my favorite hideaway beach. The Jungle beach. Drive outside the Dutch Fort turn right stop at the road side wine store on the left for a bottle of red or white and keep going past the highway intersection and just before Unawatuna, turn to your right and up the hill. A minute’s drive and on top of the hill there is cosy stop where you climb down and meander between trees and rocks until you reach the beach. It’s devastatingly beautiful and mostly private with only a few tourists or locals about. The beach and water are all yours. Right across the sea you can see the Galle fort in the distance and on the left another iconic and historic hotel the Closenburg, the rich history of which we will research in detail for the column another week.
The local entrepreneurial spirit is alive here on jungle beach with a family of fisherman doing a roaring business in iced soft drinks and eats that include freshly caught prawns, lobsters and coral fish to go with the wine you picked up at the shop. Tables are set and the service is jungle but politely flawless and perfect for the mise en scene. A table beach picnic with the fresh catch of the day of your choice prepared on the spot. Another reason to fall in love (with Galle) all over again. Sip your wine, bath in the sea and watch the sun set on far away Galle fort and realize not for the first time that you are in the most beautiful country in the world.
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